OUR SCHOOLS • ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL
Focus on individuals helps students unlock potential

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Beverly Sandobal got so much out of her experience at St. Joseph School in Waipahu that she came back. And now she's the principal.

Petra Ozoa, St. Joseph School computer teacher, helps kindergartner Ashley Olegario with a project. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

A handful of teachers are alumni, and many of the kids enrolled are children of former students.

"That's really something we take pride in," Sandobal said. "Hopefully our graduates see how we've contributed to who they've become and want to give back."

Sandobal has seen the changes at St. Joseph — and is proud to have affected some of them.

The biggest change the school has gone through in the past year has been the way teachers relate to students.

Instead of offering only one way for students to learn a particular subject, teachers are trying to make learning more individualized, building on the strengths of each child to create an environment that's more positive and rewarding.

"Children are wired differently," said vice principal Diane Esdicul. "They think and learn differently."

St. Joseph is a small private school right off the highway in the middle of downtown Waipahu. Most of the 416 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade are Filipino and Catholic from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.

"Our kids are very unassuming and welcoming," Esdicul said. "They have a lot of desire to do a lot of things."

That was motivation to look at students — and teaching — differently.

Last year seven Catholic schools in the Leeward area pooled their resources to bring noted educator Linda Tilden to lead a two-day workshop with teachers and administrators that focused on individualized learning. The workshop stressed that children have different strengths and weaknesses. Identifying them, then working on them, will promote a more positive and effective learning environment, Tilden said.

"Every child can succeed," Esdicul said. "We need to know their strengths and areas of growth to help them succeed. ... It's not what the child can't do but what they can do. It's a whole different approach."

"We see the child actively involved in taking responsibility in their learning," Sandobal said. "They're realizing they are smart, just a different kind of smart."

"Teaching has really changed," Esdicul said. "It's so much richer now. We now understand why children learn differently and pinpoint exactly how we can help them. That's what I like about this."

• What are you most proud of? "I like the whole family atmosphere here," Esdicul said. "We want people to walk into our school and feel welcome." Sandobal said she's proud of the strong parental involvement with the school. "They feel they have ownership," she said. "It's not just our school, it's everybody's school."

• Best-kept secret? Its size. "People don't realize how big the school is," Sandobal said. The school extends from the highway back into a sizeable lot that holds four buildings and a cafeteria.

• Everybody at our school knows: Father Joven "Jo Jo" Junio, the pastor at St. Joseph Church. He has built a strong partnership between the parish and the school. "He's very charismatic and supportive," Sandobal said. "He's a visionary."

• Our biggest challenge: To maintain a reasonable tuition. At $3,900 a year, St. Joseph is considered to offer a low- to middle-range tuition. And they'd like to keep it that way. So the school offers families a chance to have some of the tuition subsidized through its yearly fund-raiser. If a family sells more than 200 raffle tickets, the rest of the money from ticket sales goes toward the child's tuition. "It's our way to help parents because we just don't have enough financial aid," Sandobal said.

• What we need: St. Joseph needs upgraded technology. Sandobal said the school needs more cable-ready TVs in the classrooms to allow teachers to use them for newscasting and as visual aids. The classrooms also need air-conditioning; right now they have fans.

• Projects: The school is planning its annual Catholic Schools Week display and performance in January at Pearlridge Center.

• Special events: St. Joseph is participating in a Christmas concert at the Hawai'i Okinawa Center on Dec. 18 and in the Waipahu Christmas Parade and Song Fest on Dec. 21.