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Introduction

Originally named Hawaii E-Charter, MBTA received charter status in school year 2001-

2002. It is a blended online and on-ground school that provides standards-based instruction to

students on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii. After renaming the school in August

2002, a new principal was hired, new online curriculum was secured and the school was moved

into a new facility in metropolitan Honolulu.

The elementary program was created in 2003 to serve students in grades K-6 and their

parents who wanted to actively participate in their children’s education. This expansion allowed

students to receive a solid foundation in all disciplines and become prepared for the online

secondary program at MBTA.

After the initial accreditation visit in 2005, MBTA faced additional challenges in

programs, enrollment, budget and personnel. New instructional practices were entertained and

adopted. New secondary courses were created and the middle school grades were redesigned

into an interdisciplinary program. Improvements made to student training modules and use of

technology tools have continued and increased.

The elementary program purposefully created a hybrid online on-ground program to

provide a solid foundation in all disciplines while establishing opportunities to easily transition

students from the elementary program to the middle school grades

Attempts to address the key issues identified in both the 2005 and 2008 Visiting

Committee Reports have validated our belief that a blended online and on-ground learning

environment will increase student achievement and student engagement.

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As the school continued to implement its academic and financial strategic plans, the MBTA

Local School Board (LSB) recommended that a non-profit (501c3) organization be considered to

serve the new directions that may become evident as the school grows. These directions

included new facilities, professional development programs and school extension programs like

the Thompson Extension Academy for other public school students wanting online courses for

credit. Ho`ilina Inc. was established in 2008 with a five member board and was officially

approved by the IRS in June 2010.

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Market Performance, Price, Product, Place, and Promotion

In order to understand how MBTA is doing in the market today the organization of a

school is critical to evaluate their success. Elements such as: vision and mission, parental and

community involvement, school environment, school governance, school leadership, student

achievement, professional development, financial viability.

The school established a clear statement of vision and mission (purpose) based on its

student needs, current educational research. the vision and mission (purpose) further defined by

General Learner Outcomes, Hawaii Content and Performance Standards, and the DOE Strategic

Plan, supported by the governing board and administrations.

Vision and Mission

The vision of Thompson Academy is to create a standards-based, student-centered virtual

school that provides equity, access and excellence for all learners, anywhere, anytime.

framework established by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national organization

that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student, presents a holistic view of 21st

century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes (a

blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support

systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st

century.

The key elements of 21st century learning are represented in the graphic and descriptions below.

The graphic represents both 21st century skills student outcomes (as represented by the arches

of the rainbow) and 21st century skills support systems (as represented by the pools at the

bottom). (2004 Partnership for 21 Century Skills)

 

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While the graphic represents each element distinctly for descriptive purposes, the

Partnership views all the components as fully interconnected in the process of 21st century

teaching and learning.

School Culture

The school is a safe, clean, healthy and orderly place that nurtures learning and has a

culture that is characterized by trust, caring, professionalism, high expectations for all students,

and a focus on continuous school improvement.

In school year 2005-2006 a Student Safety and Welfare Policy was adopted by the

Thompson Local School Board. This policy states that a caring environment conducive to the

physical, mental, social and emotional well-being of students will be provided for all MBTA

students. Instruction in safety practices and attitudes through online courses and co-curricular

activities are offered every year.

MBTA provides high quality standards-based curriculum to all students across the state.

The technology-based instruction provides multiple instructional formats to accommodate

diverse learning styles of students regardless of their physical location. The elementary home-

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based based program allows the elementary faculty to provide direct services on-ground and on-

line in all core disciplines. In addition, elementary parents work closely with the elementary

faculty to design appropriate educational plans for their children and often receive helpful hints

and training in instructional strategies that can be used at home.

The ultimate goal of MBTA is to empower all students to become valuable members of society.

Each online and on-ground course addresses state and national standards as well as

communication, life skills and technology. The mission of MBTA is to “provide a rigorous,

engaging, learning environment in which all learners accept responsibility for their learning,

work together, are involved in complex problem solving and recognize and produce quality

work.” The school’s dual infrastructure (online and on-ground) contributes to building a

learning community to meet the needs and learning styles of the students.

MBTA recognizes the importance of establishing a “sense of community” where warm

and inviting on-ground activities afford parents and students opportunities to learn and have fun.

This “sense of community” is an essential ingredient to the establishment of the small learning

community atmosphere. It is further manifested by the MBTA’s deference to the Hawaiian

concept of “ohana” where everyone participates and helps for the good of the “family” (school).

School Governance

The governing authority of the school has policies and procedures that are aligned with

the school’s purpose and support the achievement of the General Learner Outcomes and Hawaii

Content and Performance Standards.

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The mission of the Thompson Academy LSB is to enable MBTA to provide equity and

excellence for all its learners any place, any time. The roles and responsibilities of the LSB as

listed in their By-Laws are to:

Set policy to guide the operations for MBTA

Participate in tasks and activities that will acquire additional resources for Myron B. Thompson

Academy MBTA (i.e. review and approval of the school’s annual budget; approval of the yearly

academic direction established by the school administration, faculty & staff; development of

marketing/recruitment plan, fundraising, etc.)

Hire, support, and monitor the school principal

Advise on operational issues. “Operational” areas include: curriculum, instruction, classroom

assessment, personnel, and day-to-day operations. (Principal is the final decision maker on daily

operations unless LSB approval is necessary)

Make decisions on issues related to equipment/facilities and budget items over an identified

ceiling amount.

School Leadership

The school leadership empowers staff and encourages commitment, participation and

shared accountability for student learning.

The school Leadership Council is made up of principal, vice principals, SASA,

Registrars, Technology Director, Curriculum Director, and Public Relations Director. This

council, led by the school principal, gives departments and divisions the authority to make

immediate decisions that deal directly with daily operational issues. All decisions are expected

to align with the school’s vision and mission and support our goals for developing students who

possess the necessary 21st century learning skills. Some of these decisions include types of

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exhibitions/assessments, tutoring schedules and modified weekly instructional schedules. All

school wide issues must be brought to the Leadership Council for final decisions. All issues

requiring policy changes require approval from the LSB.

Student Achievement

The school leadership encourages all MBTA teachers to employ a variety of instructional

strategies and authentic assessments that teach the standards and general learner outcomes.

Student progress is continually evaluated on the successful attainment of standards for course

content, communication, technology and life skills. MBTA expectations and classroom curricula

are communicated to students and parents regularly through the Moodle platform, email notices,

website announcements, and parent/community coffee hours. Every course has been aligned to

the standards and lists expectations of students enrolled.

School improvement requires collection, analysis, and synthesis of data by all school

stakeholders. The Academic, Financial and Strategic Plans are reviewed each year in the month

of May. Updates are made to the academic plan and cross checked with summative assessments

(i.e. grades, % of passing grades, HSA scores, etc.) The financial plan is cross checked against

the yearly auditor’s report with appropriate revisions made according to auditor

recommendations.

Continuous evaluation of courses, instruction, student progress, student support and

overall school operations is key to the success of all students. For four years prior to school year

2009-2010, HSA math scores did not meet proficiency. A tutoring program was established for

students who did not meet proficiency and a math skills software program was added to all math

courses in grades 2-12. The financial plan was amended to include new software and a more

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efficient web-conferencing system was purchased to help with the instruction of students in

remote areas. In school year 2009-2010, math proficiency was met by all ethnic groups school-

wide.

The elementary division has been working closely with parents and curriculum providers for

many years. The following briefly chronicles the collective decisions made yearly by the

elementary group to best serve students and parents in curriculum acquisition and training.

Increase and decrease of vendors on the list were the direct result of staff reviewing material for

standards alignment and ease of student use and understanding.

2005-2006 No vendor list available. Families were allowed to order from a vendor of their

choice.

2006-2007 The most popular vendors from previous years were selected to be a part of and

approved vendor list. There were 28 such vendors.

2007-2008 Added 1 new vendor. (29 vendors total)

2008-2009 Removed 2 vendors. (27 vendors total)

2009-2010 Added 6 new vendors. ( 33 vendors total)

2010-2011 Currently have 31 vendors. This year, 3 of the vendors; Harcourt Achieve,

Houghton Mifflin, & Harcourt School Publishers became one vendor now called "Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt".

Lump sum budgeting has allowed MBTA to financially support target areas identified in its

Strategic, Academic and Financial Plans. MBTA is able to identify specific needs in program,

instruction, infrastructure and facility that is supported immediately without worry or concern

over categorical funding restrictions that often challenge regular DOE schools. There has not

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been a need as yet to seek additional funding from federal, state or private grants for current

operations and proposed plans.

Every other year a three day General Learner Outcomes (GLO) camp is planned for all

secondary students. This budgeted event flies all neighbor island students to Oahu to join their

peers in leadership, risk-taking and environmental awareness activities. All GLOs are

experienced through a variety of planned activities and projects.

Professional Development

All staff is hired on the basis of school need. Many teachers possess advanced degrees in

their content area. During the past three years, MBTA has been able to support seven teachers in

their endeavors to gain their Highly Qualified Teacher certification. All non-certified teachers

are currently seeking certification from the University of Hawaii and should be completed in one

year.

All teachers are responsible for complete yearly review of their online and/or on-ground

curricula and are expected to provide instruction aligned to the standards and general learner

outcomes. The direction taken to create our own courses and modify currently licensed courses

has proven improved both content and rigor of all courses. The newly designed interdisciplinary

7th and 8th grade courses have also produced students with stronger writing and critical thinking

skills. Their use of technology tools like Voice Thread is superior to many students in the high

school grades

Financial Viability

The school’s vision and mission demands focused attention on rigor and relevance of

curriculum and instruction. Competent, dedicated and hard working staff play a critical role in

the student achievement. Therefore, resources (i.e. fiscal, infrastructure and time) are earmarked

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for the hiring of the best teachers and support staff. Thereafter, resource allocation is made to

support programmatic requirements like the per pupil allotment of $1500 to each elementary

student for the purpose of purchasing curriculum and securing lessons from external providers.

MBTA believes that the world is their school and experts are often found in non-school

environments (i.e. the gymnastics coach, violin teacher, or karate sensei).

The technology infrastructure must be constantly monitored and upgraded as their

networks change or their delivery needs demand greater speed and efficiency. Resources are

necessary to keep the technology hardware, software and networks cutting edge and operational.

Therefore, regular meetings with the their Leadership Team and representative staff occur

monthly to discuss updates, problems, and necessary upgrades. As programs and student support

needs change, resources to support the current facility are placed in the budget for the upcoming

school year. For the past three years MBTA has begun a search for larger building space that

can accommodate some of their proposed new hybrid courses in science and engineering. The

curriculum director has held a number of planning meetings with teachers in these disciplines.

Empirical Data

Prior to moving into a fully electronic data collection system in school year 2008-2009,

data was collected and retrieved manually from a variety of spreadsheets and electronic folders.

This data shows consistent trends and movements evident in the charts below.

Because MBTA does not provide lunch, many families choose not to complete the free

and reduced meals form which is part of our application packet. For families who do qualify,

MBTA will waive the computer maintenance fee ($50 a year) for the school laptop that they are

issued.

Total Fall Enrollment # Date

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SY0708 694 8/13/2007 SY0809 620 8/8/2008SY0910 550 8/9/2009

Enrollment for the

Entire Year # %

SY0708 501 72%

SY0809 502 81%

SY0910 459 84%

Enrollment by Island

Hawaii(#)

Kauai(#)

Maui(#)

Molokai(#)

Hawaii(%)

Kauai(%)

Maui(%)

Molokai(%)

SY0708 60 48 25 2 9% 7% 4% 0%

SY0809 92 45 11 0 15% 7% 2% 0%

SY0910 98 29 18 0 18% 5% 3% 0%

Total school enrollment has decreased each year but registration continues to increase on Hawaii

Island.

Enrollment by

EthnicitySY0708 SY0809 SY0910

SY0708 (%)

SY0809 (%)

SY0910 (%)

A-Amer.Ind. 18 16 5 3% 3% 1%B-Black 5 1 9 1% 0% 2%C-Chinese 21 23 30 3% 4% 5%D-Filipino 44 38 35 6% 6% 6%E-Hawaiian 25 25 22 4% 4% 4%F-Pt. Hawn. 184 184 133 27% 30% 24%G-Japanese 47 48 52 7% 8% 9%H-Korean 3 10 5 0% 2% 1%

I-Portuguese 4 5 7 1% 1% 1%J- 23 21 22 3% 3% 4% Spanish, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto RicanK-Samoan 9 7 7 1% 1% 1%L-White 235 187 195 34% 30% 35%M-Other 75 54 28 11% 9% 5%N 1 1 0 0% 0% 0% Indo-Chinese (Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laotian)

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694 620 550

The two largest ethnicity groups continue to be the Hawaiian/Part Hawaiian and White

populations. The large number of students categorized as “White” are primarily military

dependents.

Enrollment by Grade

LevelSY0708 on 8/13/2007

SY0809 on 8/13/2008

SY0910 on 8/17/2009

SY0708 (%)

SY0809 (%)

SY0910 (%)

Grade K 14 20 26 2% 3% 5%Grade 1 33 26 32 5% 4% 6%Grade 2 41 26 26 6% 4% 5%Grade 3 39 39 38 6% 6% 7%Grade 4 46 26 35 7% 4% 6%Grade 5 39 39 22 6% 6% 4%Grade 6 39 24 45 6% 4% 8%Grade 7 66 90 42 10% 15% 8%Grade 8 81 64 57 12% 10% 10%Grade 9 78 92 64 11% 15% 12%Grade 10 74 59 73 11% 10% 13%Grade 11 85 63 52 12% 10% 9%Grade 12 59 52 38 9% 8% 7%Total 694 620 550

MBTA has maintained or increased enrollment in all grade levels with the exception of students

in grade 7 and grade 12.

Enrollment by Gender

SY0708 SY0809 SY0910 SY0708 (%) SY0809 (%) SY0910 (%)

Male 328 278 242 47% 45% 44%Female 366 342 308 53% 55% 56%Total 694 620 550

MBTA has enrolled at least 60 additional female students than male students each year over the

past two years.

Enrollment by Military Enrollment

SY0708 SY0809 SY0910 SY0708 (%) SY0809 (%) SY0910 (%)

  99 56 55 14% 9% 10%

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Even with the ongoing deployment of military personnel, MBTA’s enrollment of military

families was not dramatically affected.

Students with Special Needs SY0708 SY0809 SY0910

SPED 16 11 2504 6 6 1Limited English Proficiency 0 0 0

The fluctuation in MBTA’s population of students is attributed to the promotion and

graduation of students, families who have moved to another country and students who have

transferred back to their regional school because they found it difficult to adjust to the unique

learning environment. It is also perceived that the ongoing threat of bad publicity has stifled

MBTA’s growth but such factors are difficult to quantify.

Major Competitors

Other online institutions that have a local presence (i.e. Hawaii Technology Academy)

are the immediate competitors. However, on the horizon there appears to be a significant effort

by Universities of renown (i.e. UCLA charter) which have strategically positioned themselves to

add K-12 components to their higher education institutions in order to capture students at lower

grade levels and transition them smoothly into their respective institutions.

The traditional schools that have now decided to add an online component to their

primary on-ground offerings have also become a possible competitor. The reasons for many

traditional schools doing so is primarily to keep from overcrowding facilities that would then

require more money spent for capital improvement projects. The trade off for these schools

would be more facility space opened because of less on-campus students.

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Lastly, major competitors include private schools (i.e. Kamehameha Schools) that will

use their reputations and name recognition to entice students into a hybrid environment without

having to fully enroll them into their prestigious school but be able to honor their mission to

service certain student populations who are eligible.

Market Trends

Trends that should be evaluated on an ongoing basis include:

New technology hardware and software

Cutting edge infrastructure and delivery options (i.e. cloud computing)

Imposed educational expectations like the federal mandates like “Race to the Top”1 or Common

Core Standards and Assessments2

1 Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education. It is funded by the ED Recovery Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and was announced by President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on July 24, 2009. States were awarded points for satisfying certain educational policies, such as performance-based standards (often referred to as an Annual professional performance review) for teachers and principals, complying with nationwide standards, promoting charter schools, and computerization. Critics say that high-stakes testing is unreliable, that charter schools weaken public education, or that the federal government should not influence local schools

2 Common Core State Standards Initiative is a U.S. education initiative that seeks to bring diverse state curricula into alignment with each other by following the principles of standards-based education reform. The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). As part of this overarching education reform movement, the nation’s governors and corporate leaders founded Achieve, Inc. in 1996 as a bi-partisan organization to raise academic standards, graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability in all 50 states. Announced on June 1, 2009, the initiative's stated purpose is to "provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them." Additionally, "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers," which will place American students in a position in which they can compete in a global economy. Forty-eight of the fifty states in the United States are members of the initiative. Standards were released for mathematics and English language arts on June 2, 2010, with a majority of states adopting the standards in the subsequent months.

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Ten Year Vision of MBTA

Gordon Dryden and Dr. Jeannette Vos, authors of The Learning Revolution, a best seller

in 1999 identified twelve steps to transform an outdated model of the traditional school. It calls

attention to environment, educational and business practices, technology and equity issues. This

school of the future should consider at least 9 of the proposed 12 steps with 2 additions, culture

and sustainability.

The steps are as follows:

1. Plan schools as life-long, year-round community resource centers.

School has always been subject to time and space. In the future, the change in venue,

change in time and redefinition of instructor will greatly change the clientele attending school,

the number of years or months needed to demonstrate competencies in disciplines and possibly

how institutions of higher education service incoming students to equip them for life’s work.

Community resource centers that can operated on a 24/7 schedule would allow for students to

engage in life’s activities (i.e. work, missions, athletic or performing competitions, community

service, etc.) without compromising their educational needs. Students who need to remain home

to allow for parents to work certain hours now have opportunities to still interact with

educational personnel who have similar staggered work hours. Ideally, community centers

should quickly expand the big box stores as educational kiosks (i.e. 24 hour operating Walmarts)

that will allow for multiple activities by many family members throughout the day and night.

2. Ask your customers first: your students and parents.

Students and parents are generally not asked about their desires; rather they are informed

of the schools expectations. Perhaps an opportunity should be given to students and parents to

decide on a smorgasbord or “Chinese menu” list of courses that not only interested students but

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challenged them significantly in the area that would transition them into additional education or

training. Creating one’s own course pathway and diploma expectations as it measures up with a

variety of post graduate opportunities now demands greater responsibility from the student for

his learning.

3. Guarantee customer success and satisfaction.

When the customer or student is given the opportunity to chart his own course of study,

there will more than likely be greater buy in and satisfaction. Student choice must be within the

parameters that are mutually agreed upon by institution and student but the end result will more

than likely show greater success.

4. Cater to all intelligence traits and all learning styles.

For decades educators claim to embrace the research about multiple intelligences and

learning styles but have failed to implement workable solutions that allow for a variety of

students to thrive in a common environment. If the environment, like traditional school, does not

recognize the importance of differentiated instruction as it relates to both the instructor and the

student, it doesn’t matter what strategies, courses or opportunities you provide the student, the

“one size fits all” mentality will always result in a perfect bell curve for all students. If, through

advanced technology, school is redefined as the community, the island, the state or even the

world the impact to economics, politics, environment and society will be monumental. There

will possibly be no boundaries and even if nationalistic endeavors try to curb international

interactions, education will “trump” these because of human curiosity and the need to know. It is

highly possible that the creativity that we once all possessed as toddlers will return to students in

high school and college.

5. Use the world's best teaching, study and learning methods

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Fundamental to this step is that there must be a world class TEACHER. No content,

study tool or instructional strategy will prove truly successful and sustainable unless you have a

committed teaching staff that understands that learning only becomes meaningful when it is

applied and new knowledge is created. Teaching methods have also not kept up with the pace of

the technology and that gap has deepened and will result in schools becoming obsolete and

losing to a community of learners who may soon decide that education should be redefined by

the masses who by that time may ill prepared because of too much content and shallow

understanding.

6. Invest in your key resource: teachers as facilitators.

Investment in personnel is critical. This requires regular formal and informal

professional development. Educational institutions have now attempted to tap into the many

resources and professional expertise found in business, industry, government and the military.

This is the right direction to take but it is not a matter of a workshop here or a training there. It is

consistent application of what is learned and “proving the concept” for the purpose of

implementing the strategy in the classroom.

7. Make everyone a teachers as well as a student.

Perhaps this is the hardest to accept by the professional educator who would not like to

relinquish their position, expertise or power to another. However, the reality is that the

practitioner in any field is probably far more expert that the actual teacher who tries to explain

the practitioners craft. It is imperative to have the mindset that everyone can teach be embraced

by everyone in a school community. This acceptance will eventually encourage partnerships

with any and all educational institutions which will not be contrived or to satisfy a requirement

established by a company’s vision to partner.

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8. Change the assessment system.

An assessment system must be developed to assure that the expectations of the system,

the product and the client are always focused on the final goal. A good assessment never stands

alone but will move with the dynamic organization that continues to surpass its goals. If an

assessment system does not possess the flexibility for this purpose, it will quickly serve no

purpose and often keep the organization from growing and improving

9. Use tomorrow's technology.

This particular step is very exciting but difficult to embrace. Most advance technology is

past technology that the military developed earlier and somewhat declassified now for public

use. Although this practice has now been interrupted by equally innovative and creative

initiatives spurred on powerful social networks, it still is at the level of cost that often times will

not allow for schools to purchase and use without negatively impacting budgets.

10. Cultural Consideration

Cultural consideration, ethnic or organizational, will always play a significant supportive

or challenge to an organization. Recognition of the fact that culture does not stand apart from

humans will determine the strength the school. In other words, culture requires a clear

understanding and respect for opinions and directions that have been proposed for the betterment

of the people and organization as a whole. Individuals’ abilities to put differences aside to

collectively support a direction will determine success.

11. Sustainability

The Cloud Institute of Sustainable Education explains this best with this statement:

“Education for Sustainability (EfS) is defined as a transformative learning process that equips

students, teachers, and school systems with the new knowledge and ways of thinking we need to

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achieve economic prosperity and responsible citizenship while restoring the health of the living

systems upon which our lives depend.” The implications of this statement are enormous.

Transformative learning processes have the power to re-engage communities, not only to learn,

but to thrive in a society and environment that will prove more challenging and demanding of

innovative ideas and creative solutions to life’s problems.

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Reference

"Amazon.com: The Learning Revolution (9781929284009): Gordon Dryden, Jeannette Vos: Books." Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs &

More. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Revolution-Gordon-Dryden/dp/1929284004>.

"Creativity and Innovation." The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework/262>.

"Race to the Top." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_Top>.