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Supt's Corner

Summertime is a perfect time to reflect on successes from the past year:

• Our stories on Waianae and Farrington High’s huge gains in the College & Career Readiness Indicators reports were wildly popular on Facebook.
• King Kekaulike graduating senior Kisa Uradomo was selected for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra, and is playing dates in China this month. [STORY]
• Three Maui students in PBS Hawaii’s HIKI NO program were selected for the national PBS Student Reporting Labs program. [STORY]
• Academic coaches were given well-deserved recognition after one of their own, Mililani Uka’s Jana Fukada, won the $25,000 Milken Educator Award. [STORY]
• Future Ready pioneers at Keaau El hosted their 2nd virtual field trip to Kilauea (with co-host Nanakuli El providing cultural education) and became citizen scientists at the 2015 National Geographic BioBlitz. [STORY]
• The U.S. Department of Education granted our Strive HI System a full three years of use, without conditions. [STORY]

The successes keep piling up and there’s not nearly enough room here to print them all. Visit our Success Stories online and follow our social media for the latest and greatest.

These success stories aren’t one-offs that get a few likes and then disappear. Taken together with systemwide reforms, they’re having an impact. In my meetings with our community partners, we’re seeing a mind shift about how people view public education in Hawaii. Rear Adm. Rick Williams, Navy Region Hawaii Commander, wrote that past concerns about public schools are not valid. “...schools near our bases have become better and stronger. They are now learning centers with outstanding academics and extracurricular programs.”

What’s true at our military-impacted schools is true broadly. You have a role to play. Share a success story from our website. Share your stories with us at doeinfo@k12.hi.us. Share your pride in serving Hawaii’s keiki.