Aloha, HIDOE Community –

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

Investing in digital literacy with PBS Hawai‘i and HIKI NŌ

The Department is excited to embark on a new partnership with PBS Hawaiʻi and HIKI NŌ. We've entered into a formal agreement as a pledge to enrich the intellectual landscape of public schools through the deliberate fusion of digital media and the Hawaiian art of storytelling.

The HIKI NŌ program on PBS Hawaiʻi is the first and only weekly student news show with a statewide network of schools, engaging over 90 public, private and charter schools. Under the mentorship of teachers and industry volunteers, students weave narratives broadcast not just to Hawaiʻi, but to a global audience. Through this program, students have access to state-of-the-art resources, hands-on learning, and a national stage for their stories.

The training and experience through HIKI NŌ has helped many of our students successfully compete at the annual Student Television Network (STN) National Convention, which aims to support, promote and recognize excellence in scholastic broadcast journalism, filmmaking and multimedia. In March, 11 HIDOE schools won a record 45 awards at the STN competition in Long Beach!

Formalizing this partnership with PBS Hawaiʻi and HIKI NŌ solidifies the Department's commitment to invest in our students’ digital literacy, including digital storytelling.

This ongoing collaboration will include, for example, dynamic teacher and student training workshops in digital media skills, seasonal challenges to catalyze competitive excellence among teacher and student teams, and virtual workshops to extend the geographical reach of our educational initiatives.

The latest episode of HIKI NŌ features a special collection of Maui students from Baldwin High and Kīhei Elementary sharing what makes Maui unique. See here for an upcoming training opportunity and stay tuned for more!