"You just keep smiling and plowing on," said Kahului Elementary School Principal Fern Markgraf.

She is principal for one of 24 public schools across the state placed under restructuring status for failing to meet the academic standards under the No Child Left Behind Act. The federal act signed by President Bush in 2001 requires public schools to show continued progress in student achievement with the goal of having every child proficient in reading and math by 2014.

Proficiency levels are measured every year when students take the national SAT and the Hawaii Performance Content Standards test. The federal law requires students — grouped into "cells" by factors such as English speaking skills, ethnicity, family income and special education needs — to meet the same standards in reading and math.

Students in all the cells have to pass the standards for the school to fulfill the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Failure of the standards for an extended period results in a school being subject to restructuring by an outside organization.

Overall, Kahului School's third- through fifth-grade test takers in the 2005-06 school year surpassed NCLB standards, with half of the students either meeting or exceeding proficiency standards in reading.

However, two cells or groups — those in special education and English Language Learners (students from homes where the primary language isn't English) — failed to reach the minimum requirements. There were, however, marked improvements.

For example, in 2002-03, none of the English Language Learners met the math or reading proficiency levels. Their most recent tests showed 35 percent were proficient in reading and 16 percent were proficient in math.

Special ed students also showed gains — from zero three years ago to 18 percent meeting proficiency standards in reading and 13 percent in math. Schools can claim "safe harbor" if they show improvements of 10 percentage points over one year.

"It's important for us to keep going and focus on where we're improving," Markgraf said as she reviewed test scores and provided an update on her school's progress last week.

In July, Kahului Elementary expects to get its latest scores from tests taken in April. "Everybody is working their hardest, and we are very hopeful," Markgraf said.

A school must meet adequate yearly progress two years in a row before it can be taken out of restructuring status. Markgraf said Kahului Elementary hopes to at least achieve "safe harbor" status, meaning its test scores would be enough to stay clear of any further impositions by the federal mandate.

At best, Kahului Elementary could be told it met all proficiency standards.

Two years ago among Maui District schools, Kahului Elementary along with Pa'ia Elementary, Hana High and Elementary, Maunaloa Elementary on Moloka'i, Moloka'i High and Moloka'i Intermediate were mandated for restructuring.

The campuses received the restructuring mandates after failing to meet the reading and math proficiency levels set out in both local and national student achievement tests. None of the schools has yet to break out, although Pa'ia made strides by meeting adequate progress standards last school year.

During this school year, Kahului Elementary was selected as one of eight in the state to receive the coveted "Crystal Award" from the state Department of Education for three years of continuous improvement.

"That was really, really critical for us," Markgraf said, recalling a celebration that included sparkling cider, poppers and a red carpet walk to recognize each staff member.

Few staff members have left the campus because of frustrations over the federal requirements. In fact, some staff members have passed on retirement to help the school reach NCLB standards, Markgraf said.

Markgraf herself is eligible for retirement soon but hopes to achieve the school's goals before leaving.

No Child Left Behind allows families with children in restructuring schools to cite the status as a legitimate reason to transfer to another campus. Only two Kahului School families in the last four years have exercised the option, according to Markgraf.

Instead of massive student departures, Kahului School has been receiving many requests for enrollment from families living outside of the campus boundaries. According to Markgraf, 50 students were turned away last school year because there was no room for geographic exceptions. With the new Pomaikai Elementary School opening up in Maui Lani, Kahului School is expected to have some breathing room and may accept geographic exceptions for school year 2007-08.

Staff members who have school-aged children would receive top priority for an out-of-district transfer. There are at least four teachers who plan to file geographic exceptions for their own children to attend Kahului School.

"Good things are happening. There're good teachers, a lot of interaction and high energy," said Denise Payba, a kindergarten teacher with 15 years of experience who recently picked up the duties of reading coach for kindergarten to grade 2.

Payba's colleague, kindergarten teacher Michelle Tom, also plans to enroll her son in kindergarten at Kahului Elementary.

"I have nothing negative to say about the school or the programs here. I feel confident in sending my son here," Tom said.

Tom said she's questioned some of the mandates imposed on her and her students in the classroom, but she's learned to accept them, especially after seeing the positive results.

"You see the growth. You see the improvement. There is a positive outcome," she said.

First-grade teacher Cheryl Okubo had been using traditional teaching methods, lecturing from the chalkboard for years until restructuring forced her and her colleagues to reassess their teaching strategies. They switched from using their own teaching styles and strategies to adopting a uniform curriculum and teaching methods that are research-based.

"Like anything, in the beginning you expect the worse, but then slowly there's a buy-in," Okubo said.

She said her own students have progressed in new learning centers that allow for them to work independently while the teacher concentrates on students who need one-on-one attention.

"This way there's self-discovery, and they become responsible for their own learning," Okubo said.

Kahului Elementary also started a uniform assessment program that measures a student's academic progress on a regular basis. Michelle Shimabuku, a 20-year teaching veteran at Kahului Elementary, found the assessments to be tremendously helpful in her work.

"I love it. It tells me as a teacher what I need to teach, what my strengths and weaknesses are," Shimabuku said.

Since the restructuring, Shimabuku has moved out of the classroom and now works as a curriculum coordinator for language arts and social studies on the campus.

Another 20-year teaching veteran, Karen Ishizu also left her classroom to serve as the school's math curriculum coordinator. Ishizu said teachers hope to move toward collaborating with each other about their teaching strategies, talking more about what works and what doesn't.

While much of the effort has been placed on changing curriculum and developing new teaching strategies, Kahului School has also implemented a schedule that emphasizes core subjects such as reading and math each day.

In addition, the school has sponsored winter and summer camps to provide optional instructional time for students who could use the extra help.

Markgraf credits the help of Kahului's private consultant and provider, Edison Alliance, for assistance with assessment, teaching strategies and curriculum. Edison assigned Kelley Nelson, the achievement director for the Hawaii Alliance, to both Kahului and Pa'ia elementary.

Nelson said her job involves being Kahului's "personal cheerleader" as well as adviser on making progress.

"You just keeping talking to the teachers, celebrating their successes. You just continue to support them," Nelson said. "It's a work in progress, and it'll always be."

Markgraf said she knew her school had to make improvements even prior to the restructuring status imposed by No Child Left Behind.

"The intent of the law is good. The implementation of it is a challenge," she said.

Noted principal at helm during trying time for Kahului Elementary

Her school may have fallen short of meeting the high standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, but Kahului Elementary's Fern Markgraf is setting standards for achievement by a public school principal.

Central Maui Complex Area Superintendent Ken Nomura selected Markgraf, a 36-year educator, as Maui District's nominee for the National Distinguished Principal recognition program.

Markgraf was also Maui District's nominee this spring in the prestigious Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award.

Both honors brought small cash prizes Markgraf's way, plus attention that she prefers to give to her school and staff.

"It really is a team effort schoolwide. I couldn't do my job otherwise," she said.

"Being a strong inspirational leader means for me that I need to create a culture of teamwork, with the school ending the traditional isolation of teachers," Markgraf wrote in papers about her leadership style.

"I need to create opportunities within the school culture that allow for strong grade level teams of teachers able to define what they need to do and who are confident enough to tell me what they require to do their job."

Kahului Elementary is one of 24 schools across the state in restructuring status under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Restructuring schools have been deemed unable to meet the NCLB's mandate for student proficiency in reading and math as measured in both national and state tests.

Markgraf said she supports the intent of the federal law but has found its directions and mandates frustrating for herself and her staff.

"There's an overemphasis in testing," she said.

Markgraf was formerly the principal of Haiku Elementary School, a campus lauded for incorporating the arts in its core curriculum. She said Kahului School offers creative movement and drama to its students, but it has had to place emphasis on reading, writing and math, in part, because of the restructuring status.

She also believes that physical education and physical fitness are important in a student's growth, she said. She seized the opportunity recently to collaborate with the Maui Family YMCA to train her teachers to develop a PE curriculum that is meaningful and stresses the importance of lifelong physical activities.

The results have been positive.

"Students love the PE class. . . . We have healthier, more alert students," she said.

Kahului Elementary is still short on meeting the No Child Left Behind standards for "adequate yearly progress," but it has improved test scores in all grade levels and in different groups of students including English Language Learners.

Nomura credited Markgraf for her "fortitude, focus and finesse" in navigating Kahului Elementary through a difficult time.

"She has embraced the challenges of being 'restructured,' embedded best practices and held all students and adults to high expectations," he said.

Markgraf began teaching in 1971 in the Los Angeles Unified School District. On Maui, she taught at St. Anthony Grade School, Maui Community College, St. Anthony Junior and Senior High School and Baldwin High School. While at Baldwin, she was the 1989 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year.

Markgraf moved into administration as cohort vice principal in 1990 at Lahainaluna High School and then the next year at Maui Waena Intermediate School. She was vice principal at Makawao Elementary from 1992 to 1994, before she moved to Haiku Elementary where she was principal for 13 years.

She took the helm at Kahului Elementary in 2003, when the campus was placed under corrective action for falling short of "adequate yearly progress" under the No Child Left Behind Act. Two years later, Kahului Elementary went into restructuring status.

"This would have been a nightmare of a journey," Markgraf said, had her staff not been willing to make changes in their teaching practices and their curriculum. In turn, they are setting an example for other schools in restructuring.

Educators from schools in restructuring have visited Kahului Elementary to examine its methods, while Markgraf has been a consultant to colleagues on strategies for making school improvements.