Posted on: Thursday, February 10, 2005
OUR SCHOOLS | BLANCHE POPE ELEMENTARY
Waimanalo school making major strides
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
WAIMANALO — By embracing technology, adopting initiatives for positive behavior and attracting more parental involvement, education has taken a turn for the better at Blanche Pope Elementary, according to principal Rodney Moriwake.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser The Family Literacy Program, one of three early intervention projects at the school, not only helps students but gives parents tools to raise successful children, he said.
"It's all about how to be a better parent," Moriwake said. "It's also helping them to be successful in life by providing adult education classes."
• What are you most proud of? Meeting state standards — commonly known as annual yearly progress — for 2003-2004, which Moriwake credits to teachers willing to change what and how they teach. More than 90 percent of the students are of Hawaiian ancestry and 85 percent participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program, a common indicator of poverty. • Best-kept secret: The stability of the staff. • Our biggest challenge: Reading, despite progress. • What we need: Students in school every day. "That's our best chance of being successful," Moriwake said. With expectation of a 95 percent attendance rate, 91 percent of the students were in class one recent day. • Projects: A monthly cleanup at Kaiona Beach Park, involving the city, which provides an educational component to the effort, and a Hawai'i Kai resident who donated $1,000 to the school.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
Within two years, teachers went from minimal computer skills to depending heavily on the technology for administrative as well as educational needs, Moriwake said, and student behavior has radically improved with a new system that rewards good conduct.
Upper grade kupuna Mary Ann Crowell teaches 'ukulele during Hawaiian studies at Blanche Pope Elementary School in Waimanalo. More than 90 percent of the students are of Hawaiian ancestry.
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| AT A GLANCE
Where: 41-133 Huli St., Waimanalo Phone: 259-0450 Principal: Rodney Moriwake, four years School mascot: Pueo School colors: Red and yellow History: Blanche Pope Elementary, named for the first president of the Hawai'i Congress of Parents, opened in 1964. Built on Hawaiian Home Lands at a cost of $400,000, the original buildings included a 10-classroom building, a kitchen and two portable buildings used for a library and administration offices. Testing: Here's how Blanche Pope 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, 82 percent; math, 88 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 47 percent; math, 52 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, 43 percent, compared with the state average of 46.7 percent; math, 39 percent, compared with 26.7 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 24 percent, compared with state average of 49.9 percent; math, 7 percent, compared with 22.5 percent. Computers: 48 Enrollment: 300, with room to grow on the 5-acre campus |
