Posted on: Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Schools get low ratings by military parents

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer

Military parents are generally more satisfied with Hawai'i's public schools than two years ago, but they believe more improvement is needed, particularly in providing adequate textbooks and facilities, according to a survey released yesterday by the U.S. Pacific Command.

Parents also are concerned that students do not treat each other with respect and that schools do not address discipline issues fairly or in a timely manner — with satisfaction in both areas showing slight declines since last year.

Military parents overall gave the public schools lukewarm scores, with approval ratings in only five of 20 categories rising above the 70th percentile — and only 58 percent of parents saying they would recommend their child's school to others.

The survey results were released yesterday at the third annual meeting of the Joint Venture Education Forum, a partnership among local military leaders, the Department of Education and business and community groups. One of the group's goals is to get more federal money for schools with high military populations.

While there were bright spots — most notably a big improvement in the perception of adequate access to computer equipment — it was clear that the JVEF still has a ways to go toward its goal of improving perceptions.

Reached after the meeting, Marine wife Gretchen Power said Hawai'i's schools have such a "horrible reputation" among military families that those with school-aged children dread being stationed here.

"I was shocked when I moved here," she said. But in the 10 years since, she said she has adopted a more accepting and "local" attitude toward the schools.

DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen said the department is aware of schools' poor reputation and is taking steps to improve it. "It's because of that reputation that we have focused attention on the JVEF to provide more factual information to those moving here," he said.

Power, who has eight children, said she has been concerned about the outdated textbooks her children use — and have not been allowed to bring home — and classrooms that seem too small to accommodate all the students.

Although one of her daughters thrived in the Kailua Intermediate gifted-and-talented program and is now doing well in college, she worries that her younger children might find themselves behind their peers if the family moves back to the Mainland. She said other parents have told her their children were held back a grade when they transferred to other states.

"That's my concern right now. What's going to happen the next place we go?"

But Allen Awaya, educational liaison for the U.S. Pacific Command, said the survey results since 2002 indicate that areas where parents had the worst perception tended to show the greatest positive change.

"The longer people are in Hawai'i, the more they get over any negativity that they have," he said.

One of the forum's greatest challenges will be getting the word out to incoming military families that the schools are much better than they are reputed to be, he said.

About 40 percent of military parents participated in the mail-in survey — with 4,176 submitting their answers. In addition, 655 fifth- to eight-graders answered similar questions, as did 409 high schoolers.

Roughly 15,000 military dependents attend public schools across the state.

Each year, JVEF has $5 million in federal money to use for repair and maintenance, playgrounds, textbooks, technology and school self-help partnerships, and in the past year it helped more than 25 schools with those and other issues.

The group also is focusing on easing the transition for children moving in and out of the school system, as well as trying to improve Hawai'i's reputation.

In the Radford High complex, for example, teachers have taken military culture courses to better understand their students and created a transition center to make it easier for students moving to the state. Before they arrive, students can learn more about the school at a Web site improved for that reason.

"It has made a tremendous difference in perceptions of Hawai'i," said state Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

On the recent survey, parents indicated they saw improvements in areas such as whether students felt safe and welcomed at school, whether they were learning and whether teachers care and give them adequate feedback.

But the biggest gain in the survey was improved access to computer equipment — with 59 percent of parents saying there was adequate access, compared with 46 percent in 2002.

The Joint Venture Education program has made a big push for getting computers into the schools, spending more than $2 million last year to get computers and technological equipment into more than two dozen schools.

At Red Hill Elementary School, the partnership meant a new computer lab and $60,000 to replace textbooks.

The additions did not go unnoticed by parents, who had the opportunity to tour the new lab when they came to the school for meetings.

Kaui Kealoha, facilitator for the school's Parent-Community Networking Center, said, "They were in awe. They're happy. They liked what they saw. It's really fabulous."

It had been a long time since the school had more than a few new computers, although families have donated many used computers to the school, enough to put two or three computers in each classroom.

However, Kealoha said the new lab was critical if the school is to keep up with technology.

"The parents did feel the need," she said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.