Our Schools • Mililani Middle School
Mililani multi-track school offers blended curriculum
By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer
To symbolize peace, Mililani Middle School sixth-grader Nicolas Hamamoto chose a bee.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It won't attack you unless you attack it," he explained to an audience of parents and school staff last week as his schoolmates ceremonially "planted" their hand-painted "peace rocks" in their peace garden.
Keith Jantoc and Nick Mendes were among the sixth-graders at Mililani Middle School who created a peace garden.
The peace ceremony was the culmination of the students' studies on conflict. Their rocks showed doves, rainbows and images of a united Earth and the students talked about respect, understanding and freedom.
They were joined by members of the 100th Infantry Battalion, who placed their own peace rocks in the garden, sharing their thoughts on peace that they wrested from the reality of World War II.
The peace garden is the work of the school's sixth-grade "green track." Mililani Middle has four student "tracks," which operate on staggered calendars, allowing the school to accommodate a higher enrollment — an important factor in the rapidly expanding Mililani area.
The school became the first in the state to use the multi-track system when it opened three years ago. Principal Roger Kim said while most people focus on the school's "oddball" year-round calendar, they tend not to notice the programs, which provide for the students' personal, academic and developmental needs.
Mililani Middle teachers "team" together to create an interdisciplinary curriculum that ties together subjects such as history, English, social studies, science and math.
"Things aren't taught in isolation," Kim said. "The students can see that what you do in one area is interrelated in what you learn or need in another area."
• What are you most proud of? "Our teachers. I think we have a terrific staff ... and I think they have pulled together and made the most of the opportunity to open a new school with a calendar that you do not find anywhere else."
• Everybody at our school knows: Security guard Tracy Momohara. "He's everywhere. He is the man who is ultra-, super-conscientious and would do anything for the school." "Mr. Tracy" plays Santa Claus at Christmas, helps decorate for special functions and takes care of a lot of the details.
• What we need: "More multi-track schools. Then the calendar becomes more commonplace and more conventional and ... we won't be looked at as the one in right field." The multi-track system has drawn criticism from parts of the community and also can make it difficult to attract teachers.
• Projects: In August, families will host about 20 students from Ikeda, Japan. Kim hopes Mililani Middle students will be able to return the visit in the next couple of years.
| At a glance | |
| • | Where: 95-1140 Lehiwa St., Mililani |
| • | Phone: 626-7355 |
| • | Web address: www.milmdl.k12.hi.us |
| • | Principal: Roger Kim was born in Wahiawa but educated in California. When he graduated, he chose to return to Hawai'i and joined the Department of Education as a teacher in 1970. He helped launch Mililani Middle School three years ago and has been its principal ever since. |
| • | School nickname: Blazers |
| • | School colors: Teal, black and silver |
| • | Enrollment: The school can accommodate 1,350 students at one time, but the multi-track system enables the current enrollment of 1,800 students in grades 6 through 8. But that already is at capacity and the Mililani area continues to grow. Four portable buildings will be added this summer and other options are being explored to increase capacity. |
| • | SATs: Here's how Mililani Middle students fared on the most recent Stanford Achievement Test. Listed is the combined percentage of students scoring average and above average, compared with the national combined average of 77 percent. Eighth grade, reading: 89 percent. Math: 91 percent. |
| • | History: Mililani Middle School opened in the 1998-1999 school year as the state's first multi-track school. It remains the only secondary school using the multi-track system. |
| • | Special features: The campus was designed with input from the community, teachers and administrators. The layout is conducive to school "teaming" activities and groups grades together. |
| • | Special programs or classes: The school schedule is arranged to allow students to take more electives and try their hands at different activities including a full music program with band, orchestra, chorus and a string program. Another unique program is "Mini Societies," a lesson in economics in which sixth-graders set up and run their own businesses. |
| • | Computers: The school is completely wired, with about 500 computers. Each classroom has one computer for the teacher and four for students. There also are computers in the library, the two multimedia labs and industrial tech areas. |
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