Three elementary schools make the grade

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer

Three Hawai'i elementary schools were recognized yesterday as blue-ribbon schools, in part for reaching annual performance standards under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Liholiho Elementary School, Momilani Elementary School and Royal Elementary School were chosen from a pool of 24 public schools held up by the state Department of Education as models for achievement this year.

Each of the blue-ribbon schools will receive $3,000 from Frito-Lay of Hawai'i, the program's main sponsor, and will be considered for selection as national blue-ribbon schools that will be honored in Washington, D.C.

This is the first year in Hawai'i that the blue-ribbon school program has been linked directly to a school's performance under No Child Left Behind, a federal law that requires that all students be proficient in math, reading and science by 2014. Sixty-four percent of the state's public schools did not meet annual goals this year under the law.

At a luncheon yesterday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Pat Hamamoto, the state schools superintendent, praised all 24 schools and said administrators and students should celebrate their good work.

"We also know that now that you've met the standard, you have to continue to meet the standard," she said. "There is no sliding, guys, this is about moving forward."

The three blue-ribbon schools shared a common theme. Administrators said their success was dependent on the involvement of teachers, parents and others in the community.

"We can't do it alone," said Christina Small, the principal at Liholiho in Kaimuki, where 67 percent of students met the reading objective and 40 percent met the math objective this year. "It's about building teamwork and a connection."

At Momilani in Pearl City, about 70 percent of students go to the school under the DOE's geographic exception policy, so parents have chosen to send their children there. The school was a national blue-ribbon school in the 1996-97 school year.

"They come to school because they want to be there," said Momilani principal Doreen Higa. Seventy-nine percent of students reached the state standard in reading and 58 percent reached it in math. "You have to walk together to realize the dream for the kids," Higa said. "Then you have great results."

Ann Sugibayashi, the principal at Royal, said administrators and teachers do not expect recognition but admit that it is nice when it happens. At Royal, 45 percent of students met the state standard in reading and 21 percent met it in math.

"It's like icing on the cake for people to know that we're achieving," she said. "It's not about being satisfied, it's about looking down the road and seeing what can be done."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.