Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter, April 24

Hawai'i State Department of Education sent this bulletin at 04/24/2024 04:00 PM HST

April 24

Editorial Mission: As the Department's primary publication, we aim to live up to the meaning of ha‘aheo – to cherish with pride – by bolstering and sustaining pride in public education and touting the successes happening across our system.

In the Loop with SuperIntendant Keith T. Hayashi

Aloha, HIDOE Community –

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter.

Budget bill

Senate and House conferees approved a final version of the state budget bill, HB1800 HD1 SD1 CD1. It now heads for a final vote in both chambers before being transmitted to the Governor for consideration.

We are very appreciative to our legislators for including nearly $150 million in additional funds for operations for public education in such areas as weighted student formula – or per-pupil funding for schools – summer learning programs and workforce readiness initiatives, along with centralized core functions like electricity, student meals and bus transportation.

Our budget team is working to update a comprehensive table that crosswalks our original Board-approved budget request with the Governor's proposed budget, the original House and Senate versions, and this conference version, which will be posted on our budget website. Assistant Superintendent Brian Hallett and I will provide the latest updates at Thursday’s Board of Education General Business Meeting.

Tokioka Excellence in Leadership Award

Congratulations to Kapa‘a High School Principal Tommy Cox, winner of the 2024 Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award!

Cox won a $25,000 prize – a $10,000 personal cash award and $15,000 toward a school project of his choice. Cox said he plans to use the school award for Kapa‘a's building and construction CTE class to turn a 20-foot container into a fully furnished, sustainable tiny home.

He and 14 other HIDOE principals were honored at the Public Schools of Hawai‘i Foundation annual dinner at the Sheraton Waikiki last Thursday. Judges said they were impressed with Mr. Cox’s commitment to ensuring Kapa‘a High students have a set plan after graduation and expanding opportunities for students to earn college credit while satisfying high school diploma requirements. Two semi-finalists were also recognized — Wai‘anae Intermediate Principal John Wataoka and Waikele Elementary Principal Sheldon Oshio, each taking home a $2,000 cash award.

#HIPublicSchoolsProud

Social media highlights of the most engaging posts of the week.
Use the #HIPublicSchoolsProud hashtag for a chance to be featured!

Hawai‘i Public Schools

» @mckinleytigers students recently got a chance to shadow City & County of Honolulu directors for part of the day through the city's Nā Alaka‘i A‘o Mau program. Mahalo to Mayor Blangiardi and the participating city agencies and departments!

Pearl City-Waipahu Complex Area

» Pearl City-Waipahu Complex Area schools were AMAZING at their Presentations of Learning! Leaders, teachers and students showcased innovative approaches to prepare ALL students for success beyond high school. #K12Alignment #HIPublicSchoolsProud

Ho‘okele Elementary

»This past week our HES junior police officers showcased their skills at the annual JPO Field Day / Island Wide Competition. Thank you for all you do to make our students and school a special place. #HookeleCARES #HIPublicSchoolsProud

What’s for School Lunch?

This month, featuring a new school meal event from our school cafeterias and the Office of Facilities and Operations School Food Services Branch.

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, school cafeterias statewide were offered the opportunity to serve picnic-style, finger-friendly meals that allow students to eat without utensils to help reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in our landfills.

School food services managers were able to build their meals for this initiative by choosing from a “Picnic Day Schematic” provided by the Department’s School Food Services Branch. This allowed meals to be customized, while ensuring that they are still following the USDA Federal Child Nutrition meal pattern and dietary standard guidelines. Some examples of food item options included Belgian waffles, pretzels, graham crackers, chicken tenders, string cheese, chocolate chickpea dip, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Approximately 75 school food services managers and a total of 93 schools participated in this school meal event, saving approximately 33,606 disposable utensils from reaching our landfills! That's close to 450 lbs of waste! Kaiser High School’s cafeteria, which services students of Kaiser High as well as Hahaʻione Elementary, Kamiloʻiki Elementary and Koko Head Elementary (pictured), designed the menu to include chicken tenders, cinnamon Belgian waffle, pretzels, celery/cucumber sticks, and 100% fruit juice for this event.

Mahalo to Kaiser High’s school food services manager, Christian Lee-Tomita and cafeteria helper, Grace Yi (pictured left to right), for inviting us into their kitchen and to Koko Head Elementary for inviting us into their cafeteria.

Important Dates

April 22-26 - National Student Leadership Week
April 25 - Board of Education: General Business Meeting
April 26 - Deadline to submit entry for Here to Help mascot design contest

Community Query

Do you know the answer to this Earth Day question? 40% of participants on Instagram answered this question correctly.

Class of 2024 Graduation Schedule

High school graduation ceremonies have been scheduled for the Class of 2024. See here for date, time and location information.

HIDOE Headlines

A roundup of announcements, resources and shoutouts.

» Over 550 college and high school students attended the Oahu LEI program, a workforce development event organized by ClimbHI which specializes in connecting Hawai‘i high school students with career opportunities in the hospitality industry. The event was held in partnership with the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and Hawai‘i State Department of Education.

» ‘Aikahi Elementary School teacher Sarah Medwell Redican is nominated for Reader’s Digest’s America’s Favorite Teacher award. She hopes to give a portion of the $25,000 prize to her fellow teachers to use in their classrooms. Voting ends this Thursday, 4/25, at 4 p.m. Hawaiʻi Time.

» The 55th annual Hawai‘i High School Journalism Awards ceremony was held in-person for the first time in three years last Thursday at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Moanalua High School took second place in the Best in State contest and a $100 cash prize.