Mentors foster students' progress: New Mexico: Santa Fe Public Schools.

Sante Fe Public Schools was named the 2005 recipient of the Civic Star Award for New Mexico for a mentorship program that exceeds the state Public Education Department's graduation requirements.

Monte del Sol Charter School, where the program is conducted, was founded in 2000 as a public charter school for grades seven through 12. Each year the school has grown and added a new grade. Its charter is based on integration of the arts and technology, community involvement, development of global perspective and preparation of future leaders.

To support the school charter, Monte del Sol has a two-year graduation requirement called Mentorship. All graduates must have had a mentorship assignment with an adult in the community to pursue a specific area of interest at greater depth while establishing relationships with community members and organizations. The program was started by a member of the school staff, Paquita Hernandez, and was designed to expose students to education outside the classroom and to foster relationships between community members and teenagers and between residents and the school.

Community mentorships were successfully completed by 126 students this past year, with a three-day festival showcasing students' work. Students completed mentorships is such areas as:

* Performing and visual arts, with mentorships provided by many local artists and organizations, such as Santa Fe Performing Arts and Railyard Performance Center.

* Science, where local organizations such as Los Alamos National Laboratories provided mentorships.

* Athletics, with mentorships provided by local coaches and local businesses, including Experience Snowboards and Beyond Waves Mountain Shop.

* Sustainability, where local organizations, such as Earth Care Inc. and Ecoversity of Santa Fe, provided mentorships.

Several successful projects have been created as a result of successful mentorships. They include Monte del Sol's Sustainability Project, including a greenhouse and way designed by students to capture water, which will serve as a pilot project for student-led work projects to beautify old buildings. Other projects have included two student-produced films, which won awards in local youth film festivals.

Information about the mentorship program has spread through Santa Fe, and adults who want to be mentors now contact the school. Adults who serve as mentors believe the time they contribute is an investment in the community's future.

Students working with adult mentors gain confidence as a result of the relationship, and mentors gain perspectives on teenagers and teenage issues and can help guide students toward productive adulthood. The community benefits from the program because students coming out of the program have learned to work collaboratively and creatively with others. Also, school leaders believe that students who are exposed to positive adult relationships in the community are more inclined to contribute in return to the community.

For more information, contact Tony Gerlicz, head of Monte del Sol Charter School at 4157 Walking Rain Rd., Santa Fe, N.M. 87507, or call [phone]. By e-mail, write to [e-mail].