Paul's Policies

Safer “Brave” Activities for Kids

A safer version of bravery is seeking help—disagreeing respectfully with a teacher or mentor, visiting the principal to get matched with a study buddy, or joining after-school activities to blow off steam and finish homework. To make that easy, districts should partner with public libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Youth Guidance–style mentoring academies to create “fun cubicles”: small, supervised study pods with acoustics, charging, and a school-device login so students can join Zoom/Google Meet sessions with teachers when they missed material or struggled to focus.

Why this works: High-dosage tutoring and near-peer mentoring raise achievement and persistence; SEL and school-based mental-health supports improve behavior and attendance; counselor access expands postsecondary success. The cubicles are simply a delivery vehicle for that evidence-based help.

Program design (cubicles):

• Space: Lockable or staff-monitored pods in libraries/Clubs with whiteboards, headsets, and accessible seating.
• Access: Student ID or QR check-in; staff on duty; clear behavior norms.
• Instruction: Scheduled 15–30 min teacher office hours + peer tutors; default to small-group sessions (1:2–1:4).
• Routines: A “Daily Joy Planner” sheet at each cubicle prompts micro-goals (one homework task + one connection) to build self-efficacy.
• Safety: Caregiver contact option; no weapons policy; trauma-informed staff.

Equity: Target sites near high-need schools; offer device/wi-fi lending; include ADA-compliant pods; train staff in welcoming students who don’t have steady adult help at home.

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United Way “Safe Route” mobile phone application

Personal suggestion: Ask United Way to steward a lightweight applet that surfaces the safest & shortest route (via Google Maps APIs) to a partner site—optimized for bike, walk, bus, or carpool.

Features:

• Mode chooser (bike/walk/transit/carpool) with safety overlays: lighting, bike lanes, crossings, and recent incident flags.
• Waypoints: “Nearest open study pod now” + ETA to a teacher’s next office-hour slot.
• Check-in/guardian ping (opt-in): “Arrived at Library Pod #4, session ends 5:15 PM.”
• Low-data mode + multilingual UI; anonymized analytics; strict privacy (no location sharing beyond chosen contacts).
• Transit tie-ins: Bus pass codes or micro-vouchers where partners allow.

Why it helps: Reduces frictions that keep students from connecting with capable adults (mentors, tutors, counselors), the exact network that grows ambition and self-reliance.

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Brand & Culture Hook

Motto: “Kind is cool.”
Use it as the program’s visual anchor—on cubicle decals, planner sheets, staff lanyards, and student badges. Pair each session with a Kindness micro-goal (e.g., “thank your tutor,” “help a classmate start problem #1”). SEL research shows that small, repeated prosocial acts strengthen belonging, self-control, and achievement.

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Implementation

• Sites: Public libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs, Youth Guidance–type academies.
• Staffing: One site lead + vetted volunteers/near-peers; scheduled teacher office hours.
• Cadence: Students book 3–5 sessions/week (15–45 min), aligned with class pacing.
• Data we track: Session count, minutes tutored, homework completion, GPA/credits, attendance, suspensions, and postsecondary steps (FAFSA/apps).
• Counselor link: Route students needing more support to school counselors (work toward 250:1 ratios) and SBMH clinicians when indicated.

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Evidence

• Ambition: High-dosage tutoring → ~0.16–0.37 SD math gains; summer melt supports → +3–7 pp college entry.
• Self-reliance: SEL meta-analysis → +11 percentile points achievement; SBMH → suspensions ↓ / math ↑; Check & Connect → +25 percentile staying-in-school index.
• Connections: Mentoring (e.g., BBBS) → arrests −6 pp, substance use −7 pp at ~18 months; counselor access matters.

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Conclusion

Children copy what they see; our job is to replace risky scripts with belonging, mastery, and kindness. A practical package—fun study cubicles in libraries and youth clubs, a United Way “Safe Route” companion to get students there, high-dosage tutoring + SEL/SBMH, and scheduled teacher/near-peer office hours—translates the best evidence into everyday access. Brand it with “Kind is cool” to make prosocial behavior visible and aspirational. Upstream, these supports build ambition, self-reliance, and networks of capable adults; downstream, courts can extend the same logic with a third, treatment-informed sentencing path focused on measurable behavior change and public safety.