Stars

Summary

STARS is a FOUNDATION FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT programme for all Year 9 students.  In this programme teachers are Group Leaders and senior students are trained to be Peer Mentors. Stars is delivered by community licensees who are authorised to do so by The Foundation for Youth Development. Participation in the Stars programme involves no cost to the student.

What are the aims of the Stars programme?

• To provide a range of skills that help Year 9 students succeed academically and socially.
• To provide a range of experiences that build self-confidence and communication skills in Year 9 students and peer mentors
• To build friendships among peers, and between junior and senior students
• To provide opportunities for Year 9 students and peer mentors to get to know teachers outside the classroom.
• To introduce Year 9 students to the benefits of goal setting, by setting and working towards academic, health and fitness, and personal goals
• To encourage Year 9 students to adopt healthy behaviours, by providing  information on the benefits of healthy eating, exercise, and the risks of peer pressure and substance use
• To connect Year 9 students and peer mentors to their school community and increase perceptions of their school as a caring community
• To increase the strength of community within the school, as perceived by school staff, students and their families

The STARS programme will be in six areas in 2006.

Contact Address	C/- Foundation for Youth Development Private Box 303 287 North Harbour Auckland 0751
Phone Number	09 47706237
Organisation Email	office@stars.org.nz
Organisation Website	Stars
Contact Person	Marie-Jo Wilson
Email	marie-jo.wilson@stars.org.nz
Programme Base	Auckland
Other branches/areas of operation? - specify	Kaikohe, Manukau, Hamilton, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Christchurch
Target Group/s Age (range) Male/Female/Both	13 and 16-17 Both
Additional Target Criteria? Ethnicity/decile/other	No
Nature of mentoring service	Senior students within school trained to mentor a group of Year 9s ratio 4:16
Mentoring only, or is there some other element	Initial Adventure Camp at beginning of academic year, community project, mystery tour of region, careers expo.
Mentoring Approach - individual/group/combination	Group - 4 peer mentors to 16 Year 9s.
Mentoring duration - annual or other	Terms 1-3 of an academic year with dedicated participating teacher taking over for term 4 in order to free up seniors for exams
Location and frequency eg school, monthly	One period of curriculum time per week.
Programme Operating since	2000
Mentor Source	School
Mentor Target Criteria	Seniors who show interest and ability to commit to training and weekly mentoring
Measurement and Evaluation - how is this done	Self efficacy measurement tracking Y9s as they move through the school; qualitative data from Y9s; seniors and teachers; measuring sense of community within school and health and lifestyle behaviour questionnaires.