OUR SCHOOLS • KAPOLEI MIDDLE SCHOOL
Green, red, yellow, blue — the multitrack way

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kapolei Middle School principal Annette Nishikawa looked at a complicated color-coded classroom organization chart this week to help coordinate a multitrack schedule that begins Monday.

Sixth-grader Kevin Chafe and his dad, Doug, stopped at Kapolei Middle School this week to pick up T-shirts for physical-education classes and look over "success kits" offered for sale by counselor John Okinaka. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Students will be placed on one of four tracks — green, red, yellow or blue — with vacations at different times for students and faculty.

"We've been actively planning this for two years now," said Nishikawa, whose school, along with Kapolei Elementary, will be the third and fourth public schools statewide to go multitrack.

Staying ahead of the increasing student count has always been a problem for the school. When the school opened in 1999, enrollment was already 1,040, while state education officials had projected only 900.

But while the school will be busy this year operating under the new multitrack schedule, Nishikawa doesn't want that to overshadow the school's accomplishments. She is proud of the "yin and yang" mix of the campus, melding technology with culture and the performing arts.

"When the community helped design this school (in 1997), they didn't want it just focused solely on math and science; they felt there should be a spirituality or creativity behind it as well," Nishikawa said.

• What are you most proud of? "The teamwork that has gone into getting us to where we are today," Nishikawa said.

On the creative side, the school cafeteria-assembly hall doubles as a cultural center with a performing stage. The center also houses classes and rehearsal rooms for band, choir and drama. A small amphitheater outside the cafeteria is designed for 400 to 600 students.

Because the campus' performing venues include a hula mound, Kapolei Middle School is where secondary schools hold their kahiko competition every year.

The Kapolei campus' performances and concerts are shown on giant video screens like those at a stadium rock concert. Through video classes, students are taught how to operate the cameras under parental supervision.

Each of Kapolei Middle School's instructional classrooms has at least six computers for students. There are 60 additional computers in two computer labs.

All 70 teachers are given laptops for schoolwork. The laptops can connect with the school computer network to take attendance and receive morning bulletins.

While the school has been in existence only since 1999, Kapolei Middle has won its share of awards. Former sixth-grade language arts teacher Linda Uehara, who retired in June, was named the Leeward School District's outstanding teacher last school year. Nishikawa was selected by the National Association of Secondary School Principals as the outstanding middle-level state principal for 2002. And the Western Association of Schools and Colleges this month granted an interim term of accreditation to Kapolei Middle until June 2005.

• Best-kept secret: The heavy support that the school's staff gives to teachers and the families of students.

• Our biggest challenge: Making the transition to the multitrack schedule.

"Naturally, there have been a lot of questions about how this is going to work," said Nishikawa. "We can't please everyone with the multitrack schedule, but this is the only way we can deal with the student population."

• Projects: The school's emphasis on technology comes at a price. Nishikawa said licensing fees to operate much of the computer software can cost up to $100,000 per year, meaning school fairs and other events must be staged to raise money. The Fall Fest Carnival is among them.

Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.