OUR SCHOOLS • KING KAUMUALI'I ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Kaua'i campus values 'ohana attitude
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
HANAMA'ULU, Kaua'i — Two of the things that stand out about King Kaumuali'i Elementary School are pride and community.
Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It's a diverse school. The kids come from all over the place, but there's an 'ohana feeling. You have a sense of belonging," said Kevin Gusman, president of the school's parent-teacher-student association. His older daughter went to the school, and his younger daughter is in her final year, the fifth grade.
King Kaumuali'i Elementary School in Hanama'ulu on Kaua'i is named after the island's last monarch. Parents and teachers both express pride in the school's sense of community.
There is also a lot of parent involvement at the school most call "King K," he said.
"They talk about it at other schools," he said. "But we still want more."
More than half of the 540 students here qualify for assistance with the cost of their lunches, which qualifies the school for extra federal money. And while principal Karen Liu would like to see higher reading and writing scores, Kaua'i District schools administrator Danny Hamada said the school met all the Department of Education's benchmarks for the federal No Child Left Behind program.
"It's a good school with good administration. Very solid." Hamada said.
Two years ago, principal Liu was named Hawai'i's Principal of the Year by the National Association for School Administrators.
The campus lies on the north side of Hanama'ulu, a former sugar plantation town, and some students walk or bicycle to school. But many come by bus from the Wailua Homesteads community, and a number receive district exemptions and come from the Kapa'a area — often with parents who commute to Lihu'e for work.
Liu is proud of the school's participation in the county's Adopt-A-School program. The high-tech firm Raytheon Solipsys recently held a science festival for kids in kindergarten to second grade, with lessons on gravity, friction, lenses, acid-base reactions and more.
"The goal was to help kids explain what they had learned," in addition to simply exposing them to science, Liu said.
What are you most proud of? "Our staff works together. They always pull together in times of need. There's no hesitation to participate," said principal Liu.
Best-kept secret: "How technology-rich our school is." There are Internet connections and computers in every room.
Everybody at our school knows: Patrick Owens, physical education instructor. "He must know every child's name in this school."
Our biggest challenge: Getting students to read and write at grade level. The school has been making progress, but has a way to go.
What we need: Staff to cover the arts — notably a music teacher and a drama teacher — "things that will create a well-rounded child."
Special events: The school gets 75 to 80 percent participation by parents in its "let's have lunch" program, in which the parents of children in each class are invited to visit the school and have lunch during a specific month.
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• Where: 4380 Hanama'ulu Road, Hanama'ulu, HI 96715 • Phone: (808) 241-3150 • Principal: Karen Liu • School colors: Red and yellow • History: The school is in its 13th year, having been built to serve the growing Hanama'ulu and Wailua Homesteads bedroom communities. • Testing: Here's how King Kaumuali'i students fared on the most recent standardized tests. Stanford Achievement Test: Listed is the combined percentage of students scoring average or above average, compared with the national combined average of 77 percent. Third-grade reading, 87.1 percent; math, 90.3 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 71.1 percent; math, 76.2 percent. Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards: Listed is the combined percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards, and a comparison with the state average. Third-grade reading, 29.8 percent, compared with the state average of 41.9 percent; math, 22.6 percent, compared with 24.1 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 40.2 percent, compared with the state average of 40.8 percent; math, 16.8 percent, compared with 19.6 percent. • Enrollment: 540 in a school built for 900. • Computers: Two computer labs of about 30 computers each, plus every classroom has three or four, all connected to the Internet.
At a glance
