Kamehameha Scholars, the statewide community education program that assists public and private high school students in reaching higher education goals, won national recognition by the American School Counselor Association, the first community education program in the nation to receive the ASCA honor.
Kamehameha Scholars, the statewide community education program that assists public and private high school students in reaching higher education goals, won national recognition by the American School Counselor Association, the first community education program in the nation to receive the ASCA honor.
ASCA named Kamehameha Scholars a Recognized ASCA Model Program. The RAMP designation, awarded for aligning with the criteria in the ASCA National Model, recognizes programs that are committed to delivering a comprehensive, data-driven school counseling program and an exemplary educational environment. Since the program’s inception, more than 650 schools have been designated as RAMP recipients. This is the first time the RAMP designation was awarded to a community education program, a program that serves students from schools throughout Hawaii.
“This recognition is a great honor,” said Wai‘ale‘ale Sarsona, Kuamahi community education managing director. Kuamahi is a division within Kamehameha Schools’ Community Engagement and Resources Group, which focuses on connecting KS and community resources to address educational needs specific to individual communities.
“As a year-round career guidance and college prep program, Kamehameha Scholars plays an important role in creating systemic changes that can improve the educational well-being of Native Hawaiians in areas such as graduating high school on time, boosting enrollment in college, and increasing on-time college graduation rates,” Sarsona added. “With these outcomes, we believe Hawaii will produce even more local and global leaders. It’s what drives our investment in this program.”
Created in 2003 as part of Kamehameha Schools’ community outreach efforts to serve more Native Hawaiian youth, Kamehameha Scholars serves students from public and private schools statewide and allows them to match their skills and interests with colleges and career options for future planning.
The scholars program is open to students in grades 9-12 who reside on the islands of Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kauai. During the 2015-16 school year, the program served a total of 720 students who represented most of the private and public schools throughout the state. Charter and home-school students also were in the program.
For more information about Kamehameha Scholars, visit https://apps.ksbe.edu/kscholars.