SENATE MEMORIAL 81

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE, IN COOPERATION WITH THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS TO MENTOR THIRD GRADE STUDENTS IN READING.

     WHEREAS, research indicates that the inability to read at the third grade level correlates with high dropout rates, lower graduation rates from high school, an inability to thrive in a competitive global economy and incarceration as an adult; and

     WHEREAS, research also indicates that New Mexico college students' graduation rates are fifteen percent below national averages, and certain New Mexico scholarship programs have college graduation rates as low as fourteen percent over a six-year period, with growing college debt for those who do and do not graduate; and

     WHEREAS, the economic impact of a failing educational system is reflected in a lowered tax base, rising costs of social welfare and criminal justice, lower standards of living and higher rates of anxiety among people in terms of having enough food to eat, appropriate housing and good health; and

     WHEREAS, students who are successful in learning to read by the end of grade three can look forward to a lifetime ability of reading to learn, rather than to learning to read, and of accessing the benefits of the educational system; and

     WHEREAS, an international model of mentoring and tutoring built into the pilot program with St. John's college and Santa Fe public schools in New Mexico has demonstrated success in bringing together college student mentors with at-risk third graders in a one-to-one mentoring relationship; and

             WHEREAS, this international model, as adapted in twenty-five countries, has shown positive benefits, including improved academic performance, greater efficiency in meeting graduation requirements, a heightened motivation to study for both the mentors and the students who are being mentored, higher levels of self-esteem and greater civic involvement; and

     WHEREAS, financial support for college students through state scholarships and stipends is reinvested in the community when a college student offers the unique gift of social commitment by providing tutoring services to third grade students;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative education study committee, in cooperation with the public education department and the higher education department, be requested to establish a work group to conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing programs throughout the state to provide mentoring by college students to third graders who are at risk of not learning to read; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group include college students representing community-based colleges and universities in the state and leaders from the public and private sectors representing science, industry, education, community organizations, foundations, government and health and welfare programs and who are representative of the various populations of the state; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include a needs assessment, implementation plan and fiscal impact analysis with measurable outcome data applicable to the various populations of New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education study committee, in cooperation with the public education department and the higher education department, and the work group report the results of the study and their recommendations to the legislature and the executive before the 2014 legislative session; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the legislative education study committee and the secretaries of public education and higher education.

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