H AWA I I ’ SRaceRace to the Top Executive Summary: 2010-2014

2 | HAWAI‘I’S RACE TO THE TOP

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Hawaii State Department of

Education extends a heartfelt mahalo

to

Our State, Complex Area and

school staff members,

and our students, parents, and

community partners.

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Hawaii’s RaceIn the past four years, Hawaii’s public

school system has undergone historictransformation — from the dark days of

Furlough Fridays to today’s unprecedentedgrowth in student achievement.

Hawaii’s come-from-behind win in thehighly competitive federal Race to the Top(RTTT) program defied the greatest odds. The state overcame setbacks and forgedcommunity partnerships to develop and put inplace a bold education reform plan.

A “HIGH-RISK” RACE:

Change did not come easy. In December2011, the United States Department ofEducation (USDOE) placed Hawaii’s Race tothe Top grant on high-risk status, due to“unsatisfactory performance during the first14 months of the grant.”

FROM WORST TO FIRST

Faced with potential failure, Hawaiieducators and state office staff rallied togetherand doubled down on reforms to provedetractors wrong. In the two years followingthe “high-risk” announcement change beganto take shape. In February 2013, the USDOEannounced the state was off “high-risk” statusfor its work on standards, assessments anddata system development and use.

Thanks to the extraordinary work ofeducators and leaders from Pahoa on HawaiiIsland to Waimea Canyon on Kauai, theDepartment has made tremendous progressrolling out high quality standards andassessments, improving data collection anduse, advancing educator effectiveness,supporting our lowest-performing schools,and realigning offices toward our strategicgoals.

Then, just days before the start of the 2013-14 school year, the DOE reached a major

HAWAI‘I’S DATA

HAWAI‘I’S RACE TO THE TOP | 5

RTTT milestone.In a letter to Gov. Neil Abercrombie dated

July 29, 2013, the USDOE wrote, “…theDepartment has determined that the evidenceprovided is sufficient to meet the expectationof clear and compelling evidence ofsubstantial progress, and will remove high-risk status for Hawaii’s Race to the Top grantin all remaining categories.”

Hawaii’s efforts through three years werefinally validated, and the state now had agreen light to finish the race.

“Hawaii is clearly making gains in itsreform efforts, as evidenced in theimplementation of the Common CoreStandards and the progress of its students,”said Council of Chief State School OfficersExecutive Director Chris Minnich. “I applaudSuperintendent Matayoshi, Department ofEducation staff, and educators around thestate for their collaboration and determinationto improve education for Hawaii students.”

STAYING THE COURSE

Not only is Hawaii the first state tocomplete the work on time, the state is alsoleading the nation for gains in studentachievement on the National Assessment ofEducational Progress (NAEP). It is no doubt aresult of the tremendous efforts of educatorsthroughout the islands.

The RTTT grant laid the foundation forHawaii to keep building on its progress. Weknow there is no finish line in education, andwe will stay the course to provide betteropportunities in school and in life forgenerations to come.

Our students. Our future. Our promise.

HAWAII’S PLAN FOR SUCCESS

Hawaii refocused RTTT implementation onfive key areas:

• College- and Career-Ready expectationsfor all kids with rigorous standards and teststied to a statewide curriculum.

• Improving access to and use of data totarget supports for struggling students,schools, and state offices.

• Supporting great teachers and leaders.• Building a shared vision for getting the

job done by aligning organizational functionsto support sustainable reforms.

• Turning around the lowest-performingschools.

ZONING IN ON TRANSFORMATION

A compelling chapter of Hawaii’stransformation story is the work of the 18schools that collectively became known as the“Zones of School Innovation” (ZSI). The twoZSI complex areas — Kau-Keaau-Pahoa andNanakuli-Waianae — traditionally struggledthe most with student achievement and facedthe largest challenges associated with poverty,diverse student demographics and ruralsettings.

In just four years, ZSI schools made greatstrides in student achievement, improving

school culture, and strengthening school-community partnerships. Each complex areafocused on implementing key prioritystrategies customized to their schools andcommunities, including:

• Rigorous learning expectations for allstudents (Hawaii Common Core);

• Using data to improve instruction andtarget supports to struggling students(Formative Instruction/Data Teams/AcademicReview Teams/Comprehensive StudentSupports);

• Supporting new teachers with veteranmentors (Induction and Mentoring); and

• Supporting educators with structuredfeedback and opportunities for professionalgrowth (Educator Effectiveness System).

Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year,the Department committed $6 million overthree years for early childhood educationsubsidies. This commitment allows for morethan 200 additional Hawaii children in low-income areas to receive subsidies to attend ahigh-quality preschool.

In February 2012, ZSI schools beganextending learning time and providing

additional professional development days forteachers.

SPOTLIGHT: KAU-KEAAU-PAHOA

The Kau-Keaau-Pahoa (KKP) ComplexArea covers 65 miles from Hilo to Naalehu,where eight in 10 students come fromeconomically disadvantaged homes. Nearlyhalf are native Hawaiian — a student groupthat consistently ranks below non-disadvantaged, non-Hawaiian children inreading and math proficiency.

With those challenges in mind, KKP beganby focusing on improving the effectiveness oftheir teachers and school leaders, supportedby data — finding ways to extend learningtime, and providing access to early childhoodeducation. Schools partnered with thecommunity to assign cultural mentors for newteachers. This helped new teachers understandthe culture of the students and better connectwith them.

The Complex Area worked as a unit toimplement the Hawaii Common Corestandards and pilot the Department’s Educator

Effectiveness System (EES). A partnershipwith School Synergy helped shift the culturein schools to one that is rich with data-based, collaborative conversations aboutimprovement.

The results speak for themselves: 80% ofteachers in KKP meet the definition of“highly qualified” — up from 50% in 2008.

GROWING GREAT TEACHERS AND GREAT LEADERS

Supporting new teachers throughInduction and Mentoring is a key toorganizational success. In 2013, the Hilo-Waiakea Complex received 10 new teachers,bringing the total to 55 beginning teachersand 49 academic mentors. To ensure thequality of the Department’s program,classroom-based academic mentors areassigned to only one beginning teacher andtake part in mentor forums and trainings toenhance their coaching and mentoring skills.Topics addressed in mentor forums andtrainings thus far include mentor language,coaching skills and observational tools. In

“It helps them to reallysee, ‘What are we doingin the classroom? Howare we doing it best?What might I want toimprove?’ A mentor

provides that by meetingwith the new teacherson a weekly basis.”

CaRoLiNE FREudig, i&M CooRdiNaToR, Kauai

Kau HigH & PaHaLa ELEMENTaRY

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partnership with Kamehameha School'sKauhale Kipaipai division, beginning teachersin their first year of teaching have also takenworkshops on state/Complex initiatives,classroom management, effective research-based instructional strategies, learner styles,technology resources and much more.

The Kahua program with KamehamehaSchools is also helping ground new teachersin culture via community mentors. Kauai’sInduction and Mentoring program coordinatorCaroline Freudig said the combination ofaddressing both in-the-classroom supports aswell as place-based education has beeneffective.

“It helps them to really see, ‘What are wedoing in the classroom? How are we doing itbest? What might I want to improve?’” saidFreudig. “And a mentor provides that bymeeting with the new teachers on a weeklybasis. And then through Kahua, we havecommunity members who support the newteachers with, ‘Knowing where they’reteaching, the place they’re in, where thosekids are from, what those kids are like.’”

First-year teacher Whitney Rowe said ofthe 2013-14 school year, “It was really busy,really fun. I’m glad I had a big support groupand a mentor through Kahua. It went reallywell.”

“I think the biggest thing was having thatmentor in my classroom, that support,especially with the EES and the SLOs(Student Learning Objectives),” said first-year teacher Lia Nishikura. “Having thosespecial days to work with them andCaroline...it was the best thing for me.”

COLLEGE- AND CAREER-READY EXPECTATIONS

Hawaii leads the nation in adoptingrigorous learning expectations and alignedtests for all students (Hawaii Common Coreand Smarter Balanced Assessments). TheHawaii Common Core was introduced inschool year 2012-13 to select grades beforegoing statewide in 2013-14. On its heels arethe Smarter Balanced Assessments in schoolyear 2014-2015.

Between 2012-2014, every teacher andprincipal in the state received professionaldevelopment on the new standards, resourceson instructional strategies to support studentlearning, and access to curricular resources:units, lessons, and new textbooks.

The Hawaii State Board of Education(BOE) reinforced the focus on college- andcareer-readiness with adoption of the newCareer- and College-Ready (CCR) Diplomain 2011. The new diploma requirements -beginning with the Class of 2016 - align withthe admissions expectations for theUniversity of Hawaii system.

In the original RTTT application, Hawaiicommitted to implementing new CCRdiploma requirements beginning with theClass of 2018. Not wanting to wait onensuring students were graduating with thecourses needed for college- and career-readiness, the BOE and DOE areimplementing the new policy two years aheadof schedule, beginning with the Class of2016.

SPOTLIGHT: KAILUA-KALAHEO

At the Kailua-Kalaheo Complex Area, theHawaii Common Core has created a newwave of excitement and engagement amongstudents, teachers and parents. Students arespending more time explaining their thinkingand process. Math and literacy skills areintegrated across content areas. Students inart classes are expanding their vocabularyand speaking/listening skills withpresentations on painters and paintings. InPhysical Education, students may use mathand literacy skills to explain football playsand analyze their fitness progress throughoutthe school year. Across all content areas,students are reading and analyzing morecomplex texts. All of this helps develop thecommunication and collaboration skills thatstudents will need to be successful in theworkplace.

“We don’t have a time where we just domath, or we just do reading, or we just dowriting... I think it will be fun. I think it will

be problem-based and project-based learningand that it will be much more relevant for thekids,” said Kailua-Kalaheo Complex AreaSuperintendent Suzanne Mulcahy.

USING DATA, TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION, SUPPORTS

Thanks to years of ongoing systemimprovements, the Department now has thecapacity to use historical data for all students.This access to relevant and timely student datahelps inform decisions on governance,management, resource allocation, studentsupports, and instructional practices. Forexample:

• Educators now have access to real-timedata on absenteeism, behavioral issues, andcourse grades to quickly identify the studentswho may be at risk of falling behind. Armedwith this information, educators can work tosupport students before they are off-track.

• Every school now has a structure andprocess for teacher-to-teacher collaborationbased on student data.

The use of data is an increasinglysignificant part of what we do. TheDepartment recently recognized four

educators as “data champions” for last schoolyear.

On Hawaii Island, Trintje Hironaga hasguided KKP’s efforts to become a data-drivencomplex with the development of the KKPData Suite, which provides data and tools toschools and complex area staff to guide andmonitor school improvement efforts.

Improving standards and achievement forall students requires strong supports. To thatend, the Comprehensive Student SupportSystem provides clear guidance and support toschools as they implement a model of tieredstudent interventions. Under this model,teachers have access to student data throughan early warning system that identifies at-riskstudents across an array of developmental andbehavioral challenges, and identifies pointswhere teachers and school leaders canintervene and assign more intensive supports.

ELEVATING THE TEACHING PROFESSION

Teachers have the greatest impact onstudent success in the classroom, whileprincipals have a significant impact onteachers’ ability to deliver instructioneffectively.

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The state has made great progress inestablishing key elements of a new teachereffectiveness system. Work began with a pilotin the ZSIs and expanded statewide in 2013-2014.

Quality standards-based instructionprovided by highly trained and qualifiedteachers is vital to enhancing studentperformance. This led to the development ofthe EES to set clear expectations for effectiveteaching, provide quality feedback andsupport to improve teacher effectiveness withstudents, and inform professionaldevelopment.

Following a two-year pilot, the EES wentstatewide in 2013-14. Feedback fromteachers, principals, and others resulted inchanges for 2014-15 to simplify andstreamline the effort and differentiate thesystem among teachers, non-classroomteachers and beginning teachers.

Despite some hesitation over the EES’implementation and overall purpose, anoverwhelming majority of the state’s morethan 11,000 teachers were rated “effective”and “highly effective” educators, accordingto the EES results from school year 2013-14released during the summer of 2014. The2013-14 school year represented the first yearof statewide implementation with no negativeconsequences for tenured teachers.

A SHARED VISION

For the first time, the BOE and DOE havea joint Strategic Plan — laying out the goals,strategies, and targets for the public schoolsystem. This enabled the alignment of state,Complex Area and school planning andmonitoring. As a result, the Department isnow a cohesive system at all levels focusedon shared goals for students. From theStrategic Plan to the school's academic plans,administrators and teachers are tracking andelevating students to ensure all graduatecollege and career ready.

The Department positioned itself forsuccess by completing a strategicreorganization to align with key RTTTinitiatives and engaging the community.

Changes include the establishment of theOffice of the Deputy Superintendent andOffice of the “Senior” AssistantSuperintendent to align departmental officesand accelerate reforms.

Partnerships with businesses and thecommunity were critical to support reformefforts. In Hawaii, a state impacted by itsgeographic isolation and challenged by itsarchipelago profile, tight-knit, closecommunities are the norm. To achievetransformational and sustainable change ineducation, the Department is committed tocontinue broadening community support for ashared understanding and vision for studentsuccess.

The DOE also improved communicationboth internally and externally. In July 2013,the Department launched its new website andsoon after established a robust Intranetwebsite for staff that increased efficiency andthe exchange of information.

HAWAII STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION1390 Miller Street, Honolulu, HI 96813808-586-3230

HawaiiPublicSchools.org

/HIDOE808/HIDOE808/HIDepartmentofEducation