Posted on: Friday, March 4, 2005
Sharper focus, more help for students will be aim
| • | Schools brace for takeover |
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer
Changes will be evident almost immediately in the 24 schools slated for restructuring as service providers move onto campuses to do wide-ranging assessments and figure out where the problem areas are, state education officials said.
By the end of the school year, they will need to have a plan in place for the summer and the next school year, when the restructuring officially begins.
What parents and students can expect then is a more rigorous curriculum, better aligned to the standards and focused on core subjects such as English, math, social studies and science.
Students can anticipate more assessments as schools start making a more conscientious effort to track whether individual students are making progress.
Restructured schools will mail out information to parents today explaining the process.
Once the restructuring providers come in and identify the areas that need to be addressed, support will no longer depend on whether a given teacher is willing to put in extra effort, said Assistant Schools Superintendent Kathy Kawaguchi.
"Any child who needs help would be able to get that support," she said.
While most parents are still baffled by what restructuring would entail, some said they would welcome additional support for their children.
Jenny Jud, who has three children at 'Aiea Elementary School, said one of her three children in particular would need extra academic help, since she has just returned from living with grandparents in Micronesia and is behind in English, along with math and other subjects that require reading.
Jud said she doesn't think the school should be penalized because students from other countries have difficulty meeting the standards, but the idea of focused attention for these children is appealing.
"There's a lot of kids in this group," she said. "Being in the mainstream (classroom) is a problem."
Although the concept of a state takeover may seem frightening, parents at the 24 schools should consider the reorganization as a positive move, said education officials.
"As a parent, I would be happy that I'm going to have this additional support that's going to translate into the success of my own child in terms of meeting the standards," said Kawaguchi.
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.
