OUR SCHOOLS • QUEEN LILI'UOKALANI ELEMENTARY
Curriculum promotes character, critical thinking

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Last Halloween, John Flynn arrived to work in a clown suit, complete with face paint and a colorful wig.

In an addition to signed photographs of the queen, the Lili'uokalani Elementary School library houses a bust of Hawai'i's last monarch. The Kaimuki school opened in 1912. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

In his second year as principal, Flynn has challenged his staff to do the same with the school's mission of creating a caring, nurturing environment that guides students to be healthy in mind, body and spirit, to be successful in living and learning, and to have a strong character.

"We say this, but what does that mean?" he said. "What are we going to do about it?"

The focus this year has been on character education, teaching students to care about one another and the community.

Using a national positive youth development program, teachers have integrated the values of team-building, connecting with family, respecting the environment and setting goals into their curriculum. Every year the school does community service projects based on lessons in class. And every month students learn a new character word. This month it's "honesty."

"We're making sure we're not just using words," Flynn said, "but we're going to prove it, too."

Changing the way the kids think, or approach challenges, is another part of the curriculum modification.

This year, teachers are encouraging students to think critically, to take control of a problem by thinking it through. They have the children determine the purpose of the problem, question it, find an interpretation, look at different points of view, then realize possible solutions.

This step-by-step process of problem-solving may seem too cerebral for grade-schoolers, but Flynn believes it will encourage students to ask questions and find solutions on their own.

The intimate size of Lili'uokalani Elementary — about 150 students in preschool through sixth grade — makes the Kaimuki school an ideal environment for this kind of learning, Flynn said.

"It's like a private public school," he said. "That's the feeling here."

He credits the school's success to the dedication and work ethic of his staff, including teachers who volunteer their time after school to tutor students.

"We are showing ourselves to be a caring, supportive community," he said. "We still have challenges like everybody else, but we don't dwell on them. We can step up to the plate and handle ourselves and do a good job."

Strong involvement from parents helps, too.

"We really have a good thing going here," he said.

What are you most proud of? "The togetherness and sense of community we have at the school," Flynn said. "It's really a positive here."

Best-kept secret: The school's Junior Police Officer program, which scored a perfect 100 percent in last year's islandwide drill competition. The school also has two ducks and five chickens, which the fourth-grade class raises. Fourth-grade teacher Malcolm Yorkston has incorporated the feathered friends into his class, teaching students about animal behavior and biology. Every Friday is "French Toast Friday," when students eat the eggs their chickens have laid.

Everybody at our school knows: Wayne Matsukawa, the health aide, who also oversees the JPO and basketball programs. "I've never seen a health aide feel that connected to a school," Flynn said.

Our biggest challenge: Dealing with the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal education law that mandates yearly improvements in the nation's high-poverty schools. With its small enrollment, the school will most likely be targeted for transfer students, said Flynn.

What we need: More parking. There aren't enough parking stalls to accommodate faculty and staff. And with no turnaround, parents aren't able to pick up and drop off their children on campus. Students have to be dropped off at the sidewalk or walk to school from home. "We want to expand parent accessibility to the school," Flynn said.

Projects: Using money from a three-year federal grant, the school has implemented the national "Everyday Math" program. Instead of focusing on equations and formulas, the program asks students to explain their answers and use analytical thinking to solve problems.

Special events: The school plans a Halloween event, where families can gather in the cafetorium that evening and go trick-or-treating as a group in the neighborhood.