Posted on: Thursday, October 20, 2005
Teachers, parents, students work together
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
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Michelle Quiles, instructing second-graders at an Alvah Scott Elementary School physical education class, is part of the Parent Assistance Teacher Program and a PTA member. Her husband is in Iraq with the military. Principal George Lai praises his school's PTA for its "dynamic, can-do attitude."
JEFF WIDENER | The Honolulu Advertiser
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AT A GLANCE Where: 98-1230 Moanalua Road, 'Aiea Phone: 483-7220 Principal: George Lai, 34 years DOE, fourth at Alvah Scott School nickname: Na Poki'i O Na Ali'i School colors: Blue and white Testing: Here's how Alvah Scott 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, 77 percent; math, 88 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 74 percent; math, 83 percent. Hawai'i State Assessment: Listed is the combined percentage of pupils meeting or exceeding state standards, and a comparison with the state average. Third-grade reading, 45 percent, compared with state average of 51.8 percent; math, 23 percent, compared with 28.5 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 55 percent, compared with state average of 55.6 percent; math, 24 percent, compared with 25.5 percent.Enrollment: 580; 38 instructional staff Low-income enrollment: 34 percent History: The school was established in 1956. It is named after the former Honolulu Plantation Co. manager in 'Aiea, who was a staunch community leader. Special programs: The PTA is planning the school's first Christmas Craft Fair to be held Dec. 17. |
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'AIEA — George Lai was a vice principal at Waialua High & Intermediate in 1988, his 17th year in the Department of Education, when he received some advice from a troubled student.
The student was in a program for at-risk kids and had made a turn for the better. As he was preparing to talk to the student body about Hui O Lanakila, a service club organized that year to do community service, the student told Lai he was scared.
"I asked him, 'What are you afraid of? You're not afraid when we used to call the cops on you and you're not afraid to fight,' " Lai recalled, noting the boy was nervous about standing alone to speak in public.
As they talked later, the boy — who went on to become a security officer — asked him to "please go down to elementary school so you can straighten kids out there, because by the time they get to high school, it's too late," Lai said. "That's why I went to work at the elementary school level the next year. He was right."
Lai is in his fourth year as principal of Alvah Scott Elementary School in 'Aiea. The former student whose advice he followed occasionally stops by to visit with Lai.
Lai's educational values are rooted in character-building, and he takes implementing the Department of Education's general learner outcomes or GLOs — responsibility, cooperation, thinking, quality work, communication and technology — seriously.
"Some kids need help in self-esteem, some in making friends," Lai said. "That's why at Alvah Scott we have different support groups."
What are you most proud of? "The dynamic can-do attitude of our PTA," Lai said. "Every Tuesday, parents, community and military partnerships conduct physical education (classes) for different grade levels. The PTA also worked with Chung-Hoon Ship, one of our military partnerships, to fulfill a $5,000 wish list of teachers/staff by getting things such as CD cassette/radio players, calculators and DVD/VCR equipment." The PTA purchased and installed four to six wall-mounted fans in every classroom, and started the school's room-parent program and annual fun run, added Lai.
Best-kept secret: The high expectations teachers, staff and students set for themselves, Lai said. "For example, our cafeteria manager, Gayle Yabuki, teaches students career awareness (when they do cafeteria duty) so that if they should work at a fast-food or any food job when they're in high school or college, they'll know how to do quality work," Lai said. "That's typical of how our students take responsibility for their own learning on a daily basis."
Everyone at our school knows: "Everybody," Lai said. "One day, a stranger drove a car into our parking lot after school and was acting suspicious. Our A-Plus students watched him and notified staff. They wrote down the license-plate number of the car, and when we called police, we found out it was stolen. The next day, we deputized all our students to be the eyes and ears of Alvah Scott. That's why we say everybody knows everybody."
Our biggest challenge: "Too many times teachers/staff work a whole day only to have after-school or evening meetings to discuss how they can improve the school or the way they do their jobs," Lai said. "I believe if you practice, you can become good but if you have perfect practice, you can become even better. For that reason, I believe teachers should be given time within the workday. I need to find the time for them. Our parent-assisting-teacher (physical ed) program allows teachers time to meet in school once every six weeks."
What we need: "Smaller class size for all teachers so they can be more accountable for students," Lai said. At Alvah Scott, the ratio is normally 20 to 1 in grades K-2 and 27 to 1 in grades 3-6. "In kindergarten this year, we started off with three teachers and 27-29 kids per class. The state just gave me one more position, effective (Oct. 3), so we now have four kindergarten classes. But because it happened after the school year started, it's disrupted the relationship the kids and teachers developed from the start of the school year."
Special events. The 2006-07 school year will mark the 50th anniversary of Alvah Scott Elementary.
Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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