Posted on: Thursday, November 4, 2004
OUR SCHOOLS • WAIHE'E SCHOOL
Campus innovative, but cramped
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
WAIHE'E, Maui — While cherishing Waihe'e School's rich history in one of the island's oldest communities, school officials also have been at the cutting edge in providing educational opportunities for students in the largely Native Hawaiian district, which covers 13 miles of coastline from Hawaiian Homes in Paukukalo to Kahakuloa Village.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser Principal Faith Tokeshi, who has worked at Waihe'e for more than 20 years, is stamping her own mark on the school, emphasizing professional development and teacher support, and attracting grants for a multitude of reading, art, guidance and science programs. The school was nominated this year as a Hawai'i Distinguished School, met all of its Adequate Yearly Progress goals under the No Child Left Behind Act, and is a 2004 SAT Honor Roll school for meeting or exceeding national norms for Grades 3 and 5.
To make sure kids are up to speed on technology, the former library room has been set aside to hold older, excess computers that are made available to students at lunch recess. Tokeshi is setting up a program to open the equipment to parents and students who don't have computers at home, so they can work together on school projects.
What are you most proud of? The teamwork among teachers, administrators and staff; and teacher commitment to professional development. Teachers at each grade level work as a team to mentor younger teachers and support one another. Best-kept secret: The campus' beautiful setting at the foot of the West Maui Mountains, with views of rainbows and waterfalls in the valley. Our biggest challenge: Lack of space. The 6-acre school is hemmed in by natural and constructed barriers, with little room to expand. A new library and eight-classroom building consumed most of what little playing area was left. A large playing field is being built behind the campus and should open in April. What we need: More space, more volunteers, more classrooms for resource programs such as creative drama, physical education, reading and support services.
Special events: Health Fitness Fair fund-raiser, fifth-grade sleepover at school with field trip to Lahaina. Waihe'e School will celebrate its 125th anniversary Saturday with food booths, a country store, games, entertainment, a time capsule and displays. • • • • Where: 2125 Kahekili Highway, Wailuku, HI 96793 • Phone: (808) 984-5644 • Principal: Faith Tokeshi, who joined the school in 1980. This is her third year as principal. • School nickname: Warriors • School colors: Purple and gold • Web address: www.k12.hi.us/~waihee • Testing: Here's how Waihe'e School students fared on the most recent standardized tests. 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, 88 percent; math, 94 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 80 percent; math, 91 percent. Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards tests. Listed is the combined percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards, and a comparison with the state average. Third-grade reading, 57 percent, compared with the state average of 46.7 percent; math, 30 percent, compared with 26.7 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 45 percent, compared with state average of 49.9 percent; math, 23 percent, compared with 22.5 percent. • History: Opened in 1879 with 100 pupils in the English department and 20 in the Hawaiian department, which was dropped three years later. Over the past 15 years, as student enrollment more than doubled with development of new subdivisions in Waiehu, four eight-classroom buildings, 10 portable classrooms, a parking lot and student drop-off area, a cafeteria and library were added to the campus. • Enrollment: 860 students in preschool-Grade 5 • Computers: Two to three per classroom, plus computer lab and iBook cart with laptops.
Waihe'e School was the first public school in Hawai'i to adopt a year-round schedule, and because of its innovative reading programs and other achievements, it was recognized as a national Blue Ribbon School in 1994-95. Former principal Larry Joyo, who retired in 2002, was awarded a prestigious Milken Award for the 1996-97 school year as one of the nation's best educators.
A new classroom building on the left and new library on the right consumed most of what play area was left for Waihe'e School students. To remedy the situation, a large playing field is being built behind the Maui campus and should open in April.
AT A GLANCE
