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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 21, 2003

OUR SCHOOLS • SALT LAKE ELEMENTARY
Resourceful campus refuses to give up after budget cut

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

As school leaders see it, the story of Salt Lake Elementary doesn't begin with a resounding success or a financial windfall, but rather with a loss.

Carol Neeley teaches her first-grade class a lesson in computers. When Salt Lake Elementary lost its designation as a high-poverty campus — along with the money that came with it — the school managed to find other resources.

Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Five years ago, the school lost about $130,000 from its annual budget — money that had been used for textbooks, teacher training and the like.

It happened when the state tightened its definition of what it meant to be a high-poverty campus. Federal Title I dollars for high-poverty schools, coveted by schools for the flexibility they allow, stopped flowing to Salt Lake in 1999.

So the school got creative.

Instead of losing programs or staff, officials organized. They started writing grant applications to make up for those lost dollars.

"That population of kids always has additional issues with learning and they've got extra social and emotional needs. Losing Title I made us think about different things," said principal Duwayne Abe. "We had to think how to address that group of kids because none of them had left the school. I think our story begins when we left Title I."

Curriculum coordinator Judy Kaya also became the school's grant writer. In the past three years, the school has received $162,000 in grants.

They also took a hard look at their curriculum, especially in reading, and decided that it wasn't coordinated from grade-to-grade the way they wanted. With the help of fund-raising from the Parent-Teacher Association, the school replaced its old reading texts.

Officials rallied their teachers. And they looked to make changes that were free. While many other Hawai'i schools have been able to buy curriculum programs known as school reform models, Salt Lake Elementary could no longer afford to consider that option.

"We couldn't afford those programs without Title I," Abe said. "We studied those programs. We looked at things that were no cost and we adopted them."

The school has two 90-minute reading periods each day. To break classrooms into smaller groups, everyone at the school — including Kaya, the music teacher and technology teacher — takes a reading group. Those uninterrupted literacy blocks are a key component of many school reform models, but Salt Lake has done it at no cost.

"Our dream is to have all the students proficient," Abe said. "That focus is on student learning no matter what."

• What are you most proud of? Salt Lake Elementary has made a major push to improve the quality of its instruction. "We call the teachers our human capital," Abe said. "We have to invest in them in order for our students to achieve. We feel the professional development is the key." The school has written grants to be able to train its teachers throughout the school year and brings in a consultant once a year. All teachers have had one day off per quarter to go to workshops, meet with grade-level peers and brainstorm for new ideas. "The richness of that conversation is what we're banking on that will help the kids," Kaya said.

• Best-kept secret: The school runs its own professional development academies in the summer designed to help teachers earn the professional development credits they need to advance on the state's pay scale. This summer, the school offered a course on writing in science, taught by a professor from Cal Poly Tech. Teachers will continue to work on the class throughout the semester, incorporate the work in their classroom and can earn up to five credits for their work by January.

• Everybody knows: Principal Duwayne Abe. "He's visible," Kaya said. "Every morning and every afternoon he's greeting the students or saying goodbye. He keeps the teachers on the same page. Mr. Abe is a tutor. He models for the teachers. They know that he supports them."

• What we need: Classrooms. With a large population and lots of special education students on campus, Salt Lake Elementary has run out of classroom space. The school is designed to hold about 750 students but usually has around 820. Classes are being taught in workrooms because of the overflow. "This year we have 10 special education teachers," Abe said. "Last year we had eight special education teachers, and we were still in closets. It's our greatest need. You can't do without those classrooms."

The school also hopes to get parents more involved on the campus.

• Special events: There are several annual events, including student musical performances, parent nights and a literacy showcase, where student work goes on display. The school also sponsors a Fun Run each year.

• • •

At a glance

• Where: 1131 Ala Lilikoi St., Salt Lake

• Phone: 831-7870

• Principal: Duwayne Abe, who has been principal for nearly two years and previously served as vice principal at the school.

• School nickname: Salt Lake Dolphins

• School colors: Blue and Red

• Enrollment: About 820 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Salt Lake has about five classes per grade level and 50 teachers.

• Founded: 1970

• Computers: The school has a computer lab and at least one computer in every classroom.

• Testing:

Stanford Achievement Test: Listed is the combined percentage of students scoring average and above average, compared with the national combined average of 77 percent. Third-grade reading, 82.5 percent; third-grade math, 81.2 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 80 percent; fifth-grade math, 82.8 percent.

Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards test: Listed is the combined percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards, and a comparison with state averages. Third-grade reading: 33.6 percent; statewide average, 42.3 percent. Math: 16 percent; statewide average, 20.2 percent. Fifth-grade reading: 47.6 percent; statewide average, 43.4 percent. Math: 20.6 percent; statewide average, 21.8 percent.