Few choices for students of Neighbor Isles, rural areas

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Not all Hawai'i parents will have the same choices under the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal law that mandates yearly improvement in high-poverty schools.

Under the law, schools that fail to improve may lose students to better-performing campuses or be forced to provide private tutoring, among other sanctions. The state identified 85 high-poverty schools this summer that are considered to be failing on measures of math, reading and attendance.

Education officials acknowledge that students in rural schools will have far fewer choices under the law than their peers on O'ahu. For some, transferring to another campus could mean several hours a day on a school bus.

And while the Department of Education plans to provide parents with a list of private tutoring companies by the end of September, the options on some of the Neighbor Islands are likely to be limited.

The situation is most extreme on Moloka'i, where about 1,600 students attend five schools, all high-poverty schools that failed to meet the state's academic standards.

The U.S. Department of Education has said the state does not have to fly children to other islands to attend a new school, so Moloka'i parents do not have the option of a school transfer.

Instead, the DOE is looking for private tutoring companies that could provide online classes which would consider expanding to Moloka'i. State educators also are beefing up their own programs in rural, high-poverty areas.

Eight tutoring companies have responded to a call by the DOE for supplemental services. At least one can offer a program on Moloka'i, although it may have to be online, said Elaine Takenaka, special programs management specialist helping to oversee implementation of the federal law.

"The worst-case scenario is that we try all avenues and there is no available provider who can meet whatever the needs are," Takenaka said. "We can ask for a waiver. I'm not anticipating that. I truly think there are providers."

In case Moloka'i parents cannot choose private tutoring immediately, the department has begun working on ways to expand after-school programs, said Allen Ashitomi, complex-area superintendent for Moloka'i.

"We have some other things as alternatives," he said. "This is additional support for students."

The department has a new literacy tutor-training program that should boost the island's roster of qualified reading tutors. Moloka'i schools have started their own reading programs to help develop vocabulary and standard English skills, he said.

All Moloka'i schools take part in the 21st Century Learning Center through a federal grant that pays for an academic after-school and summer program for all students. The DOE may try to supplement the learning centers as part of complying with the No Child Left Behind Act, Ashitomi said.

Matt Yamashita, a Moloka'i education coordinator who offers a digital video training program to students through the 21st Century program, said it could be difficult to find qualified tutors on the island.

"There's a definite need here," Yamashita said. "It's a great opportunity, but there's no options here. The only programs we've got going here are funded through the federal grant. No one even seems to consider the possibility of having something here."

Wren Wescoatt, executive director of the nonprofit College Connections, and a native of Moloka'i, said his agency hopes to offer tutoring on O'ahu this year, and is recruiting tutors on the Big Island, Maui, Kaua'i and Moloka'i.

But he said services would not be available on the Neighbor Islands for several months.

Wescoatt said tutoring companies have had no trouble finding tutors on O'ahu, which has many graduate students looking for part-time work. But the Neighbor Islands are different, he said.

"You have people with advanced degrees on all of the islands who are really qualified to tutor. It's a matter of finding them and convincing them that this is something they may want to do, and that these are kids who they want to work with," he said.

Kumon Learning Centers has programs on O'ahu, Maui and the Big Island, but has not been able to expand to other islands yet, said vice president Matt Lupsha. "We're trying to recruit," he said.

Lupsha said Kumon wants to make sure it has tutors in place before opening more centers.

Not all tutoring companies are interested in being on the state's list. Geri Kunishima, founder and director of Kupono Learning Center, said she her tutoring service does not plan to apply for to join the DOE list of accepted programs.

"It's a great, great sadness what is happening with school children across the state," Kunishima said. "I think there's more to be done than just tutoring. It's like a Band-Aid."

Even on O'ahu, DOE officials suspect that more parents may take advantage of tutoring than transferring, because slots are limited at better schools and any transfers this first year of the law would take place after the school year has begun.

That has been the experience across the nation, with little rush by families to seize the school transfer option.

Parents can apply for either option now. "It's a choice between moving your child to another school or staying back to receive direct support," said Paul Ban, Title I specialist at the DOE.

Applications are due Sept. 30, but the DOE is asking families to apply as soon as they are interested.

"That way, we can see where the pockets of need are as we look for appropriate vendors," Ban said.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.