Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter, Sept. 25

Hawai'i State Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/25/2024 10:00 AM HST

Sept. 25

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.

KEEP In the Loop with SuperIntendant Keith T. Hayashi-Template

KEEP Superintendent Keith T. Hayashi-Template

Aloha, HIDOE Community –

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

Blue Ribbon Schools

Congratulations to Koko Head Elementary and Mililani ʻIke Elementary for being named 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools! Both schools met the U.S. Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon Schools award criteria for the “Exemplary High-Performing Schools” by ranking among Hawaiʻi’s highest-performing schools in English language arts and mathematics, as measured by state assessments.

Koko Head Elementary’s performance exceeded statewide averages in English language arts by 10 percentage points and in math by 16 points. The school, which serves more than 300 students, aims to educate the whole child, encouraging students to be well-rounded contributors to their communities. As part of this commitment, Koko Head emphasizes social-emotional learning to help reinforce positive behavior and character development among students.

Mililani ʻIke Elementary’s performance exceeded statewide averages in English language arts by 15 percentage points and in math by 30 points. The school, serving nearly 460 students, strives to provide diverse opportunities that help students develop academically, socially and emotionally to confidently pursue their interests and goals. Learn more about both schools here.

The Blue Ribbon program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools based on high academic performance and progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The two Hawaiʻi schools were among 356 school winners nationwide announced Monday by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

Bus Updates

As of this Monday, we have restored 96 bus routes – or 70% of suspended routes – on O‘ahu, Maui and Hawai‘i Island. Service has been restored for 86% of impacted students – or 3,193 out of 3,720 students. Efforts to restore the remaining 42 suspended bus routes are ongoing, and our contractors are actively recruiting bus drivers.

Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!

Fern Elementary School Principal Glen Miyasato leads the Walking School Bus on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Credit: Fern Elementary School

Every morning Principal Glen Miyasato walks from Fern Elementary School to the lobby of a nearby apartment complex. He arrives there at 6:55 a.m. and waits for students as they head down from their apartments. At 7:18 a.m., Miyasato leads the group of students on the three-fourths mile walk back to campus. They arrive at campus at 7:35 a.m. and the students have breakfast together in the cafeteria before classes start at 8 a.m.

This concept is known as a walking school bus, or simply, a group of students who walk to school together with an adult chaperone. The walking school bus at Fern Elementary, which started over a decade ago, “picks up” 40 to 60 students every morning, Miyasato said. Since the pandemic, daily average attendance has increased to about 95%, he added.

Kalihi Elementary School Principal John Hamilton leads the walking school bus to campus on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Credit: Kalihi Elementary School

Inspired by Principal Miyasato, Principal John Hamilton of neighboring Kalihi Elementary School also launched a walking school bus this year. When it first started, he said, they only had “a handful” of students. Now, he walks with about 20 students every morning. He noted that average daily attendance has increased, and the total number of tardies has decreased.

"I look forward to seeing the students and their parents every morning and feel that our school-home relationship has increased tremendously since starting this initiative,” Hamilton said.

Kalihi Elementary School Principal John Hamilton leads the walking school bus to campus on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Credit: Kalihi Elementary School

At Ka‘ala Elementary School, staff worked with the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation last school year to address absenteeism and safety concerns by creating a safe walking route to campus. Staff first looked at registration and attendance data, which showed that most students lived on or near Ohai Street in Wahiawā. The area presented challenges because it falls outside of the distance requirements to be eligible for bus services and lacks transportation alternatives.

The area is also a high traffic zone, with speeding vehicles, trash and bulky items blocking the sidewalks, and homelessness, making it unsafe for children to walk alone. Through the Public School of Hawai‘i Foundation’s Good Idea Grant program, the school purchased safety equipment including vests, cones and walkie talkies.

“It provides parents with peace of mind knowing that their children are supervised and accompanied on their way to school,” said Ka‘ala Elementary counselor Marisa Toyooka. “Students are benefiting from strengthening social relationships, building healthy habits, and becoming workforce-ready by getting to school on time every day and understanding the importance of attendance.”

See a video of Ka‘ala Elementary’s safe walking route produced by the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services.

The Safe Routes To School national partnership has provided a guide for those interested in starting a walking school bus at a school.

“Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!” is the slogan for the Department’s multi-year campaign aimed at boosting student attendance at schools. With September being Attendance Awareness Month, we are sharing stories of attendance successes.

Ho‘oha‘aheo Photo of the Week

Over 100 students from schools across Pearl City gathered at Pearl City High School on Sept. 10, 2024, for the inaugural Student Ambassador Workshop, a day dedicated to fostering leadership, school pride and professional skills development. The theme for the workshop was #PearlCityPride, inspired by presentations from each school on what makes their campuses unique.

Credit: Jorden Yamamura / Pearl City High School

Submit your public school-related image from this school year for a chance to be featured as next week’s Ho‘oha‘aheo Photo of the Week!

#HIPublicSchoolsProud

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

Maui High School

» Maui High School Nursing Services students participated in a mock disaster drill at the Kahului Airport. Every three years, the airport needs to conduct a disaster drill to test their emergency response plan and a part of that is to test personnel in the triage/treatment of numerous victims with simulated injuries, etc. Mahalo, Maui Fire Department, for the invite to participate. 💙 🚒

Kahakai Elementary School

» Today we celebrated Kahakai Elementary School turning 42! Our school was built in 1982 and it has become a tradition to celebrate our birthday on our big field with a DJ, cupcakes & ice cream. Mahalo to Aloha MAP Program for donating goodie bags for every student 🥳.

Keone‘ula Elementary School

» #PawsUp #WhatsUp Mahalo to our families and our NEHS, KIC, and SLC members for coming out and partnering with #Haseko to do a beach clean up! What a great turn out! Our Cubs had so much energy and enthusiasm to help our ʻāina and our community. Great job, Cubs!

What’s for School Lunch?

In honor of September as National Papaya Month, schools statewide were offered the opportunity to serve freshly cut local papaya for breakfast or lunch. Papaya is one of Hawaiʻi’s leading agricultural exports, with half of its production being consumed within the state alone. Papayas are high in vitamin C, A and E, as well as beta-carotene. It’s also rich in protein-digesting enzymes, such as papain and chymopapain, which helps aid digestion.

Schools also used this month as an opportunity to utilize the evidence-based strategy of offering pre-sliced fruit to promote healthy eating among K-12 students. Studies have shown that students find sliced fruit more appealing because it’s easier and tidier to eat. It’s a low-cost and scalable change that increases healthy food consumption among students and decreases waste in school meals.

Nānākuli Elementary served freshly cut local papaya for breakfast this month along with yogurt, granola and oranges. Hear what students had to say about it!

“It’s sweet. Sometimes it’s sweet. Sometimes it’s sour. I like sour stuff.”

Liliana Kahili, 5th grade

“I like the soft part. It’s like juice. We don’t usually get papaya.”

Travis Williams, 4th grade

“The taste is just different from mango and all the other fruits that I like. It’s unusual.”

Hoku DeFreitas, 4th grade

“I like papaya with cheese. Any kind of cheese.”

Kealohi Lagasca, 3rd grade

Mahalo to Nānākuli High and Intermediate School for inviting us into their kitchen and to Nānākuli Elementary for inviting us into their cafeteria. Pictured: NHIS school food services manager, Bryanna Cafa, and cafeteria staff Debra Werner, Desiree Kamakele, Sasha Malaki, Atkins Takahashi, Meilani Naeole-Mahuka, Meiling Mahuka, Al Apodaca, Thalia Tuiloma (standing, left to right), Rachel Higa and Char-Al Mahoe (kneeling, left to right).

“What’s For School Lunch?” is a monthly column coordinated by the School Food Services Branch that features new and exciting school meal initiatives.

HIDOE Headlines

A roundup of announcements, resources and shoutouts.

» Dozens of artists helped beautify Farrington High School, Kalihi-Kai Elementary, and Pu‘uhale Elementary as part of the 12th annual mural festival, “Hawaii Walls.”

» Sixth graders from Honowai Elementary School visited the John A. Burns School of Medicine and learned about healthy choices, explored a microbiome workshop, toured the campus and were introduced to various health care careers.

»Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Higashi and Principal Jhameel Duarte of Kīpapa Elementary were featured on KHON's Wake Up 2day to talk about Hawaiʻi public schools' academic achievements from the latest Strive HI report.

Important Dates & Upcoming Events

October: National Principals Month
Oct. 2: National School Custodian Day
Oct. 4: End of Quarter 1

The Hawai‘i State Department of Education is the nation’s only statewide school district with 296 schools (258 public, 38 charter) organized into 15 regional complex areas. Which is the newest campus in our system to open its doors to students?