Three schools escape failing list
• DOE list of schools accepting transfers
• How to apply for transfer
• List of Hawai'i schools identifed as failing
By Jennifer Hiller and Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writers
Based on the latest standardized test scores, three Hawai'i schools have been removed from the list of those that have failed to meet state academic and performance standards, according to the Department of Education.
That leaves 82 schools deemed "failing," and under terms of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, parents of children at these campuses can ask to transfer to better-performing campuses or request private tutoring at the state's expense.
They have until Sept. 30 to do so under the provisions of the act, a new federal education law that mandates yearly improvement in the nation's high-poverty schools.
The state this summer had identified 85 schools considered to be failing on measures of math, reading and attendance.
But yesterday, August Ahrens Elementary in Waipahu, Helemano Elementary in Wahiawa and Waimea Middle School on the Big Island were removed from that list.
In August the federal government said that districts could look at the latest standardized test scores to determine what schools, if any, could move off the list. If schools show improvements in all areas — math, reading, attendance and another measure chosen by the school such as parent involvement, discipline or grades — for two years in a row, they are no longer considered to be failing.
At Helemano yesterday, vice principal Jim Albano was enthusiastic about the progress that pulled his school off the list, and credited the faculty's hard work plus extra tutoring in reading by part-time teachers both after school and during school hours for the good results.
"It takes the whole tribe to turn this around," Albano said. "This has been a three- to four-year pro-ject for us."
Focusing on kindergarten to third grade — the early basic years, Albano said— part-time teachers rearranged their schedules and put in their own time. About one-third of the 620-child student body received extra in-class help, with about one-fourth receiving extra after-school tutoring in reading.
Assistant Superintendent Kathy Kawaguchi said it takes time for newly implemented programs to show progress. "It's not that schools haven't been trying to meet these objectives. Many of them are instituting new reading programs and those take time to see the effects, and I think that's what you're beginning to see."
No schools can be added to the failing list until this time next year, when the next round of test scores returns to the district, under a decision issued in August by the federal government. That means that even if schools performed poorly on the test this year, it does not adversely affect them.
The ruling also means that the pool of students eligible to move to another school because their school is failing could shrink.
Parents have nine more days to apply for student transfers or private tutoring. Because of that deadline the DOE has no idea how many children will apply, move schools or need tutoring.
"The parents may be waiting to see if their schools drop out (of the list)," Kawaguchi said.
Families can apply for both tutoring or a transfer, but can only take advantage of one of the options. Children who move to new schools cannot also have private tutoring paid for by the state.
Education officials acknowledge that students in rural schools will have far fewer choices under the law than their peers on O'ahu.
And 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.
