Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2004
OUR SCHOOLS | ALIAMANU ELEMENTARY
Renovation overdue but morale is still strong
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
The facilities at Aliamanu Elementary are in bad shape, but the spirit of the teachers and staff is strong, according to principal Jeannie Sugimoto.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser The school was due for a $5 million renovation two years ago but is still waiting for the work to be scheduled. In the meantime, teachers do the best they can to teach while working around the cracked floors and doors, she said.
• What are you most proud of? "Our great teaching staff," principal Sugimoto said. "(They) are caring and knowledgeable."
• Best-kept secret: A new Transition Center, established last year to make the change to a new school as easy as possible for the many incoming pupils and their families, and its coordinator, Barbara Troegner.
• Everybody at our school knows: Head custodian Richard Estoesta, a retired federal fire chief and wild pig hunter who trains new teachers on fire safety and cooks kalua pig for the pupils.
• Our biggest challenge: The school's high transient rate. Fully 68 percent of its pupils are from military homes, and with military families leaving after an average of three years, maintaining good test scores is a challenge.
• What we need: Our long-overdue renovation, said Sugimoto.
• Projects: Installing the playground equipment that the PTA paid for last year. The school is working with its military partners to put it up.
• Special events: Halloween costume parade and May Day.
"We haven't passed the school facilities inspection the past two years," Sugimoto said. "We can't replace the (window) louvers, and the bathrooms need renovation desperately."
Samantha Caraballo, 9, right, and Scotty Koleski, 10, provide assistance on the lunch line at Aliamanu Elementary School.
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| Enrollment at 764
Where: 3265 Salt Lake Blvd. Phone: 421-4280. Web address: www.k12.hi.us/~aliamanu/welcome.html Principal: Jeannie Sugimoto, 16 years at school School nickname: Falcons School colors: Blue and white Enrollment: 764, down from more than 800 last year as surrounding military homes are renovated, leaving fewer families. Testing: Here's how Aliamanu Elementary pupils fared on the most recent standardized tests. Stanford Achievement Test: Listed is the combined percentage of pupils scoring average and above average, compared with the national combined average of 77 percent. Third-grade reading, 87.5 percent; math, 89.3 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 85.5 percent; math, 86.4 percent. Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards tests: Listed is the combined percentage of pupils meeting or exceeding state standards, and a comparison with the state average. Third-grade reading, 46.2 percent, compared with the state average of 41.9 percent; math, 20.7 percent, compared with state average of 24.1 percent. Fifth-grade reading: 55.6 percent, compared with state average of 40.8 percent; math, 27.3 percent, compared with state average of 19.6 percent. History: Aliamanu Elementary opened in 1957 in an old building that was once Pearl Harbor Intermediate. The following year, the school moved to its present site. Special programs or classes: Science enrichment and media communication. Computers: All grades have computer and Internet access from their classrooms. The school has two computer labs and one mobile lab. |
