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Lanakila, Kapalama, Kaimuki schools win Blue Ribbon

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Three public schools clinched the 2009 Hawaii Blue Ribbon Schools award yesterday for showing significant academic improvement and staying on track of strict goals set under the No Child Left Behind law.

Kaimuki Middle, and Kapalama and Lanakila elementary schools were awarded a $3,000 check from Frito-Lay of Hawaii and will represent the state in a national Blue Ribbon contest next year.

They were picked from 10 finalist schools honored for closing the achievement gap between student groups.

— Alexandre Da Silva



FULL STORY >>

By Alexandre Da Silva

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 19, 2008

(Single Page View) | Return to Paginated View

When students at Lanakila Elementary begin to fall behind, teachers quickly group them into small classes to help them catch up, often after school and without extra pay.

The effort has paid off.

SCHOOL SUCCESS

The Blue Ribbon honor is bestowed annually by the Hawaii Department of Education and Frito-Lay of Hawaii on schools that consistently perform well on standardized tests or that show significant academic improvement.

Each of the schools met state testing benchmarks this year under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

This year's three winners will receive $3,000 each from Frito-Lay of Hawaii and serve as the state's nominees in the national No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools program next year. They were picked from a list of 10 finalists; the other seven distinguished schools are:

» Education Laboratory Public Charter School.
» Enchanted Lake Elementary.
» Lanikai Elementary Public Charter School.
» Manoa Elementary.
» Mililani Ike Elementary.
» Noelani Elementary.
» Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary.

Source: Hawaii Education Department
Lanakila was among three public schools that received the 2009 Hawaii Blue Ribbon award yesterday. Kapalama Elementary and Kaimuki Middle also took the prestigious prize, which comes with a $3,000 check and recognizes schools posting substantial gains in test scores or for placing in the top 10 percent of state schools in reading and math.

The trio, picked from 10 finalists, will represent Hawaii in the 2009-10 National No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Winners will be announced next year.

The NCLB law requires an increasing percentage of students be able to read and solve math problems at grade level, culminating in 2014, when every child should be proficient. Educators have complained the law is unfair and punitive because schools do not get credit for overall improvements if groups of students fail.

Kaimuki Middle Principal Frank Fernandes said the law's rising test targets, while difficult to attain, push teachers and students to always do better.

"You can regard it as a challenge or give in to the temptation to dismiss it," he said.

He attributed his school's accomplishment in large part to a model in which teacher teams meet daily to review the progress of individual students and share techniques to help them improve.

In the 2007-08 academic year, 83 percent of Kaimuki Middle eighth-graders were proficient in reading and 52 percent were proficient in math -- above the federal benchmarks of 58 percent and 46 percent for each subject, respectively.

At Kapalama Elementary, where nearly 60 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of poverty, children have also exceeded the law's expectations.

"A lot of them come from not necessarily the best home environment, so it's really about looking at ways that we can support them," Principal Patricia Dang said. "It really is the whole school working together."

Lanakila Elementary Principal Michael Ono praised a local parish that has raised funds for the school's summer program, as well as teachers and students who worked after hours to raise test scores.

"It took a lot of hard work from the staff and the community," he said. "Children know, too, what they have to achieve. They are willing to go into our intervention program. Sometimes it's after school, and they may have to forgo some other activities to better themselves."

 

When students at Lanakila Elementary begin to fall behind, teachers quickly group them into small classes to help them catch up, often after school and without extra pay.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
The 2009 Hawaii Blue Ribbon winners are Kaimuki Middle School, above, and Lanakila and Kapalama elementary schools.

The effort has paid off.

SCHOOL SUCCESS

The Blue Ribbon honor is bestowed annually by the Hawaii Department of Education and Frito-Lay of Hawaii on schools that consistently perform well on standardized tests or that show significant academic improvement.

Each of the schools met state testing benchmarks this year under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

This year's three winners will receive $3,000 each from Frito-Lay of Hawaii and serve as the state's nominees in the national No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools program next year. They were picked from a list of 10 finalists; the other seven distinguished schools are:

» Education Laboratory Public Charter School.
» Enchanted Lake Elementary.
» Lanikai Elementary Public Charter School.
» Manoa Elementary.
» Mililani Ike Elementary.
» Noelani Elementary.
» Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary.

Source: Hawaii Education Department
Lanakila was among three public schools that received the 2009 Hawaii Blue Ribbon award yesterday. Kapalama Elementary and Kaimuki Middle also took the prestigious prize, which comes with a $3,000 check and recognizes schools posting substantial gains in test scores or for placing in the top 10 percent of state schools in reading and math.

The trio, picked from 10 finalists, will represent Hawaii in the 2009-10 National No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Winners will be announced next year.

The NCLB law requires an increasing percentage of students be able to read and solve math problems at grade level, culminating in 2014, when every child should be proficient. Educators have complained the law is unfair and punitive because schools do not get credit for overall improvements if groups of students fail.

Kaimuki Middle Principal Frank Fernandes said the law's rising test targets, while difficult to attain, push teachers and students to always do better.

"You can regard it as a challenge or give in to the temptation to dismiss it," he said.

He attributed his school's accomplishment in large part to a model in which teacher teams meet daily to review the progress of individual students and share techniques to help them improve.

In the 2007-08 academic year, 83 percent of Kaimuki Middle eighth-graders were proficient in reading and 52 percent were proficient in math -- above the federal benchmarks of 58 percent and 46 percent for each subject, respectively.

At Kapalama Elementary, where nearly 60 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of poverty, children have also exceeded the law's expectations.

"A lot of them come from not necessarily the best home environment, so it's really about looking at ways that we can support them," Principal Patricia Dang said. "It really is the whole school working together."

Lanakila Elementary Principal Michael Ono praised a local parish that has raised funds for the school's summer program, as well as teachers and students who worked after hours to raise test scores.

"It took a lot of hard work from the staff and the community," he said. "Children know, too, what they have to achieve. They are willing to go into our intervention program. Sometimes it's after school, and they may have to forgo some other activities to better themselves."

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