The Hawai‘i DOE is redesign-ing its facilities maintenance pro-gram to align the Department’sstrategic focus on providing re-spectful learning environmentswith its core value of ensuringaccess to a quality public educa-tion for every student in everycommunity across the state.

The three-part initiative in-volves streamlining how the De-partment contracts repair servicesto fast-track priority projects, in-creasing the community’s accessto project details with an onlinedatabase under development, andimplementing a data-driven analy-sis to plan for future school needs.

The facilities maintenancebranch oversees 4,425 buildingsand more than 20 million squarefeet of space across 256 cam-puses statewide; FY2018 facili-ties budget is $274 million.LEARN MORE: bit.ly/HIDOE-FSN

The Hawai‘i DOE continuesto see increases in the number ofstudents who are both taking andpassing Advanced PlacementProgram® (AP®) Exams, withacross-the-board gains in thenumber of exam takers, examstaken and scores of 3 or higherfor students tested in 2017, ac-cording to the College Board.

Most four-year colleges in theU.S. provide credit and/or ad-vanced placement for qualifyingexam scores of 3, 4 or 5.

Superintendent’s

EDUCATION UPDATEHAWAII STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | DECEMBER 2018

CONNECT WITH US!

OpportunitiesSCHOOLS

The Walmart Foundation offerscommunity grants of up to$5,000 for providers ofafterschool enrichment, tutoringor vocational training for lowincome individuals and familiesin the United States, amongother purposes. Apply by Dec.31. giving.walmart.com/apply-for-grants/local-giving-guidelines

EDUCATORS

The CDC Science AmbassadorFellowship is a dynamic,educational program for teachersand educational leadersinterested in bringing publichealth sciences into middle- andhigh-school classrooms. Thiscompetitive fellowship includes a5-day interactive summer courseat CDC headquarters in Atlanta,Georgia, and a 1-year distance-based professional developmentopportunity. Apply by Jan. 15.www.cdc.gov/careerpaths/scienceambassador

The 2018-19 nomination andapplication cycle for grades 7-12teachers for the PresidentialAwards for Excellence inMathematics and ScienceTeaching program is open.PAEMST is the nation’s highesthonor for teachers ofmathematics and science.Awardees receive a trip toWashington, D.C., to attend aseries of recognition events andprofessional developmentopportunities and $10,000 fromthe National Science Foundation.Nominate by Mar. 1, apply byMay 1. www.paemst.org

HawaiiPublicSchools.org | 808-586-3230 | Email: doe_info@hawaiidoe.org | Social:

Hawai‘i public school students continue strong AP growth

FUTURE SCHOOLS NOW

Modernizedfacilities programlaunched

YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH

EXAMS TAKEN EXAMS PASSED2016-17 2017-18 2016-17 2017-18

9,903 10,456 4,178 4,545

+5.6% +8.8%5-YEAR GROWTH

EXAMS TAKEN EXAMS PASSED2012-13 2017-18 2012-13 2017-18

7,355 10,456 2,810 4,545

+42.2% +61.7%

Hawai‘i State Teacher of the Year Mathieu Williams in his new car.

Kealakehe Intermediateteacher Mathieu Williams re-ceived the state’s top teachingaward from Gov. David Ige andSupt. Christina M. Kishimoto. Itis presented annually to a publicclassroom teacher selected frommore than 11,000 educators.

The district teachers of theyear are: Shane Albritton,SEEQS; Brandon Arakawa,Kahului El; Sean Doi, KauaiComplex Area Office; SamHankins, Kawananakoa Middle;Gail Izumigawa, Waipahu High;

Mary Ann Kurose, RadfordHigh; and Debbie Morrow,Kailua El.

Each district winner wasgiven a $500 award and an ad-ditional $1,000 was given toWilliams from the PolynesianCultural Center. Williams wasalso given a one-year lease of anew Nissan Leaf courtesy of theHawaii Automobile Dealers As-sociation and Nissan Hawaii.

Williams will representHawai‘i in the National Teacherof the Year program in April.

Kealakehe Inter’s Williamsnamed Teacher of the Year

Ring!!! Students hurriedly rushto and fro. The fourth-grade stu-dents begin to line up to go to their“wheel” classes: P.E., Music, Com-puter, and Library. Some studentsclutch their library books, eager toreturn them and excited to getmore. Some are on their way toP.E., carrying their water bottles.When asked, “What do your teach-ers do when you are at wheel?” thestudents reply, “They go to meet-ings and learn things.”

This is true. The teachers arelearning as the students are off ex-ploring in their wheel classes. Butwhat exactly goes on during a Pro-fessional Learning Community(PLC) or Learning Team Time(LTT)? Simply put, strategies aredeveloped to help students learnmore effectively.

In more detail, at Hickam Ele-mentary, a typical LTT agenda in-cludes:

• Response to Intervention (RTI),• Data Teams,• Professional Development, and• System Concerns (Behavioral,

Technology, and Grade Level).Members of an LTT consist of

the grade level general education,special education, and RTI teach-ers, along with a curriculum coach.The coach facilitates and guidesthe discussions and offers sugges-tions on practice. The teams meetevery 10 days, or four to five timesa quarter.

At the beginning of a typicalLTT meeting, the team reviewsour RTI program. This is whenour grade level teachers commu-nicate with our special educationand RTI teachers about sharedgoals and shared students. At thebeginning of the year, every stu-dent is evaluated with a universalscreener for the subject areas ofmath and reading. The scores thatwe receive from these reports, inaddition to several other datapoints, are used to strategically tierstudents according to their abilities.Teachers keep track of where spe-cific students are and how they areprogressing. Dialogue ensues and

insights are shared among teammembers.

Over time, intervention strate-gies to help students grow are de-veloped, implemented, and moni-tored. Many students progress intheir learning; those who do notare given more intensive interven-tion (increased one-on-one timewith educators, for example) andif desired progress is not achieved,more specialized resources aresought out.

The second component of ourLTT is Data Teams. During thistime, the team decides on a specificstandard or topic to monitor over aset period of time. Students aregiven a pre-assessment to measurebase knowledge of the topic with-out any instruction. The team ana-

lyzes this pre-assessment to seewhat students know and what gapsexist prior to instruction. Teachersdiscuss trends in the data and lookfor mistakes, then the planning be-gins. Teachers focus on how to bestteach all students while consideringthe pre-assessment data. Research-based instructional strategies arediscussed and implemented.Throughout the cycle of meetings,teachers monitor student growthby using formative assessmentsand by sharing student work witheach other. At the end of the cycle,a post-assessment is given and an-alyzed. Teachers are encouraged toreflect on their practice during thisanalysis; it helps us to see whatteaching methods are effective fora set group of students and to no-

tice our own growth as teachers.Professional Development is

the third facet of LTT. Teachersare given a chance to learn aboutnew state or district-level initia-tives. One example of this is NextGeneration Science Standardswhich must be implemented byschool year 2019-2020. Teachersare given guidance from coachesand district specialists and, mostimportantly, they are given time toplan lessons together. We’ve alsoused this time to learn about AVID(Advancement Via Individual De-termination), which seeks to closethe achievement gap by providingstudents with the skills needed tobe successful in college and in life.During LTT, teachers learn aboutand plan how to use AVID strate-gies together, providing consistentand effective deployment acrossthe school.

Going over System Concernsis typically how an LTT ends.The team brings up behavioral con-cerns that they notice in class and,if needed, the student services co-ordinator (SSC) and/or counselorare asked to advise. Technologyconcerns are also addressed by ourtech team and any problems are di-agnosed and remedied. Finally, ifthere are any grade level concerns,these are brought to the table anddiscussed. Discussing and respond-ing to all of these system concernsensures that teachers, and ulti-mately the students, are supported.

So remember, when your childsays that they have a wheel period,teachers and support staff are atLearning Team Time and are hardat work collaborating, analyzing,and discussing what is best foreach and every student at HickamElementary.

PAGE 2 › EDUCATION UPDATE

Learning Team Time SCHOOL DESIGN | STUDENT VOICE TEACHER COLLABORATION

HIGH-IMPACT STRATEGIES:bit.ly/HIDOE-strategies

So remember, when your child says that they have a wheel period, teachers and support staff are at Learning Team Time and are hard at work collaborating,analyzing, and discussing what is best for each and every student at Hickam Elementary.

KEITH HAMANA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith Hamana, a 24-yearveteran of the Hawai’i DOE,with 22 years spent atHickam Elementary, hastaught grades 3, 4, and 5and now serves asHickam’s Curriculum Coach. Hamana is a proud productof the Hawaii public schoolsystem and firmly believesthat education is thecornerstone of a healthydemocracy. Here, heprovides insight into theschool’s ProfessionalLearning Community, whereteachers collaborate toensure students are gettingwhat they need to succeed. This work is paying off forHickam’s students — the2017-18 Strive HI System’s

school report card showsthey have strongachievement results andhigh levels of growth,literacy and attendancelevels.

1,200+ FRESHMEN lEARNAbOUT CAREERS AT EXPO

The Hawaii DOE held its inau-gural Campbell-Kapolei StudentCareer Expo at Kapolei HighSchool for 1,200 freshmen fromboth high schools. It was madepossible with the partnership of theKapolei Chamber of Commerce,which helped bring 80 employersto the event.

The Expo consisted of three ses-sions, organized and timed accord-ingly for groups of students to in-teract with business representatives,ask detailed questions about careerpaths and options, and complete ac-tivities in their special CK StudentCareer Expo workbook.

“It’s a good opportunity to seedifferent careers and how theywork,” said Favian Johnson, aninth grader at Campbell High.“The expo will help us to under-stand what we need to do to pros-per and grow as individuals, andfind a career that fits us the best.”

“I'm really happy that they hadthis because, as ninth graders,we’re coming into a new world andstarting to explore our career op-tions,” said fellow Kapolei Highfreshman Pieshence Awong. “Italso allows us to practice our com-munication skills and help us toget ready for a job interview.”

The event was also supportedand sponsored by a partnershipwith Kamehameha Schools.

“We are truly grateful for thecommunity partners and businesseswho helped to make this event asuccess as we continue to work to-gether to educate, empower andequip Hawaii's future leaders withthe necessary skills for the work-place,” said Sean Tajima, Camp-bell-Kapolei Complex Area Super-intendent.

STUDENTS REPORT FEWERINCIDENTS OF bUllYING

Fewer Hawai‘i public middleschool students say they have beenbullied at school over the last twoyears, according to new youth sur-vey results. And fewer students re-

ported being cyberbullied or cy-berbullying someone else.

More than 16,300 public middleand high school students partici-pated in the Hawaii School HealthSurvey, a joint project of theHawaii DOE, Hawaii Departmentof Health and the University ofHawaii. The anonymous survey,which is administered every otheryear, monitors categories of health-risk behaviors including mental

health, injuries and violence, sex-ual behaviors, alcohol and drug useand physical activity. Two differentsurveys are given: one to middle-schoolers and one to high schoolstudents. (See results, above.)

JVEF CElEbRATES 17YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP 

The Joint Venture Education Fo-rum (JVEF), a cooperative partner-ship between Hawaii's military

community, the Hawaii Departmentof Education (HIDOE) and othercommunity organizations, high-lighted success stories of Hawaii'smilitary students and their familiesat its 17th Annual Meeting todayat The Salvation Army Ray & JoanKroc Corps Community Center.JVEF's mission is to facilitate theeducational concerns and uniqueneeds of military children and theirfamilies, such as transitioning tothe islands, and to support Hawaii'spublic school students.

Hawaii has the highest numberof military-dependent children percapita in the nation, representingapproximately 15,000 students oreight-percent of the total studentenrollment. The majority of thesestudents attend 45 schools locatedon or near military installations inOahu's Central, Leeward andWindward School Districts.

DECEMBER 2018 ‹ PAGE 3

In the news MORE AT HAWAIIPUBLICSCHOOLS.ORG

Public schools celebrated Thanksgiv-ing with an Okinawan Sweet PotatoPie as part of November’s ‘Aina

Pono: Harvest of the Month program. Itwas the first time Okinawan sweet potatoesfrom the Big Island were used in the pro-gram.

“We wanted to create a local spin-off ofthe traditional pumpkin pie that many en-joy during Thanksgiving,” said DexterKishida, Farm to School coordinator,School Food Services Branch.

Keolu Elementary Cafeteria ManagerEdita Montgomery and her staff createdthe original recipe, which was modified toenhance the pie’s flavor, accommodatemass production and meet nutritional guide-lines. As a skilled baker, Montgomery saidit was also important for the recipe to useingredients that are available to schools.

“The whole wheat flour that schools nor-mally use changed the taste of the crust,so we adjusted the ingredients by modify-ing it after our shortbread cookie recipe toimprove the flavor,” said Montgomery.“It’s an honor to be a part of the ‘AinaPono program as we transform studentmeals and incorporate more locally growningredients.”

GRADES 6-8 2015 2017

Were ever bullied on school property 45.1% 40%

Were ever electronically bullied 25.1% 22.6%

Ever electronically bullied someone 15.7% 10.9%

GRADES 9-12 2015 2017

Were ever electronically bullied 14.7% 14.6%

Ever electronically bullied someone 18.6% 18.4%

GET THE RECIPE

Download a printer-friendly recipe here:bit.ly/AinaPonoSPP

DEC 3-9 ›››

COMPUTER SCIENCE ED WEEKMore than 100 schools across theIslands are signed up to host an Hour ofCode during Computer Science week.There’s an exciting new coding activityadded this year called DANCE PARTY.Join them! csedweek.org/educate/hocSchools are also encouraged to takepart in Code.org’s national survey ofschools that are offering CS learning.Fill out a brief form with your school’sopportunities at code.org/yourschool

The Hawaii State Departmentof Education is a powerhouse ofinnovation. Our strength lieswithin the size of ourorganization, the world-classtalent of our employees, andstudents who are globallycompetitive. There are excitingchanges going on at each level ofthe Department as we aim tobecome an influential force ofideas, discovery, and solutionswith a focus on what studentswant to learn and how they wantto be engaged.

As part of this effort, theDepartment’s Office ofCurriculum and InstructionalDesign is creating an opportunity

and space for teacher leadersto come together to collaborateand share best practices in thespirit of advancing ComputerScience curriculum.

We hope that you’ll join us forthis dynamic event on June 13.We’ll be leading importantdiscussions around innovativepractices, assessmentdevelopment and policy issuesthat align with what’s happeningnationally. This includes themovement toward makingComputer Science credits agraduation requirement and whatthis will look like for schools inHawai‘i. Your voice is needed andwill have an impact on how our

system is preparingstudents for college,

career and community. Be on the lookout for

invitations to online and face-to-

face pre-conference sessions. For more information about

Computer Science in Hawaii,visit the Hawai‘i DOE website:bit.ly/CSforHI.

Education Update is a monthly newsletter by the Department’s Communications Office, distributed to schools, the first Board of Education meeting of the month, and posted to HawaiiPublicSchools.org. We encourage submissions! Please contact us at the phone, email or social channels above.

EDUCATION UPDATE › DECEMBER 2018 › BACK PAGE

CONNECT WITH US! HawaiiPublicSchools.org | 808-586-3230 | Email: doe_info@hawaiidoe.org | Social:

Supt’s Corner DR. CHRISTINA M. KISHIMOTO

Don’t Miss This! EVENTS, DEADLINES & FUN STUFF

DEC 15

CSTA HAWAII CS SUMMITThe mission of the Computer ScienceTeachers Association is to empower,engage and advocate for K-12 CSteachers worldwide. The HawaiiChapter, founded in 2017, is sponsoringthis FREE summit, which will includelearning opportunities around the CSPAP exam, an educator panel on CSteacher voice, student gallery ofprojects, and more. To be held at theSullivan Center at Iolani School. Learnmore, register: bit.ly/CSTAHI-Summit18

DEC 3-14

HAWAIIPAY ENROllMENTThe Hawaii DOE is moving onto thestate’s new payroll system, the HawaiiInformation Portal, or HIP. All HIDOEemployees who have their paychecksdirect deposited with their financialinstitutions must re-enroll from acomputer connected to the statenetwork during the Dec. 3 to 14 window.Direct deposits begin on Jan. 4, 2019.Visit bit.ly/HawaiiPay for moreinformation.

DEC 24-JAN 4

HAPPY WINTER bREAK!Time for family and friends as we allenjoy the close of the first semester.Teachers return for a work day onMonday, Jan. 7, students return onTuesday, Jan. 8. Please check yourschool’s calendar to verify. State anddistrict offices are open except on theTuesday holidays:Christmas (Dec. 25)and New Year’s Day(Jan. 1). Happyholidays!