OUR SCHOOLS • JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Waikiki workers' children enjoy cozy campus

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

A strange, cloaked figure has been seen at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Waikiki, going by the name Capt. Zero. No one knows for sure who the masked person with the balloon muscles is, but the students know Capt. Zero is there to help.

Myung Suk Koh, playing a wolf, prepares to pounce on Akane Kashiwazaki during character-building time with Grace and Mike Humerickhouse of the Alliance for Drama Education, part of the Artists in the Schools program at Jefferson Elementary School. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Word is that Hee, who will don a costume for any occasion, is herself Capt. Zero.

"If I act like this and they can see me and laugh with me, they will be more inclined to do these things and not be afraid," Hee said. "We do crazy things like this to make the children feel very comfortable. If you can make school a place students want to come, they will become lifelong learners and want to pursue their education. They need happy memories of school."

Jefferson Elementary sits on the edge of Waikiki, across from the Honolulu Zoo. It has 15 buildings, including a cafeteria and library, for kindergarten through sixth grade. It also is home to O'ahu's only elementary-level orthopedic unit for handicapped children, Hee said.

"I really have three schools," Hee said. "Shriners Hospital school is affiliated with us. Quite a few of our students go there for treatment and then return. The orthopedic unit is for the severely, multiply handicapped or orthopedically handicapped. We try to have them mainstreamed into the regular classrooms as much as possible."

Jefferson was one of 13 schools selected last month for the Pre-Plus early-education program for children from low-income families, and construction on a new building is about to begin on the 14-acre campus. The $5 million program will start accepting 3- and 4-year-old students as early as March.

Under Pre-Plus, a public-private partnership, the state provides buildings rent-free, and licensed and accredited private providers run the preschools.

Most students' parents work in Waikiki's large hotels and businesses. A third of the students come from single-parent homes and more than half qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches. One-third of the students are in the program for English as a second language.

"In Hawai'i we talk about the melting pot," Hee said. "This is the only school that has so many different cultures represented. Right now we have 27 different dialects and languages spoken by the students from around the world.

"Most of the teachers speak a second language, which makes the students feel comfortable. We don't encourage speaking a foreign language — the idea is to learn English — but it is nice to know that if, say, a Samoan child doesn't understand something, we can call our music teacher and she can speak to him in Samoan."

• What are you most proud of? The dedicated teachers and community support, Hee said. "Forming business partnerships has been one of my goals. When I came here I didn't see a strong relationship between the school and the community. Now we have a good relationship with the police department and many businesses."

• Everybody at our school knows: The volunteer lunchroom supervisor, "Uncle" Willie Harris. Harris, a retired veteran, was the parent/tutor coordinator at the school and has been working for free for years.

• Our biggest challenge: Keeping up with the changing demographics and poor economy. "We need to meet the needs of our students," Hee said. "More students are receiving free and reduced lunches due to the Sept. 11 tragic events, which has dampened spirits, and many parents have lost their jobs."

• What we need: Playground equipment. The old equipment was either taped off or removed; new equipment must be accessible to the handicapped, and is expected to cost about $50,000. The Friends of Jefferson School is working to raise money.

• Projects: Getting air-conditioning in all classrooms and rewiring the school for computer access.

• Special events: The school will hold its annual talent show March 6. Students, faculty and staff gather in the cafeteria to perform.

To get your school profiled, contact education editor Dan Woods at 525-5441 or e-mail dwoods@honoluluadvertiser.com.

	At a glance
•	Where: 324 Kapahulu Ave., Waikiki
•	Phone: 971-6922
•	Web address: None
•	Principal: Vivian S.M. Hee, 11 years at school
•	School nickname: Surfers
•	School colors: Blue and white
•	Enrollment: 589 students, full capacity
•	SATs: Here's how Jefferson students fared on the most recent Stanford Achievement Test. Listed are the combined percentage of students scoring average and above average, compared with the national combined average of 77 percent. Third-grade reading, 81 percent; math, 79 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 87 percent; math, 87 percent.
•	History: The school opened in September 1933 with an enrollment of 250 and six staff members. Many of the original wooden buildings were replaced in the 1960s. The school's auditorium, which was burned to the ground by an arsonist in 1980, was never replaced.
•	Special features: Offers the only elementary-level orthopedic unit for severely handicapped children on O'ahu.
•	Special programs or classes: A grant from the Artists in the Schools program is paying for performing arts skills classes; a grant from the Asian, European and Pacific Languages program is providing Japanese classes; and a Malihini grant is helping foreign students and parents adjust to school and the American way of life.
•	Computers: At least one in every classroom and a computer lab in the library.