OUR SCHOOLS • ALA WAI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Community partners enrich learning
By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer
Ala Wai Elementary School has a lot of friends that help make a big difference in the lives and education of its diverse student population.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
The school has been adopted by the Rotary Club of Diamond Head, which recently donated 101 pairs of rubber slippers for children at the school. The club members also donate school supplies and books, volunteer as class tutors and provide labor and fund-raising money for school beautification projects.
Ala Wai Elementary School fifth-graders Christine Dao, Kayla Benyish, Jaralyn Matsumura and Saeko Yonashiro, all 10, focus in on a history project in the school's computer center.
The school also has formed partnerships with the University of Hawai'i and community groups to bring a variety of tutoring programs to campus. Through a partnership with UH, Ala Wai also has Project Awesome, a before- and after-school tutoring program paid for by a federal grant.
"We have a lot of partnerships," said Principal Charlotte Unni. "We couldn't survive without their help."
Members of Club 100, veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion whose members served in the Japanese American military unit during World War II, became friends with school faculty during the teachers' strike last year. The club is a stone's throw from the school, and it became a welcome rest spot for the strikers.
Club 100 members now are welcomed guests on campus during Christmas parties and to help students learn about the war as part of the school's intergenerational program.
"They are like our own grandchildren," said 86-year-old veteran Raymond Nosaka.
The school is along the Ala Wai Canal in the shadow of Iolani School. Iolani seventh-graders have befriended the school and help tutor Ala Wai second-graders.
About one-third of Ala Wai's students speak English as a second language, which has created a great need for tutoring, Unni said.
About 57 percent of the children at Ala Wai qualified for the free or reduced-price lunch program.
• What are you most proud of? The many support programs at the school to help students, Unni said.
• Best-kept secret: Renowned 'ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro is an alumnus of Ala Wai and has promised to perform at the school's 50th anniversary celebration.
• Everybody at our school knows: Volunteer parent Lucy Teal and dedicated head custodian Auntie Mabel Punzal.
• Our biggest challenge: Working with and supporting parents who don't speak English to help develop their children's language and reading skills.
• What we need: Tutors, a computer technician, playground equipment and volunteers to help with the upcoming classroom renovation project.
• Projects: The school will undergo a major renovation project next year including all classrooms and its playground.
• Special events: The annual book fair Feb. 24-28 is a fund-raiser for the school's literacy program.
To get your school profiled, contact education editor Dan Woods by phone at 525-5441 or by e-mail, dwoods@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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| At a glance
• Where: 503 Kamoku St. • Phone: 973-0070. • Web address: www.alawai.k12.hi.us/home.nsf • Principal: Charlotte Unni, two years at the school. • School nickname: Menehunes. • School colors: Yellow and green. • Enrollment: 552 students, below capacity of about 600. • SATs: Here's how Ala Wai 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. Third grade: reading 83 percent, math 84 percent. Fifth grade: reading 79 percent, math 85 percent. • History: The school opened in September 1954 and is part of the Kaimuki complex. • Special features: The school has a popular music program headed by teacher Jolene Kim. • Special programs or classes: Ala Wai is home to the Kaimuki School for Adults, which offers English classes for parents and has a computer lab on campus. • Computers: The school is fully networked and has two labs with 27 computers. Every classroom has Internet access. |
