Our Schools | Waialua High & Intermediate
Students make leap into new millennium

By Will Hoover
Advertiser North Shore Writer

Waialua High and Intermediate School was established in 1936 at the foot of Mt. Ka'ala, on O'ahu's rural North Shore. For the remainder of the 20th century, virtually every classroom in the school had one electrical wall outlet.

Danialle Calaustro, 15, works on a digital video camera in the Waialua High School Media Center with instructor Andrew Cole. The school has rapidly outgrown its one electrical outlet per classroom. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Then the mill shut down in 1996, while the country was experiencing a technological revolution. All at once the educational dynamic changed. One plug-in per room was not enough.

"Until this summer you couldn't plug in computers here, because there were so few outlets," said principal Aloha Coleman. "A microwave and a coffee pot in the teacher's lounge would blow out the whole building. Even if we had computers, we couldn't use them. So we began retrofitting the buildings.

"It's too soon for us to have a Web address," Coleman said. "But our students are designing a school Web page. Now that we've finally got adequate power, we're in the process of rewiring the school. By the end of the school year, every classroom will have Internet connectivity."

Coleman, principal at Waialua for three years, said the school has increased emphasis on advising, counseling, parent meetings and field trips to colleges and other higher-education facilities. Initial resistance came from the parents, not from the students.

"Remember, this was a plantation town. For generations people here had grown up thinking, once you're out of school, you go to work," she said. "And for most people here, that meant going to work at the sugar mill.

When the mill closed, Waialua High and Intermediate had more than 1,000 students. Enrollment has since dropped by more than 300 students.

Coleman said it's too soon to know how the fallout from Sept. 11 will affect the school, but there's no doubt that the town has felt the impact.

"This is a small school in a geographically remote area that is economically depressed," Coleman said. "Sixty percent of the students qualify for free and reduced-cost lunches. The families are struggling. They need the help of their kids. So they tell them, 'Just get out of school and go to work.'

"We've worked hard to dispel the myth that students can just do that."

Coleman, who is intensely proud of her school, faculty and students, believes Waialua offers its young people distinct advantages that contribute largely to the school's can-do attitude.

"Waialua isn't a transient community. Everyone here has grown up with each other. There's no way a child here can be anonymous. Once a teacher has been here two or three years, they know every face on campus."

Among the obvious benefits is that "students can't get away with anything."

Adds vice-principal Wilfred "Willie" Keola: "Since there are only two elementary schools that feed into this school — Waialua Elementary and Hale'iwa Elementary — there's a nurturing process that continues here in grades 7 through 12."

That includes students in the upper classes, Keola said, who frequently mentor their younger counterparts.

The school's emphasis is academics, Coleman said.

"I would like to say, though, that in the athletic arena I believe our students are the best sportsmen and sportswomen you'll find anywhere. These kids understand that it's not about winning and losing — it's how you play the game."

• What are you most proud of? "We have put into place our plan to get as many of our kids as possible into post-secondary education. Last year's graduating class had 95 percent of the students go into some sort of post-secondary education. That includes 4-year colleges, 2-year colleges, trade schools, military and job-training programs."

• Best-kept secret: "We can compete nationally in all areas. Our students go to national History Day and Science Fair finals. Our robotics team was part of an alliance that took first place in the Western regionals."

• Biggest challenge: "To offer comprehensive programs with limited staff and resources. We have a faculty of 65 serving 775 students in grades 7 though 12, both in core academic areas and elective areas — music, art and foreign language programs, as well as vocational training that includes graphics, photography, electronics, business and running wood and auto shops."

• What we need: "Our biggest need is technology. We want to prepare our students for the 21st century."

• Special events: "Every student at Waialua High and Intermediate participates in History Day and Science Fair projects, including school-level competitions. The biggest special event of the year is the Ed Fair, held next year on May 2, where kids at all three Waialua schools will showcase their best work."

Where: 67-160 Farrington Highway

Phone: 637-8200

Web address: None yet

Principal: Aloha Coleman

School nickname: Bulldogs

School colors: Scarlet and gray

School enrollment: 775

History: founded 1936

SATs: The percentage of Wai-alua High students scoring average or above average on the latest Stanford Achievement Test. (The comparable national figure is 77 percent.)

10TH grade reading: 64 percent

Math: 70 percent

Computers: The school has a media center with computer work stations and digital video capabilities. All classrooms will be wired for Internet access by the end of the school year.

To get your school profiled, contact education editor Elizabeth Kieszkowski at ekieszkowski@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8049.