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Something went wrong. Please email [email protected] to subscribe This email address might not be capable of receiving emails (according to Bouncer). You should try again with a different email address. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected] Career-based education has rapidly gained traction in Hawai'i schools but not all programs are attracting boys and girls equally Learn more about membership The 19th is a reader-supported nonprofit news organization. Our stories are free to republish with these guidelines Investigative stories and local news updates Coverage of the Hawaiʻi State legislature in 2025 Award winning in-depth reports and featured on-going series Get the week’s news delivered straight to your inbox Families and researchers say possible funding cuts and reduced federal oversight could make it harder for special education students to receive the services they need in schools Mai Hall expected that her oldest child would automatically receive special education services for her autism dyslexia and ADHD when she enrolled in a Kaimukī elementary school 10 years ago But the school said Hall’s daughter didn’t need any additional support insisting that she earned good grades and got along with her friends.  It was only after Hall received training from a federally funded parent information center that she was able to successfully advocate for her daughter — and later her son — to get the support services they needed Parents of students with disabilities have long struggled to ensure their kids have the resources and support they need in public schools in Hawaiʻi which ranks among the worst states in the nation when it comes to academic outcomes for special education students Hall’s daughter is attending college and her son is receiving the accommodations he needs to feel supported and happy at school But Hall and other families are worried that potential cuts to federal funding and efforts to shutter the U.S Department of Education will result in fewer services and learning opportunities for special education students.    “We really don’t need to worry about our children’s education any more than we already are,” Hall said.  Education advocates and families say federal funding and regulation have played a key role in strengthening protections for special education students in Hawaiʻi but it’s unclear what oversight will look like moving forward resulting in the closure of seven civil rights offices dedicated to processing student discrimination claims including those related to disabilities.  A recent executive order from the administration also aims to dismantle the U.S and the administration has proposed shifting special education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services But the health department doesn’t have the staff or expertise to hold states accountable for following federal special education laws a professor at Vanderbilt University.     A reduction in federal oversight may make it harder for Hawaiʻi families to receive support and resources for their children, said attorney Keith Peck, who leads the Advocacy Project providing legal representation to families seeking special education services Federal funding is currently tied to Hawaiʻi’s compliance with special education laws but he’s worried the new administration may provide states with more flexibility and less accountability on how the money can be spent.    “If the funding is no longer linked to allowing the parents to assert their rights and dispute against the Department of Education if the (Hawaiʻi) DOE no longer has to comply with those protections then nobody will have any protections,” Peck said.  Hawaiʻi’s education department enrolls over 18,000 special education students and receives $50 million from the federal government each year to educate those children To access the money,  Hawaiʻi must submit annual data reports and comply with federal laws requiring schools provide special education students with necessary services from physical therapy to one-on-one aids.  families and educational specialists work together to determine the specific services students with disabilities should receive in schools But Hawaiʻi has fallen short of meeting federal benchmarks for the quality of special education services for the last decade, according to annual evaluations from the U.S Hawaiʻi’s special education students rank among the lowest in the nation in reading and math proficiency and learn in traditional classroom settings at lower rates than their peers on the mainland.  Researchers and families say including students with disabilities in general education classrooms provides them with important opportunities to interact with their peers and raise their academic achievement Leah Yim said she’s lost count of the hundreds of meetings she’s attended over the years to advocate for her two children with special needs Yim’s 6-year-old daughter currently receives speech therapy for her autism spectrum disorder while her 15-year-old son has a nurse and aid accompanying him in class He also receives services like physical and occupational therapy as part of his treatment after having a stroke in utero.  Yim said she hasn’t heard of any changes to her children’s services so far but worries that federal funding cuts could reduce the number of educators and specialists in schools which already face a shortage of special education teachers.  “My worry would just be the amount of caseloads that they’re carrying, and then how that would affect their quality of services one-on-one with our child,” said Yim, whose family also filed a lawsuit against the state education department in 2023 accusing a teacher at Kaiser High School of sexually abusing their son.  DOE plays a key role in protecting the rights of special education students DOE can take away special education funding if states aren’t complying with federal law an associate professor at Kent State University the federal government steps in with grants or training to support states in areas where they’re struggling.  the federal government has provided a variety of aid such as training sessions teaching staff how to resolve disputes with parents over special education services and collaborations with national centers to expand access to preschool for students with disabilities The department declined an interview for this story.  17 of which had to do with students’ disabilities.  an assistant professor at the University of Alabama said recent staffing cuts to OCR and the closure of seven regional offices will make it much harder for the remaining employees to handle families’ complaints and ensure states are providing special education students with the services they need OCR had over 12,000 pending cases that could take years to close and required in-depth investigations involving families schools and federal attorneys.   he’s worried that many cases will be left unresolved leaving families with no answers about the support their children should receive in school.  “These are just kids who want an education.”  Executive Director Louis Erteschik said he’s most concerned about what accountability will remain if the U.S DOE is dismantled and special education is moved to the Department of Health and Human Services many students with disabilities aren’t receiving the education they deserve under law.  In 2019, Erteschik filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights arguing that students with disabilities weren’t receiving adequate services because they were suspended at three times the rate of the rest of their peers.  While Trump has proposed shifting special education oversight from the U.S DOE to the Department of Health and Human Services interim executive director at The Center for Learner Equity But there are ongoing worries that the federal government could reduce funding for students with disabilities DOE is already underfunding special education in schools and has consistently fallen short of its promise of covering 40% of the costs of providing services.  DOE makes up roughly 10% of what the state spends on special education.  Jill Tokuda said the state would have to fill in the funding gaps if the federal government reduces its support for special education the uncertainty around the future of federal funding makes it hard for state lawmakers to plan on how they’ll meet special education students’ needs.   “I have great fears that we will go backwards in terms of actually providing the appropriate and adequate education to our special needs students,” Tokuda said.   Federal funding for Hawaiʻi schools should remain roughly the same from this year to next year, according to a presentation Superintendent Keith Hayashi is slated to give to the Board of Education on Thursday Peck at the Advocacy Project said he’s most concerned that the federal government won’t enforce the mandates that have historically accompanied its special education funding to states With the administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S the federal government will lack the staff and expertise needed to oversee states’ compliance with special education law Hawaiʻi has a state equivalent of the federal special education law that also requires schools to meet the needs of students with disabilities providing families with an extra layer of protection if the federal government stops enforcing its laws But the state still needs an external source of enforcement to keep schools accountable It’s unlikely the Hawaiʻi education department will take on the added responsibility of strengthening oversight over its schools adding that states don’t have the same familiarity with special education law and requirements compared to the federal level.  “The state can’t oversee itself by definition,” he said Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy Megan Tagami is a reporter covering education for Civil Beat. You can reach her by email at mtagami@civilbeat.org Unfortunately, being named a finalist for a Pulitzer prize doesn’t make us immune to financial pressures. The fact is, our revenue hasn’t kept pace with our need to grow, and we need your help Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in Hawaiʻi. We’re looking to build a more resilient, diverse and deeply impactful media landscape, and we hope you’ll help by supporting our essential journalism Metrics details Numerous molecular machines are required to drive the central dogma of molecular biology the means by which these numerous proteins emerged in the early evolutionary stage of life remains enigmatic Many of them possess small β-barrel folds with different topologies represented by double-psi β-barrels (DPBBs) conserved in DNA and RNA polymerases and similar but topologically distinct six-stranded β-barrel RIFT or five-stranded β-barrel folds such as OB and SH3 in ribosomal proteins we discover that the previously reconstructed ancient DPBB sequence could also adopt a β-barrel fold named Double-Zeta β-barrel (DZBB) The DZBB fold is not found in any modern protein although its structure shares similarities with RIFT and OB DZBB could be transformed into them through simple engineering experiments the OB designs could be further converted into SH3 by circular-permutation as previously predicted These results indicate that these β-barrels diversified quickly from a common ancestor at the beginning of the central dogma evolution The central dogma of molecular biology is governed by numerous molecular machines Despite the detailed understanding of their regulation mechanisms the evolutionary origins of such complex molecular machines remain obscure no experimental evidence has been provided to demonstrate that such drastic fold transitions could occur via a feasible pathway probably because of the huge sequence/structure diversity between modern proteins with the different folds especially between the pseudo-dimeric ones (DPBB and RIFT) and the monomeric ones (OB and SH3) an experimental reconstruction of the ancient evolutionary process between these β-barrels has been awaited to reveal the profound protein fold evolution before the establishment of the central dogma A The amino acid sequences of the representative designs are aligned with the secondary structure elements B–E The crystal structures and topological schemes of engineered proteins are shown Single chains in each homo-dimeric structure are colored cyan and yellow The 1st loops connecting β1-β2 are highlighted in pink in all panels The sequence identities between the proteins are also shown between their panels B and C Design-1 adopted in two folded states D The five-point mutations stabilized the DZBB fold in design-2 E The remodeling of the loop connecting β1-β2 in design-2 resulted in the RIFT-fold protein formed under different conditions (100 mM Tris we could not solve its structure by molecular replacement using the DPBB fold as a model implying that design-1 had adopted a different conformation in the third type of crystal Design-2 also formed crystals under similar buffer conditions to the third type of design-1 crystal As this loop configuration resembles the letter “Zeta” in the topological scheme we named this β-barrel fold the Double-Zeta β-barrel (DZBB) design-1 can fold into two different structures with an identical sequence The five point-mutations derived from Phs018 (RIFT) in design-2 stabilized the DZBB fold the rearrangement of the β-strands orientation and drastic changes of intra- and inter-chain interactions in the homo-dimeric structure like design-1 is unusual extending our knowledge of domain-swapping proteins A Two malonates in the crystal structure of chemically synthesized design-1 in the DPBB form B Two sulfates in the crystal structure of chemically synthesized design-1 in the DZBB form The five residues related to the coordination of ions are shown as stick models D The ANS fluorescence spectra of design-1 in the presence of increasing concentrations of (C) malonate or (D) ammonium sulfate Source data are provided as a Source Data file E The scheme of the dual-folding mechanism of design-1 dependent on the types of ions A Superimposed structures of the single subunit of design-1 in the DZBB-fold and the OB domain of the ribosomal protein L2 from Thermococcus kodakarensis B Comparison of the topologies of the DZBB and OB folds the non-essential secondary elements α1 and β5 are shown as dashed lines C Multiple sequence alignment of the DZBB-OB chimeric proteins with the parent DZBB proteins The identical residues with design-2 are colored purple The two significantly different segments between design-13 (OB) and design-2 (DZBB) are highlighted in gray D–G Crystal structures and topological images of (D) design-6 The flows of the engineering procedures are shown as arrows The DZBB and OB fragments comprise approximately 40 and 60% of these chimeric proteins the monomeric OB-fold could be reconstructed by simply combining the DZBB and OB-fold protein segments without optimizing the structural interfaces between both parts These results demonstrated that the segment 1 is sufficient to archive the fold-change from DZBB to OB very short In/Del and a few point mutations are the determinants in the transition between the DZBB and OB folds This facile interchangeability between DZBB and OB folds suggests that such a drastic fold transition likely occurred in the early evolutionary stage of life A 10 nM FAM-labeled dsDNA was mixed with 5 μM proteins with the DPBB and then the mixtures were subjected to 2% agarose gel electrophoresis B The EMSA results for the proteins with the OB and SH3 folds Two experiments were repeated independently with similar results Source data are provided as a Source data file the corresponding region of ribosomal protein L2 used in this report (β2–3) does not directly interact with rRNA in the ribosome likely resulting in the weak affinity of the reconstructed OB and SH3 proteins it might sometimes be misleading to decipher ancient protein evolution by referring only to the protein folds found today offered a simple explanation for the evolutionary relationship between diverse β-barrel folds The experimentally verified routes between each mutant pair are connected with black arrows and the minimal necessary mutations between designs are written in purple Representative proteins conserving each barrel fold are shown in the upper panel during the diversification process of these folds the fundamental nucleic-acid-binding property might have been inherited by the daughter folds which then became specialized to the specific substrates and enzymatic reactions by stepwise mutations in each lineage making it impossible to integrate two short polypeptides into a monomer through a simple gene fusion event the DZBB fold may have been outcompeted during the early evolution of life The evolutionary pathways depicted here with the lost fold provide the groundwork for more detailed and broader studies of early protein evolution and the origin of the central dogma Each PCR product was cloned into the pET47b vector for fusion with an N-terminal His-tag by using an In-Fusion HD cloning kit (Clontech) The Escherichia coli DH5a strain was then transformed with the produced vectors The resultant transformants were cultured on LB plates supplemented with 20 µg/mL kanamycin (37 °C and then used to inoculate to LB liquid medium and grown at 37 °C overnight Each plasmid was extracted from the cells using a QIAprep Spin Miniprep Kit (QIAGEN) The sequences of the inserted genes were confirmed by Sanger sequencing coli BL21 Gold (DE3) cells (Agilent Technologies CA) were transformed with the vectors harboring the genes of the respective protein mutants The resulting transformants were cultured in 20 mL of LB medium supplemented with 20 µg/mL kanamycin (37 °C overnight) and then inoculated into 2 L of LB medium (20 µg/mL kanamycin) After culturing the cells at 37 °C for two hours 0.5 mM isopropyl b-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) was added to induce expression of the desired protein The culture was continued under the same conditions for 4 hours The cells were then harvested and stored at -20 °C The bacteria were disrupted by sonication in 60 mL of 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer The supernatant was filtered (0.45 µm pore-size) and then purified by HisTrap HP nickel affinity chromatography (GE Healthcare The N-terminal His6-tags were cleaved with HRV-3c protease (Funakoshi The treated samples were again loaded onto the HisTrap column and the flow-through fraction was recovered The protein solutions were then loaded onto a HiLoad 16/600 Superdex 75 (GE Healthcare equilibrated with 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer The purity of each protein sample was verified by SDS-PAGE Because all of the designed proteins in this study lack tyrosine and tryptophan residues the protein concentrations were determined by a BCA assay (Thermo Fisher Scientific) in which design-0 (mk2h_ΔMILPS) containing three tyrosine residues was used as the standard protein The concentration of design-0 was determined by its absorbance at 280 nm they are well distinguishable from α-proteins and random coils To measure each protein’s thermal stability the ellipticity changes at 208 or 222 nm were monitored as the temperature was increased from 20 to 90 °C at a rate of 1.0 °C/min the spectra at 20 °C were recorded again to verify the refolding ability We performed size exclusion chromatography to examine the protein foldability 20 µM) was loaded onto a Superdex 75 increase 10/300 (GE Healthcare and run on an AKTA FPLC (Amersham Biosciences) at a flow rate of 0.75 mL/min Design-1 (mk2h_ΔMILPYS) was diluted to 1 µM in the solutions containing various concentrations of malonates or ammonium sulfates (50 including malonate or ammonium sulfate were adjusted to 7.0 and 6.0 Solutions of 2,000 mM potassium/sodium phosphate (pH 6.0) The fluorescence probe 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) was added (50 µM) and then the solution was placed in the dark for 30 min at room temperature Using FP-8500DS fluorescence spectrometry (JASCO the fluorescence spectra ranging from 400 to 650 nm were recorded with excitation at 380 nm For the EMSA, 5 µM of protein was mixed with 10 nM of FAM-labeled oligonucleotides (20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 50 mM NaCl). The sequences of the DNA and RNA are shown in Supplementary Fig. 20A The protein and oligo-nucleotide mixtures were incubated in the dark at room temperature for 10 min After adding the loading dye (30% glycerol and bromophenol blue) the samples were fractionated on a 2% agarose gel (0.5 x TBE buffer) the DNA or RNA bands in the gel were imaged with an Amersham Typhoon scanner (GE Healthcare) Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article A model for genesis of transcription systems Molecular evolution of multisubunit RNA polymerases: structural analysis Shared active site architecture between archaeal PolD and multi-subunit RNA polymerases revealed by X-ray crystallography Evolutionary Origins of Two-Barrel RNA Polymerases and Site-Specific Transcription Initiation Common evolutionary origin of swapped-hairpin and double-psi beta barrels Cradle-loop barrels and the concept of metafolds in protein classification by natural descent Seven Amino Acid Types Suffice to Create the Core Fold of RNA Polymerase The three-dimensional structure of the RNA-binding domain of ribosomal protein L2; a protein at the peptidyl transferase center of the ribosome Functional evolution of two subtly different (similar) folds Fold Evolution before LUCA: Common Ancestry of SH3 Domains and OB Domains SCOPe: Structural Classification of Proteins–extended integrating SCOP and ASTRAL data and classification of new structures SCOP2 prototype: a new approach to protein structure mining CATH: expanding the horizons of structure-based functional annotations for genome sequences ECOD: an evolutionary classification of protein domains Searching protein space for ancient sub-domain segments Creative destruction: New protein folds from old Why we are made of proteins and nucleic acids: Structural biology views on extraterrestrial life Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold Control over overall shape and size in de novo designed proteins Unfolding the Mysteries of Protein Metamorphosis Functional and Regulatory Roles of Fold-Switching Proteins Metamorphic proteins mediate evolutionary transitions of structure Different 3D domain-swapped oligomeric cyanovirin-N structures suggest trapped folding intermediates 3D domain swapping: a mechanism for oligomer assembly Multiple stable conformations account for reversible concentration-dependent oligomerization and autoinhibition of a metamorphic metallopeptidase Recreating ancient metabolic pathways before enzymes Linked cycles of oxidative decarboxylation of glyoxylate as protometabolic analogs of the citric acid cycle Prebiotic photoredox synthesis from carbon dioxide and sulfite and Phosphorus-Containing Feedstocks for Prebiotic Chemistry in the Planetary Environment Dali server: structural unification of protein families RNA binding strategies of ribosomal proteins Evolutionary relationship of two ancient protein superfolds Identification of a covert evolutionary pathway between two protein folds Design and characterization of a protein fold switching network Reversible switching between two common protein folds in a designed system using only temperature AlphaFold2 fails to predict protein fold switching Chakravarty, D., Schafer, J. W., Chen, E. A., Thole, J. R. & Porter, L. L. AlphaFold2 has more to learn about protein energy landscapes. bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.12.571380 (2023) Nucleic acid recognition by OB-fold proteins RNA binding in an Sm core domain: X-ray structure and functional analysis of an archaeal Sm protein complex Protein Assistants of Small Ribosomal Subunit Biogenesis in Bacteria Archaeal genome guardians give insights into eukaryotic DNA replication and damage response proteins in Methods in Enzymology 217 270–279 (Elsevier Accurate secondary structure prediction and fold recognition for circular dichroism spectroscopy Data Management System at the Photon Factory Macromolecular Crystallography Beamline Improvement of an automated protein crystal exchange system PAM for high-throughput data collection Mail-in data collection at SPring-8 protein crystallography beamlines DeepCentering: fully automated crystal centering using deep learning for macromolecular crystallography ZOO: an automatic data-collection system for high-throughput structure analysis in protein microcrystallography Computer-controlled liquid-nitrogen drizzling device for removing frost from cryopreserved crystals PHENIX: a comprehensive Python-based system for macromolecular structure solution Decision-making in structure solution using Bayesian estimates of map quality: the PHENIX AutoSol wizard Coot: model-building tools for molecular graphics Download references This work is based on experiments performed at KEK (project number: 2020G056 and 2022G005) The authors are grateful to the beamline staff scientists at KEK and Kentaro Ihara for assistance with the X-ray diffraction experiments We also thank Hongding Liu for assistance of the DNA cloning experiment was also supported by the Astrobiology Center Program of National Institutes of Natural Sciences (AB0503) RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (WPI-SKCM²) All authors discussed the results and jointly wrote and commented on the manuscript The authors declare no competing interests Nature Communications thanks Lauren Porter and the other reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50013-9 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email ATLANTA — A former Macon area poll worker pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to mailing a bomb threat to a local elections office and admitted lying about it to the FBI pleaded guilty to conveying false information about a bomb threat and making hoaxes Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia He faces up to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release plus a fine of up to a quarter million dollars Wimbish worked at the Jones County Elections Office in Gray After a disagreement with a voter in October he wrote and then mailed a bomb threat to the polling place pretending to be that voter adding that Wimbish admitted he intended the letter to appear as if it had come from the voter as a threat to himself and his fellow poll workers The typewritten letter contained phrases such as “young liberal woke idiot” and “woke liberal fraudsters,” saying the author knew where the poll workers lived and that the men would get a “beatdown” and a “firing squad” in a fight while the women would be subjected to “rage rape,” the U.S Wimbish handwrote a note at the bottom that said a “boom toy” was in an early voting place and later admitted that he knew the term was slang for a bomb investigators found the letter on Wimbish’s computer District Judge Marc Treadwell and is scheduled for sentencing on May 13 This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Capitol Beat News Service.  Ty Tagami is a staff writer for Capitol Beat News Service The award-winning reporter spent 22 years covering education for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution GPB is committed to bringing you comprehensive news coverage from Georgia across the country and around the world.  Your support makes this possible.  Please consider making a gift today to support this vital public service Career-based education has rapidly gained traction in Hawaiʻi schools Natalie Watts loves her computer science classes at Campbell High School The junior has studied everything from coding robots to creating online computer games and was initially attracted to the career track because of the technological skills she could gain and the high-paying jobs that could follow.  But when Watts recently participated in a presentation highlighting Campbell’s STEM programs she received an unexpected question from the audience: Is being in the program “like going to an all-boys school?” 70% of students in Campbell’s information technology classes were boys The school had a similar gender gap in its architecture and science programs.  Watts has always felt supported and welcomed by her male peers and teachers but she also wants more girls to see computer science and engineering as a part of their futures.  Campbell is one of 46 Hawaiʻi public high schools enrolling students in career and technical education courses internships and training to prepare students for life after graduation Students usually enroll in a single CTE program throughout high school taking multiple classes related to careers in fields such as nursing The number of students enrolled in CTE pathways has exploded in Hawaiʻi in recent years amid debates about how to help students secure high-paying jobs after graduation and combat the state’s high cost of living Nearly two-thirds of the class of 2023 participated in a high school CTE program.  But the programs aren’t serving boys and girls equally across the state boys made up nearly 75% of Hawaiʻi CTE programs focused on STEM and information technology and roughly 70% of programs focused on manufacturing girls made up three-quarters of health care programs like nursing.  Researchers say these patterns reflect and reinforce larger trends in the state’s workforce, where men dominate lucrative careers such as engineering and computer science. Statewide, women make 86 cents for every dollar men earn, in part because of which careers they pursue, according to a 2024 report from the University of Hawaiʻi.  Federal legislation requires states to track gender enrollment in these programs and dedicate funds to address enrollment disparities that help perpetuate longstanding “occupational segregation” and shut women out of higher-paying opportunities But many states — including Hawai‘i — have made little progress in closing the gender gap over the past five years.  Hawaiʻi has slightly better success than mainland districts in getting boys interested in careers in education — and has equal participation in some career tracks like business and hospitality — but the state is lagging behind the national average when it comes to enrolling girls in fields most likely to lead to high-paying jobs in the future The Hawaiʻi Department of Education declined multiple interview requests for this story but individual principals say they are exploring a range of strategies to address the problem from career fairs highlighting women in STEM to presentations encouraging middle schoolers to keep their minds open about future jobs Outside organizations and employers have also stepped in to help schools close gender gaps and some CTE coordinators say the state isn't doing enough to help schools create gender-balanced programs.                    “There’s no real systematic approach,” said Jeremy Seitz who leads the engineering CTE program at Farrington High School.  Eden Ledward is the face of the University of Hawaiʻi’s CTE carpentry program A minute-long video on the university’s website shows Ledward building houses studying construction plans and operating a handsaw as she explains how CTE classes help her pursue her passion for building.   and we get real experience doing real work,” she says to the camera.  The promotional video is the product of federal funds Hawaiʻi receives annually to support CTE programs at the high school and college level under the Carl D Perkins Career and Technical Education Act Of the $7 million the federal government provided Hawaiʻi for its CTE programs in 2024 the state was required to set aside $60,000 to address gender disparities Many of these dollars have gone toward creating promotional videos posted on the UH community college website. The videos feature students who are pursuing CTE programs that have traditionally been dominated by a single gender, such as construction or nursing, said Warren Kawano, career pathways and strategy director at the organization Hawaiʻi P-20 Partnerships for Education.  UH isn’t required to report on the outcomes of specific gender equality initiatives using Perkins funds and it’s difficult to measure the impact of these marketing campaigns But he hopes the videos help broaden students’ understanding of the careers they can pursue.  there's a place for you,” he said.   The state Department of Education gets about $1.4 million a year of the state’s Perkins funding department spokesperson Kimi Takazawa said schools have used some of the federal funds to purchase safety gear for girls in CTE programs bring in female guest speakers to speak about their experiences in STEM fields But the department could not say how much money was spent on initiatives around gender equality and doesn’t track in detail how schools use the funds.  Schools receive Perkins funds based on the number of students enrolled in their CTE programs said Waiākea High School Principal Kelcy Koga but staff have a lot of flexibility in how the funds can be used Waiākea has used the money on everything from hiring CTE staff to running a daylong program teaching elementary and middle school girls about robotics and engineering State leaders have said that equity and access in these programs is paramount but there are few details on how they will achieve that When the state submitted a comprehensive plan in 2020 to the federal government outlining how it would improve equity and enrollment in its CTE programs there was not a single mention of how Hawaiʻi would close its gender gap in the 157-page document That doesn’t mean that the state disregarded the issue completely since the $60,000 designated for gender equality is only a small portion of the funding Hawaiʻi uses for CTE It’s up to the education department and individual schools to determine how to achieve greater equality in their CTE programs.  but the change hasn’t been the same across all programs The proportion of girls enrolled in STEM programs rose from 20% to 27% between 2020 and 2022 but the percentage of boys participating in the health science career track stayed roughly the same Department of Education found that high school girls earned roughly the same number of CTE credits in architecture and construction in 2019 as they did in 1990 the gap between the number of boys and girls in CTE health care programs grew as female students enrolled in classes at higher rates.    “These results underscore the need for continued leadership in this space and an urgent strategic focus on better engaging females in career pathways that lead to good jobs,” U.S Technical and Adult Education Amy Loyd wrote last year “CTE programs in some career clusters remain highly segregated by gender as do the occupations for which they prepare students.”   A number of factors can explain states’ ongoing challenges in achieving gender equality in career-based learning deputy executive director of the national advocacy group Advance CTE Gender gaps may persist as students gravitate toward the same classes as their friends or feel family pressure to pursue traditional careers CTE programs like welding may not have equipment specially fitted for girls further enforcing gender stereotypes.  “Those are things that signal to young people I'm welcome or not welcome here,” she said.   Some schools have shown that it’s possible to address gender segregation in CTE.  Roughly half of students in STEM programs in the District of Columbia were girls in the 2021-22 school year The district said its success comes from teaching girls about careers in STEM from a young age and hosting career fairs and guest speakers emphasizing the importance of gender diversity in fields such as health care and engineering.  But efforts in Hawai‘i are mostly piecemeal When Jeremy Seitz began teaching engineering and design technology classes at Farrington High School in 2008 Roughly a quarter of students in the school’s engineering program are now girls.  Making engineering classes a more welcoming place for girls has taken time students have few opportunities to explore career options and girls are often expected to stay home and take care of their younger siblings.  The school brings in female engineers as guest speakers and high school girls visit nearby middle schools to give lessons and show younger students what it’s like to study construction and architecture.  the junior studying computer science at Campbell High School is working with classmates on events that encourage girls to sign up for STEM programs.  you should do it,” Watts tells younger students “Don’t let male domination keep you from doing what you want to do.”  There’s been little statewide effort to make sure all programs are taking similar steps The state education department has occasionally completed equity audits of schools’ CTE programs but he hasn’t seen any action taken based on that data.    “It’s an opportunity for us in the department to lead change not only in Hawaiʻi but across the country,” Hayashi said at the learning center’s grand opening in December 2023.  Even the state’s premier CTE school has significant gender gaps in its health care and engineering programs Only 15% of students in the industrial and engineering technology program are girls only a quarter of students are boys in the health and science program.   Waipahu High School Principal Zachary Sheets said achieving gender equality in CTE is a top priority He tries to make sure there’s equal gender representation in the presentations and promotional materials the school gives to students choosing their CTE programs and has added career tracks like kinesiology to try to make the health care program appealing to more boys.  “Don’t limit yourself,” Sheets said he tells students Sheets is optimistic that efforts by feeder schools to provide career education to younger students will help close some gender gaps at the high school level An equal number of boys and girls are enrolled in classes such as woodworking and aquaponics at nearby Waikele Elementary Younger kids aren’t always aware of gender stereotypes around certain jobs and the school capitalizes on this by encouraging students to explore their interests so they don’t think about those gender inequities,” she said.  some community groups and local employers are also stepping in to help schools close their gender gaps.  the Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi has led a pilot program targeting middle and high school girls who are interested in careers in STEM connects schools with female leaders in the field and hosts activities and panels teaching girls about engineering at partner campuses.  who helps lead the initiative and works at the local engineering firm Bowers + Kubota said young girls aren’t always aware that engineering is a high-paying career path When talking to girls about their CTE options she shares the challenges of working in a male-dominated field but also emphasizes that women can bring leadership skills and new perspectives to the job.  adding that she doesn’t want girls to disregard a career in engineering because they struggle with math or haven’t seen many women at a construction site before In the three school complexes hosting the pilot program the percentage of girls in engineering CTE programs has increased from 17% to 26% over the last five years The Chamber of Commerce is trying to expand the program and identify new schools as future partners Even with these partnerships and guest speakers it’s still difficult to encourage students to pursue programs where they’ll be in the minority Teachers try to create welcoming environments for all students but many kids want to enroll in the same programs as their friends Hawaiʻi has the opportunity to ramp up its efforts to achieve greater gender equality this year as the state prepares to submit a new CTE plan to the federal government.  The 19-page draft plan offers few details on how schools will address gender gaps but the public will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the document beginning next month differences in career preparation for boys and girls can contribute to gender gaps already existing in the workplace.  Nearly 80% of Hawaiʻi’s elementary and middle school teachers are female and earn a median income of $63,000 have a median income of more than $100,000.  Lizardo said he’d like to see more professional development for teachers when it comes to helping students make informed decisions about CTE It’s important for schools to be honest about gender inequalities in the workforce but students should also have as much information as possible when deciding what CTE programs to pursue so they’re not swayed by their families or friends.   said the state should take a closer look at the way schools are marketing and administering CTE programs with clear differences in enrollment for boys and girls CTE programs should open up new opportunities for students rather than confining them to the limited representation they currently see in the workforce.    “I think we need to have those really honest and sometimes tough conversations,” he said.  This story is a collaboration between Civil Beat and Open Campus with support from Ascendium Education Group A new emergency rule would allow students to receive the measles vaccine without giving up their religious exemptions in schools Hawaiʻi health officials are trying a new tactic to convince families to vaccinate their children against measles amid what they say is the growing risk of an outbreak The health department plans to issue an emergency rule allowing children with religious exemptions to receive the vaccination protecting against measles while remaining exempt from all other vaccines Hawaiʻi measles vaccination rate is currently 90% well below the 95% threshold needed to prevent an outbreak the Department of Health said in a press release on Thursday which has recorded more than 400 cases since the start of the year sometimes fatal disease for children,” State Epidemiologist Sarah Kemble said in the written release it could easily reach Hawaiʻi on the next plane.” Last year, 4% of students in Hawaiʻi public and private schools had religious exemptions the state has seen a roughly 250% increase in the number of students with religious exemptions from vaccines lawmakers considered a bill that would have ended the religious exemption for Hawaiʻi students but the proposal died in the House last month The health department is also trying to coordinate with schools to host on-site vaccination clinics Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy and its community health coverage is supported by the Cooke Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation and Papa Ola Lokahi Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 14th year in a row by the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter The state is giving out bonuses and may ease licensing requirements to address an ongoing shortage of instructors in career technical education About 500 educators will be receiving up to $8,000 in bonuses this month but some school leaders aren’t convinced it will be enough to solve Hawaii’s shortage of career technical education teachers.  CTE teachers lead courses ranging from broadcast media to engineering in middle and high schools across the state which emphasize hands-on learning and projects provide students with skills and training they can use in their careers.  While CTE isn’t new to Hawaii, it’s gained traction in recent years especially under the leadership of Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi the teacher workforce may be unable to keep up due to low pay and barriers to licensing The DOE said it doesn’t collect data on the CTE teacher shortage, but approximately 25 positions remain unfilled for the 2024-25 school year. Last month the Hawaii State Teachers Association said it received estimates from DOE that half of CTE classes in Hawaii schools are taught by teachers who don’t have a corresponding license in the subject area Hawaii licenses educators to teach CTE classes in six areas: arts and communication public and human services and natural resources.  The DOE is now providing one-time bonuses to CTE teachers that range from $2,500 to $8,000 based on individual qualifications Lawmakers also passed a bill this year that would ease teacher licensing requirements and allow those with a high school diploma and relevant work and education experience to qualify for a CTE teacher license said she’s hopeful these initiatives will grow Hawaii’s CTE teacher workforce many CTE teachers have years of experience in fields like healthcare or auto mechanics and it’s challenging to convince these professionals to make the move to the classroom.  “It’s difficult to make teaching high school students appealing,” Saula said.  Keala Swain worked in tourism and hotel management for 10 years before coming to Waimea High School on Kauai who now teaches CTE classes in computer science and information technology said he loves working with students and sharing the knowledge he gained from the technology courses he took in college.     leaving his career in the hotel industry required him to take a pay cut of roughly $20,000 in his first year as a teacher.  Because CTE courses can require specialized knowledge in fields like architectural design or nursing schools try to recruit industry professionals to teach their classes But switching to teaching can result in a significant drop in workers’ salaries.  “The shortage is huge,” Waimea High School Principal Mahina Anguay said adding that she recently lost a CTE teacher to a job at the Navy base that could likely pay twice his teacher salary.  The lengthy process for licensing may also deter those considering a CTE teaching job.  The pathway to receiving a teacher license in CTE can vary depending on a person’s educational background and work experience who oversees Leeward Community College’s CTE licensure program.  Individuals need to show relevant experience or coursework in the CTE licensing field they’re pursuing and take approximately three to four semesters of coursework preparing them for teaching Many people seeking their CTE licenses are working adults who need to balance their coursework with other responsibilities “It is challenging to be a full-time employee and go through a program,” Yagi said.  LCC is one of three programs in Hawaii that can prepare teachers for CTE licensure the college recommended 10 students for licensure.  Some Hawaii schools are feeling the direct consequences of the teacher shortage.  Baldwin High School Principal Keoni Wilhelm said he hopes his Wailuku campus will become a wall-to-wall academy by 2025 meaning that all students will be on a college or career-focused pathway with classes and internships preparing them for jobs in culinary arts But Wilhelm said it’s been difficult to recruit teachers as the school expands its CTE offerings Baldwin previously had a healthcare pathway and took advantage of its close proximity to Maui Memorial Medical Center But when the health diagnostic teacher left in 2021 the school had to dissolve the pathway and hasn’t been able to find a replacement since.  “It’s not for a lack of trying to recruit,” Wilhelm said.  When DOE announced it would issue bonuses for CTE teachers this spring although he appreciates the extra $4,000 he’s receiving this month.  But he’s not sure if the bonuses of up to $8,000 will be enough to attract more people to teaching This isn’t the first time DOE has used monetary incentives to address the state’s ongoing teacher shortage. In 2020, the department introduced bonuses for educators who taught special education or Hawaiian immersion classes or were in schools located in hard-to-staff areas.  Special education teachers received the largest bonus of $10,000 each year For the first two years after the bonuses began the recruitment and retention of special education teachers improved.   deputy executive director and chief negotiator of the Hawaii State Teachers Association is skeptical of DOE’s strategy to address the CTE teacher shortage the bonuses are only one-time payments for individuals who taught CTE classes in the 2023-24 school year.  In the state supplemental budget legislators appropriated $2.5 million to continue CTE bonuses in the 2024-25 school year Most teachers aren’t willing to change their jobs based on the uncertain possibility of receiving a salary boost in the future they were told it’s just a one-time thing.” Legislators also passed a bill this session that could make it easier for industry workers to transition to teaching.  Currently, prospective teachers need at least an associate’s degree to earn a CTE license. Under Senate Bill 2257 those with a high school diploma and relevant education and experience in their respective industry could also be considered for a CTE license.  and the change in requirements could provide more opportunities for more industry workers to become teachers executive director of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.  individuals would still need to take classes on the principles of education and teaching in order to receive a CTE license HTSB would also need to define what level of industry experience and training could qualify an individual for licensure.   Green has until July 10 to veto bills or sign them into law building and construction teacher Dante Casillas said it took him about 18 months of classes and teaching observations to receive his CTE license Teaching CTE classes for the past two years has been rewarding adding that his students are leaving a legacy on the school by building risers and picnic tables that their classmates and the community can use “Having that kind of impact and be able to say ‘I did this,’ that’s a cool thing for everybody,” Casillas said “The kids are just proud of their work.” The project would create over 100 units of affordable housing on Mililani High School’s campus but some teachers and families are calling for more community input Mililani High School is prepared to host Hawaii’s first on-campus teacher housing project but a shortage of funding and pushback from staff and families could slow progress.  a state agency responsible for building new schools and workforce housing awarded the project to the Pacific Housing Assistance Corp which is tentatively scheduled to finish in early 2030 will create over 100 affordable one- and two-bedroom units for teachers Teachers working at any Oahu public school would receive priority for the units followed by education department employees and then members of the public.  But some families and educators say there’s been little community input in the development of Mililani’s housing plan so far The proposed site for the apartment complex would replace the school’s garden and agricultural classrooms and some teachers say the proposed rent prices seem unreasonable The project first faced funding shortfalls when Gov Josh Green reduced its budget to $5 million earlier this year following budget constraints from the Maui wildfires Lawmakers had initially appropriated $170 million for teacher housing in 2023 proposing sites at Mililani as well as at schools in Nanakuli The authority chose Mililani as a pilot site but said it hopes to build more teacher housing at other school campuses in the future there’s zero money right now,” authority Director Riki Fujitani said adding that the $5 million from the state is helping to vet proposals and choose a contractor for the project has pledged to build Mililani’s teacher housing without state funds The company plans to lease a portion of Mililani High School’s land from the authority and will fund build and run the housing project on its own the company will turn over the project to the state But the company’s proposed location for the project has proved unpopular with some students and teachers the company plans to build housing where the classrooms and gardens for the school’s agricultural program are located citing the site’s close proximity to city sewer and water lines The company has offered to rebuild the garden in another part of the school but students and teachers want to keep the original site Many students and alumni have a strong connection to the garden and take pride in the space they’ve created for over a decade said Mililani High School teacher Mary Miura-Aguinaldo Moving the garden would mean uprooting ulu trees and disrupting projects where students donate indigenous plants to the Waianae Mountains Watershed and grow produce for the school’s culinary program “It’s become a special community gathering place,” Miura-Aguinaldo said authority officials reassured attendees that the proposed location for teacher housing isn’t set in stone The developer hasn’t entered into a formal contract with the state the authority’s policy and program officer Cheri Nakamura said and the company could still modify where it plans to locate the apartments based on the public’s input it’s not a done deal.” She added the company is considering the cost of building housing in a parking lot in the far corner of Mililani’s campus which the authority had originally identified as an ideal spot for the project Some community members also questioned the level of teacher interest in the project during Thursday’s meeting Mililani High School teacher Sarah Miranda said she’s unsure if teachers will want to live in such close proximity to campus adding that the proposed site is only 30 feet away from her classroom The suggested rents also seem steep for a teacher Since the project consists of affordable housing units Department of Housing and Urban Development The units are available to those making less than roughly $117,000 a year and could cost up to $3,100 for a one-bedroom and $3,700 for a two-bedroom unit.  a licensed teacher could have a starting salary of just over $53,300 Those teachers would pay between $1,300 and $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment.  It’s unlikely that experienced teachers with higher salaries would seek on-campus housing especially if they’re trying to save for a house or a condo where they could retire she could see the apartments appealing to educators from the mainland who are looking for a temporary place to stay in their first years of teaching said Mililani High School Principal Fred Murphy he’s hopeful the project could help with teacher recruitment and retention across the state Principals are constantly helping new hires find cheap furniture or roommates to reduce their expenses and he’s seen hires return to the mainland because of Hawaii’s high cost of living.  “This is really about trying to find one more piece to the puzzle to make it more affordable for teachers to live and work here,” Murphy said “And when they have the peace of mind with secure housing they’re going to do a better job educating our youth.”  The state will start accepting applications year-round in an effort to increase the number of families seeking help paying for preschool.  Money set aside by the state to help families cover the cost of preschool has gone partially unused in recent years something state leaders hope to change by offering parents more money and opportunities to apply for the program Through Preschool Open Doors families can apply for subsidies to reduce the cost of preschool tuition for 3- and 4-year-olds The state expanded POD’s eligibility earlier this year increasing both the income eligibility cap and how much families could receive from the program each month It has since increased to $1,500 per month A new law will also allow families to apply for POD subsidies year-round The Department of Human Services has previously opened POD applications for a few months at a time but the shortened window discouraged families from applying and made it difficult for advocates to raise awareness about the program “Parents are not really thinking about preschool until it gets really close to the school period or the enrollment period,” Luke said DHS spent only half of POD’s $12 million annual budget she’s hoping the program’s expanded eligibility and longer application period will help the department spend all of its funding Last year, lawmakers raised POD’s annual budget to $50 million so the program could accommodate more families Over 1,300 children have received subsidies this year, Luke said, and DHS has spent $25 million of its POD funds. In January Luke estimated that POD could serve roughly 2,800 children under its new eligibility requirements and expansion Families can continue to apply for assistance for the 2024-25 school year until late January or funds run out DHS will then open a new round of subsidy applications for the 2025-26 school year Deborah Zysman, executive director of the Hawaii Children’s Action Network, said she’s hopeful the new changes to POD will make preschool affordable for more families. But, she added, Hawaii’s severe shortage of preschool providers could make it difficult for families to find an open program and use their subsidies Luke’s Ready Keiki initiative estimates that Hawaii needs more than 400 classrooms to fulfill its goal of providing universal access to preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032 she would like to see the state expand eligibility for POD even more Parents also need child care for infants and toddlers and some families who don’t meet the current income requirements for POD may still struggle with the costs of early education programs so the state makes the rules,” Zysman said About 2,900 students who rely on bus service didn’t have it when the school year began When Mountain View Elementary on Hawaii Island began classes Monday Sherrie Galdeira was on the road with her son by 6:15 a.m The Hawaii Department of Education had canceled school bus services for thousands of students just days before and Galdeira was worried about fighting traffic with other parents who needed to drop off their children before the workday began.  Galdeira was exhausted and frustrated with the time and costs of taking her son to school DOE offers mileage reimbursement for families driving to campus but completing the paperwork wasn’t worth the small amount of money she’d receive in exchange Galdeira kept her son home from school that day effective communication from the DOE and the government,” Galdeira said “They have to have known that this was coming.”  DOE restored bus routes for 23 schools, including Mountain View, on Monday, but 113 routes remain canceled for students on Oahu, the Big Island and Maui. This marks the third year in a row that DOE has made last-minute cancellations to its bus services for nearly 30,000 students.  Frustrated families and lawmakers are now demanding accountability from DOE and its contractor which started the year unable to fill 147 of its routes Ground Transport received the bulk of DOE’s bus contracts earlier this year and serves 10 of the 16 school complexes the company has been able to restore five of its routes since the start of the school year Ground Transport did not respond to requests for comment.  DOE has consolidated and canceled routes dating back to 2017 and driver shortages have only worsened since the pandemic Some lawmakers and others say Hawaii should reconsider the way it contracts out to bus companies – or if schools should be relying on private vendors at all.  “That’s the first hurdle in learning,” Rep. Amy Perruso said about the canceled routes. Perruso has previously proposed a pilot project that would allow DOE to own its own buses and provide transportation services to students.    DOE doesn’t have a timeline for restoring all of its routes although Deputy Superintendent Randy Moore hopes all students will have access to bus transportation by the time the first quarter ends in early October.  When DOE began a new round of bus contracts in July, the bulk of its business went to two companies – Roberts Hawaii and Ground Transport A third company received routes for a single complex on Kauai.  Now, families and community members are questioning DOE’s decision to give Ground Transport so much responsibility for serving Hawaii schools. According to its website Ground Transport took on 91 new schools and expanded its services to the Big Island for the first time this year.  Changes to the state’s contracting process along with a steady decline in bus drivers may explain DOE’s difficulties.  Around 2014, DOE revised its contracting process to drive down transportation costs and make bus routes more efficient who served as an assistant superintendent from 2012 to 2015 Instead of allowing bus companies to serve individual campuses DOE asked vendors to bid on packages that grouped together multiple routes and schools The change required owners to serve more students and neighborhoods for several years at a time and made it harder for smaller companies to compete with statewide providers who had huge fleets and hundreds of employees general manager of Akina Tours & Transportation on Maui Akina lost its bid to serve Maui schools in 2017 and hasn’t contracted with DOE since.  As smaller bus companies are pushed out of business states may see a decline in their driver workforce executive director of the National School Transportation Association Long-time drivers may be unwilling to stay in the school bus business after their local company closes It’s also difficult for small providers to survive when there’s so few drivers available in the state who formerly served as the general manager of Iosepa Transportation A wave of workers retired during the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s difficult for new employees to earn their specialized bus driver licenses and survive on jobs that only offer them a few hours of pay in the early mornings and afternoons “It’s a struggle because the cost versus the profit margin isn’t there,” Scovel said Iosepa Transportation served Big Island schools until DOE chose not to extend its contract earlier this year DOE knew well before the start of school that Ground Transport was coming up short on employees Companies need to submit a roster of their drivers 45 days before the new school year begins and complete a dry run of their routes over a week before classes start.  Moore said the department followed these procedures but believed Ground Transport would be able to hire more employees by the end of summer vacation He said he wasn’t notified until late July that Ground Transport would be unable to fulfill more than 100 of its routes beginning Aug Roberts Hawaii has entered into weekly contracts with DOE to restore nearly 30 routes that were originally assigned to Ground Transport Moore said he’s unsure how much the department is paying Roberts for these services but emphasized that Ground Transport is not receiving payment for the routes it isn’t covering the unused money is going toward other transportation initiatives like reimbursing parents for mileage or covering the cost of county bus passes for high school students.  Lawmakers have questioned why Ground Transport should keep its seven-year contract moving forward The state will spend $85 million on school bus contracts for the 2024-25 academic year Roberts Hawaii covered some of the routes on Big Island Oahu and Maui that Ground Transport is currently unable to serve Roberts' vice president of sales and marketing The company has sufficient bus drivers and would be willing to take on more routes for the rest of the school year When lawmakers pressed school leaders at a hearing Thursday on why they awarded so many contracts to Ground Transport earlier this year Moore said DOE doesn’t necessarily award routes to the contractor with the lowest prices the department places a heavy emphasis on other factors like a company’s safety procedures its future plans to use zero-emission buses and its efforts to recruit and retain drivers But Erban said she believes DOE needs to place a greater consideration on a company’s track record of serving students Roberts consistently covered 94% of its routes last year and has school buses and base yards throughout the state.   it’s up to them to make the changes,” Erban said about DOE's approach to contracts.  Moore told legislators the department's focus is on restoring routes as quickly as possible school leaders will start looking at future improvements DOE is considering staggering school start times so fewer drivers can cover more routes before classes start the department could potentially hire drivers as part-time cafeteria workers or custodians during the school day to provide them more steady employment Perruso said the state could also look beyond private services for possible long-term answers.  some school districts have their own fleet of vehicles and run their own bus services DOE wouldn’t face the uncertainty of relying on outside contractors It would also be easier for the department to hire employees who could split their time driving buses and working on campus although the state could face a large upfront cost in purchasing its own school buses "We definitely need to be thinking about transition because the status quo isn’t working," Perruso said The Hawaii Department of Education has the lowest number of teacher vacancies the state has seen since 2019 but schools may experience a surge in retirements in the coming years Jonah Basurto never had enough teachers to cover all his classes Teachers would leave partway through the year requiring substitutes or counselors to take their place students would be sent to the cafeteria.  over 100 students would gather in the room to complete their assignments or play games and watch movies on their phones and computers who attended Lahainaluna until last spring.  Hawaii’s high cost of living and isolated location have made recruiting and retaining qualified teachers a long-term challenge for the state The Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated the problem when thousands of Hawaii teachers left the classroom citing concerns about health and the challenges of providing online instruction But Hawaii schools may be seeing some relief for the first time in years When students returned to classes last week the Hawaii Department of Education had just 166 unfilled teaching positions DOE recorded over 1,000 vacancies in August 2022.  Some principals are hopeful that the teacher workforce is beginning to stabilize and grow reducing the scramble for new hires at the start of every year A new contract from the teacher's union is providing veterans with greater pay incentives to stay in the classroom and the state has also ramped up its employment of educators from the Philippines and other countries the state is reducing its reliance on emergency hires who have a college degree but have not completed the coursework or teaching experience needed for a state license Communications director Nanea Ching said the department is working to help emergency hires become licensed teachers by connecting them with education courses and preparation programs at local colleges Emergency hires in the DOE have up to three years to earn their teaching licenses said he’s seeing signs of progress with the teacher shortage he’s consistently needed to find substitutes or emergency hires to staff the school and administrators would sometimes combine classes and teach multiple courses at a time when there were no teachers available.  With recent changes to Baldwin’s class schedule and new recruitment tactics Wilhelm said he’s finally starting the school year fully staffed without any emergency hires “I am cautiously optimistic,” Wilhelm said There’s no single factor explaining the recent decline in teacher vacancies The number of new hires — just over 1,230 — is comparable to past school years and the total number of DOE teachers has remained at roughly 13,000 since 2019 But some principals say teacher retention seems to be improving requiring them to search for fewer educators each year nearly 1,200 teachers were leaving the department annually Some teachers were worried about their health as they returned to in-person instruction while others struggled to support students who didn’t know how to socialize or behave in the classroom after online learning Now, Minakami added, teachers seem happier and have more motivation to stay in schools for longer. Under HSTA’s new contract, veteran teachers can increase their pay to over $100,000 beginning next year by taking professional development classes and moving up DOE’s salary scale.  Many teachers who are considering retirement will likely stay in the DOE for a few more years to qualify for the pay raise president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association you can increase the quality of people coming into the job,” he said.  Other schools have found success by searching for educators internationally DOE hired 122 new teachers from outside the United States this year with many employees coming from the Philippines While most new hires don’t arrive with a state teacher's license they come to Hawaii with classroom experience from the Philippines and can stay in the state for up to five years The department welcomed roughly 80 teachers from the Philippines at the start of the last school year.  Baldwin High School currently has seven educators from the Philippines who have earned their teaching licenses The staff members are committed to serving Hawaii students and have quickly embraced the school’s culture But Hawaii is still searching for sustainable ways to grow the pool of qualified teachers Past initiatives like introducing teacher bonuses have seen limited success.  In 2020, DOE introduced annual bonuses to incentivize licensed teachers to work in special education and Hawaiian immersion classrooms as well as hard-to-staff areas like Waianae and Nanakuli.  But while the $10,000 bonus for special education teachers has motivated existing educators to move into special education positions it hasn't had a significant impact on retention deputy director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research It's too early to tell if salary raises are encouraging more people to enter teaching but the recent decline in special education vacancies is largely due to staff shifting positions within the DOE the bonuses have helped to target a critical area of the teacher shortage dean of Chaminade University’s School of Education and Behavioral Sciences It can be intimidating for new teachers to begin their careers in special education classrooms and veteran teachers often have the training and experience needed to make a successful transition to leading special education classes there’s people who are interested,” Fryxell said.  Tui said the state needs to find more permanent solutions to keep experienced teachers in classrooms He added that he expects a wave of veteran teachers to retire in the next few years putting another strain on staffing in Hawaii schools “We’re on the precipice of a big drop-off,” Tui said.  The pandemic exacerbated families’ financial struggles but Hawaii schools saw fewer reductions in student achievement compared to their mainland counterparts While the Covid-19 pandemic left its mark on Hawaii students’ achievement and families’ economic stability the results may not be as dire as expected according to a national report released Monday.  The Kids Count Data Book annually assesses children and families’ well-being across the United States Hawaii received an overall rank of 25 this year receiving above-average ratings in indicators relating to education health and family and community resources.  The report primarily drew from data collected in 2022.  Hawaii students fared better than many of their peers on the mainland when it came to academic achievement The state’s fourth grade reading proficiency rate remained around 35% from 2019 to 2022 while the national average dropped by 3%.   where its eighth grade proficiency rate dropped from 28% to 22% from 2019 to 2022 But Hawaii’s loss was still less than the national decline in math proficiency president and CEO of the Castle Foundation said it’s promising that Hawaii students may have recovered more quickly from the pandemic compared to other states the state needs to do more when it comes to addressing families’ economic well-being where Hawaii ranked 38th in the nation.  “There’s no question that the state is beginning to show the deep impact the pandemic had on our children,” George said.  28% of Hawaii children had parents who lacked secure employment Deborah Zysman, director of the Hawaii Children’s Action Network said Hawaii hasn’t seen huge declines in families’ economic well-being since 2020 families were already struggling with the state’s high housing costs before the pandemic and Hawaii’s dependence on tourism and service industries could make it difficult for parents to find full-time And that’s sometimes the concern,” Zysman said.  children may face greater academic challenges In 2022, Hawaii’s chronic absenteeism rate was nearly 40% and had more than doubled since the pandemic. More recent data indicates that the state’s absenteeism rate has improved but remains high particularly among low-income and homeless students as well as Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.  Families typically understand the importance of education but aren’t always able to send their children to school When parents work multiple jobs or struggle to provide for their families older children may stay home to take care of their younger siblings or drop out of school to enter the workforce early.  why children are missing school,” Zysman said.  Moving forward, Cheri Nakamura, director of the Hui for Excellence in Education advocacy group, said she’d like to see more information on what the state is doing to improve in areas like math proficiency and chronic absenteeism. For example, she added, while some states have emphasized evidence-based reading programs to improve student literacy it’s unclear if the Hawaii Department of Education is consistently implementing similar reforms across the state.   as the department spends the last of its federal Covid relief funds she would like to see data on what programs or initiatives were most effective in supporting student achievement or mental health The data can play a crucial role in helping schools determine their next steps in recovering from the pandemic “It was an opportunity to try to figure out and experiment what programs or strategies were helpful,” she said.  Principals at small schools say they need more money to adequately serve students but some state leaders say school consolidation and closures could be the answer During a rainy recess at Kaaawa Elementary students in grades kindergarten to six swarmed the school playground splashing through puddles and racing each other on the field.  Principal Jennifer Luke-Payne greeted children by name kicking a soccer ball to some students and allowing others to retrieve play equipment from her office “They’re all my babies,” Luke-Payne said.  Just over 120 students attend Kaaawa Elementary Hawaii’s elementary schools enroll roughly 450 students.  It’s financially difficult to run a school with fewer than 250 students because enrollment plays a large role in determining how much money schools receive each year Small schools like Kaaawa Elementary struggle to fund key teaching positions when they’re working with annual budgets of roughly $1 million or less student enrollment in Hawaii’s state-run public schools has steadily declined Some neighborhoods have aging populations with fewer young children while other families have enrolled in charter or private schools The number of small schools enrolling 250 students or less has grown from 19 to 35 over the past decade annual budgets have come under greater strain requiring principals to cut teaching positions or eliminate classes like music or physical education.  Legislators recently approved $6 million to supplement the budgets of small and geographically remote schools next academic year But the additional money is only good for a year and principals say small schools need more permanent funding sources to stay afloat.  DOE has moved to consolidate or close small schools in the past These closures have drawn strong opposition from the community but it’s sometimes necessary when schools are so small they can’t provide a full range of academic and extracurricular opportunities said Board of Education Chair Roy Takumi.  Takumi anticipates the issue of school closures coming to the board during his tenure but it’s up to the department to initiate the discussion schools should have a useful shelf life,” Takumi said.  Kimberly Kaai runs Maunaloa Elementary on Molokai with a budget of roughly $890,000 a year.  The school doesn't have enough money to pay for a teacher for each grade so the school combines its kindergarten and first grade class as well as its fifth and sixth grade classes Maunaloa Elementary was the second-smallest school in Hawaii and enrolled 43 students.   The DOE allocates school funding using what's known as the weighted student formula a calculation based primarily on the number of students enrolled at each campus Schools also receive additional money for students with certain characteristics such as low-income or gifted and talented students.  “That amount from the weighted student formula is definitely not enough to adequately staff our schools,” Kaai said.  Luke-Payne and Waiahole Elementary Principal Alexandra Obra estimate that small elementary schools need annual budgets of at least $1.38 million.  a DOE committee studying the weighted student formula identified eight small schools All eight schools enroll fewer than 150 students and had projected budgets of $1.3 million or less Under the new state budget the eight schools will receive an additional $250,000 for the 2024-25 academic year Six geographically remote schools on Big Island Lanai and Molokai will also receive additional funding Obra said she’s planning to use the extra money to hire a librarian for the first time she’s responsible for checking books in and out and cleans the library on the weekends.  But small schools aren’t guaranteed the additional money next year which can make it challenging for principals to attract and hire teachers a consultant who studied small schools and published a report on Kaaawa and Waiahole Elementary in 2022 Principals do their best to fundraise and partner with local organizations to provide more opportunities for their students but they need a more consistent source of money.  “There’s no easy answers,” Zeug said.  who served on DOE’s 2023 committee evaluating the weighted student formula said middle and high schools typically don’t face the same funding challenges as elementary schools because they have larger student populations But some secondary schools still face tight budgets amid low enrollment numbers Principal Reid Kuba said he needed to cut a teaching position when enrollment was especially low around 2013 Jarrett Middle has used its low enrollment to its advantage encouraging more families to send their kids to the school because of its small class sizes and close-knit community.  Jarrett Middle is still the smallest middle school on Oahu but Kuba said he hasn’t needed to reduce staffing in recent years.  “We embraced our small school status,” he said.  Frederick Reppun remembers hearing discussions about closing Waiahole Elementary when he was a third grader in the 1990s celebrating its 140th anniversary this year but conversations around consolidation and closure have persisted DOE produced nearly a dozen reports looking into the effects of closing and consolidating elementary and middle schools across the state but the department closed three elementary schools by 2011 — Wailupe Valley in East Honolulu Keanae Elementary on Maui and Queen Lydia Liliuokalani Elementary in Kaimuki Keanae hadn’t enrolled any students since 2003 but community members came out in full force to oppose the closures of Wailupe and Queen Liliuokalani Elementary.  who was serving as an assistant superintendent in DOE at the time said closing the schools wasn’t an easy decision The department needed to assess the quality of small schools’ facilities the academic opportunities available to students and what campuses families would attend if their current school closed.  who rejoined DOE as an interim deputy superintendent last week said he would be surprised if the department didn’t resume its assessment of small schools and the value of keeping them open.  Lisa Marten said her district could potentially benefit from consolidating schools.  Enchanted Lake and Keolu Elementary Schools fall within a 10-minute drive from one another Because more families are growing older or sending their children to private schools it makes sense to close the smallest school where enrollment had dropped by half in the past decade Marten said she worries the two schools are struggling to offer important classes like music She added that school closures may not work in rural areas where families have fewer educational options said consolidating with Keolu Elementary would be difficult Keolu Elementary currently provides breakfast and lunch to nearby schools and it could be challenging to find another campus with the kitchen capacity to produce more daily meals.  you’ve created a bigger problem,” Richardson said.  Luke-Payne said there’s no shortage of learning opportunities Kualoa Ranch has donated a small patch of land where students grow kalo and pound poi at the end of the year students have grown native plants that help to combat beach erosion.  The community rallies to support the school (Eric Risberg | AP) The former Oakland Army Base pier at left and the Port of Oakland at lower right in Oakland A federal judge in California released a ruling this week that keeps alive the possibility that Utah coal could pass through the port on its way to Asia A California judge this week issued a ruling that keeps alive the possibility that Utah coal could be shipped through a yet-to-be-built port facility in Oakland but port opponents still vow that no coal will ever pass through the city Alameda Superior Court Judge Noël Wise issued a final judgment Tuesday extending a lease on the port land until 2026 The judge had earlier ruled that the city had violated the rights of the leaseholder when it canceled his lease over concerns that coal shipments through the port would endanger Oakland residents Tagami has been pursuing a port on the site for more than a decade and at one point the state of Utah was looking to be an investor in the project through its “Throughput Infrastructure Fund,” an entity created by the Utah Legislature to fund projects with mineral royalty money In an unusual arrangement back in 2016 the Utah Legislature agreed to put $53 million in state money into the infrastructure fund with the understanding the state would be paid back by the Permanent Community Impact Fund board the Utah entity that allocates mineral royalty money That money was intended for investing in the Oakland port but the plan has been embroiled in lawsuits ever since Tagami filed suit seeking more than $160 million in what it said was lost profits and instead offered a choice to Tagami’s company It could collect $318,000 in damages from the city and give up the lease or it could have until 2026 to secure a deal to get the port built “We applaud the court’s refusal to reward the would-be coal terminal developers with the massive payoff they sought by suing the city,” said Ted Franklin from No Coal in Oakland spokesperson for the Utah Department of Workforce Services said the state’s $53 million is still set aside in the Throughput Infrastructure Fund which is legally allowed to fund an electrical transmission line deepwater port or pipeline for liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons “The board would consider any application that meets those criteria but there are not currently any applications for funding from the Throughput Infrastructure Fund,” Davis said “Building new coal transport infrastructure in Oakland,” said Franklin “would endanger the health of the Oakland community particularly residents and workers in historically Black West Oakland.” With coal demand in the United States plummeting, Utah coal production last year fell to its lowest level since 1976 Utah coal producers have sought to export more coal to Asia where coal-fired power plants are still being built despite their contribution to climate change Gas and Mining and the Utah Geological Survey said in an email that state coal exports have varied in the past 20 years but “a recently expanding foreign export market has provided new opportunities for Utah coal operators.” Utah coal has been shipped through a separate Bay Area facility in Richmond, north of Oakland, but that city has voted to end coal shipments by 2026. “With diminished port capacity on the West Coast of the United States Utah operators have sought out alternate port facilities (e.g. Gulf of Mexico) to send their coal overseas,” Brown wrote Utah producers have exported between 1.6 million and 4 million tons of coal annually over the past five years It is unclear how long Asian demand for coal will continue as cleaner sources are coming on line faster than predicted. The International Energy Agency predicts that global consumption of coal will peak this year and then decline slowly. Franklin said his group is willing to work with the developer on a port project that doesn’t take coal, but they are “ready for the fight” if coal exports are still planned. “Investors, beware,” he said. “There will never be a coal export terminal in Oakland.” For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support 801-237-2900 or email subscribe@sltrib.com sltrib.com © 1996-2025 The Salt Lake Tribune This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page KQED Live EventsPRX Podcast Garage EventsEvents Around the Bay AreaMember Benefits with KQED LiveVideos from KQED LiveWatch recordings of recent KQED Live events FeaturedThat's My WordAn ongoing exploration of Bay Area hip-hop history See Senior Director of TV Programming Meredith Speight’s recommendations from this month’s KQED 9 Watch recordings of recent KQED Live events Support KQED by using your donor-advised fund to make a charitable gift  (Dan Brekke/KQED)Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and the powerful developer behind the city's ambitious redevelopment of the old Oakland Army Base are embroiled in a dispute over a proposal to use a new cargo facility to export coal -- a rift the developer says could threaten the success of the $500 million project which prompted Schaaf to rebuke developer Phil Tagami for pursuing the coal plan over the city's objections is detailed in a series of emails and other documents that the Sierra Club's San Francisco Bay Area chapter obtained through a state Public Records Act request The issue of whether coal will be shipped through the new cargo terminal has long been a subject of concern for community leaders which suffers disproportionate rates of respiratory disease linked to heavy ship and truck traffic to the Port of Oakland The City Council last year passed a resolution opposing coal shipments through the new facility. And for his part, Tagami had met earlier expressions of concern with what sounded like definitive assurances that coal shipments would not go through the terminal he's in charge of building. About two-thirds of the overall project's half-billion-dollar pricetag will come from local "It has come to my attention that there are community concerns about a purported plan to develop a coal plant or coal distribution facility as part of the Oakland Global project," Tagami said in the project's December 2013 newsletter The individuals spreading this notion are misinformed CCIG is publicly on record as having no interest or involvement in the pursuit of coal-related operations at the former Oakland Army Base." CCIG stands for California Capital and Investment Group the commercial real estate firm Tagami heads and which in 2012 won the right to develop the city's portion of the old Oakland Army Base CCIG's stance on "coal-related operations" at the new facility had changed from "no interest" to very interested That happened after four Utah counties said they'd like to invest in part of the port project called the Oakland Bulk and Oversize Terminal The counties want to help pay for the terminal as a way of guaranteeing their ability to ship the "energy commodities" they produce -- coal -- to overseas markets a state community investment board approved a $53 million loan to the counties which they plan to use to become partners in the Oakland bulk terminal The board's meeting featured a brief appearance by Mark McClure McClure actually spoke after the Utah Permanent Community Impact Fund Board had voted to approve the $53 million loan and pointed out virtues of the new port relative to rival facilities elsewhere on the West Coast "One of the key components that people forget is that you can have the product but we're very dependent on the rail lines to move the product from one place to another," McClure told the board He added that the two railroads serving the port both have direct routes west to the Bay Area from Utah Details of the Utah counties' investment in the port -- they are supposed to get an equity stake in the port in return for their cash -- still remained to be worked out after the vote But the deal gradually made its way into the media -- first in Utah and by late April in the Bay Area who had earlier dismissed concerns about development of a coal-shipping facility at the new port facility now suggested that the matter was out of his hands had transferred its rights to develop and operate the planned Oakland bulk cargo facility to another party The firm was created last year and is headed by Jerry Bridges a former executive director of the Port of Oakland Schaaf attended a breakfast of the city's business and community leaders Bridges apparently talked about coal coming to the new bulk cargo terminal -- again something that Schaaf and a majority on the City Council were already on the record as opposing We don't know what Schaaf said to Bridges during breakfast we know just what she had to say to Tagami In an email written immediately after hearing Bridges Schaaf started with the subject line "stop all mention of coal now." Then she wrote: Schaaf was not addressing a stranger. Tagami is an Oakland native who endorsed Schaaf's mayoral run last year. He has also become a larger-than-life figure in the city by leading a couple of the downtown area's signature redevelopment projects: the Rotunda Building the landmark building that his California Capital and Investment group owns and manages He has also served on the city's Planning Commission and on the Port of Oakland board of directors Tagami told Schaaf that for the new cargo terminal to be financially viable it "needs to handle whatever legal bulk goods the potential customer may need to pass through the facility." What's more the city's earlier approvals have essentially given him permission to go ahead as he sees fit Tagami urged the city -- especially Schaaf and members of the City Council -- to "keep its proverbial powder dry for the moment" and refrain from making "any irretrievable public statements or actions" until discussions had taken place neither Schaaf nor Tagami have much to say about the dispute publicly Tagami said no commitment has been made yet to ship "any particular commodity" -- presumably including Utah coal -- through the new bulk cargo facility But he repeated his earlier insistence that developing the bulk facility as he wants to is necessary "to ensure the viability of the entire revitalization plan for Oakland’s working waterfront." "I am working with our business partners on the redevelopment of the former Oakland Army Base to find a mutually acceptable way to move forward that respects our city policy and honors Oaklanders' commitment to protecting our environment and the health and safety of this community." That's not enough for the local chapter of the Sierra Club says not only are port developers "doing something that clearly Oakland doesn’t want but they’re also doing it very sneakily where there’s no opportunity for the public to weigh in." She says the city will lose its leverage to stop coal shipments through the new port once the terminal operator signs a deal with the Utah counties that would like to ship coal through the new facility West Oakland Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney has planned to bring a resolution to the City Council “to consider the health and safety impacts of a possible deal to bring thousands of coal-filled rail cars from Utah to be shipped out of the Port of Oakland.” The Sierra Club and supporters plan to protest outside City Hall on July 21 at the City Council's last meeting before its summer recess To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. Counselors are concerned that fewer high school seniors may apply for college aid this year because of problems with the federal system Recent revisions to a federal financial aid form promise to significantly increase the number of students in Hawaii who get help paying for college but the effort could backfire this year because of issues with the rollout The new Free Application for Federal Student Aid which has been streamlined to be shorter and easier to complete the online form remains open only intermittently it’s going to be a really good thing,” said Frank Green a financial aid outreach specialist at the University of Hawaii West Oahu “It’s just really frustrating because it doesn’t work.”  Hawaii students left $12 million in federal grants for college on the table by choosing not to complete the FAFSA The U.S. Department of Education estimates that roughly 1,880 additional Hawaii students could be eligible for federal grants under the “better FAFSA.” The simplified form automatically inputs applicants’ tax return information saving families from manually filling out the information themselves 56% of Hawaii seniors completed the FAFSA — far short of the state’s pre-pandemic goal of getting 90% of students to submit the form Some students don’t fill out the FAFSA simply because they don’t plan on attending college But others leave the FAFSA untouched because they’re confused by the application or automatically assume they can’t afford a college education what they’re missing out on,” Sun-Miyashiro said adding that he believes more students would consider higher education if they completed the FAFSA and saw how much aid they could receive.  Students may not complete the FAFSA for a number of reasons, said Gus Cobb-Adams, a college application and transition specialist for Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education. Students from low-income families may prioritize working after high school. Since the pandemic more graduates have also been taking gap years before entering college But the FAFSA can help students better understand what options they might be able to pursue after graduation low-income students who complete the FAFSA could receive over $7,000 in federal grants which could easily cover the costs of tuition and books at a local community college There are currently 13 states that require high school seniors to complete the FAFSA While students can also submit an opt-out form the laws work as a “light nudge” in encouraging students to consider their options for attending and financing college When California’s FAFSA requirement took effect last academic year it resulted in an outpouring of additional support for families struggling with the application the communications and public affairs coordinator at the California Student Aid Commission The FAFSA completion rate for the class of 2023 in California hit 74% Ratnam added — up 6% from the previous year As current high school seniors navigate a new FAFSA application and face a shortened timeline for completing the form Ratnam said he’s optimistic that support systems created last year will prevent California’s completion rates from declining.  In 2021, Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz introduced a bill that would have made the FAFSA a graduation requirement by the 2023-24 school year Cobb-Adams said he believes all Hawaii seniors should complete the FAFSA But he said making it a state law could put an additional strain on counselors who are already stretched thin seniors are required to submit a FAFSA or complete a worksheet showing their basic knowledge of the application in addition to the school’s popular financial aid nights to Kohala High’s FAFSA completion rate of 68% the sixth highest in the state last year.  she’s worried the delayed release of the FAFSA could reduce the number of students submitting the form this year The intermittent availability of the online form may frustrate some students to the point of giving up “I hope that it won’t result in a reduction but I do fear that it might,” Henderson said Even if students complete the FAFSA this year many can expect delays in receiving their financial aid packages which help families understand how much they will pay for a given college.  Many students won’t receive their financial aid packages until March or April In years when the FAFSA was released on time colleges began sending out packages in early February some students may need to make a decision for the fall without receiving financial aid offers from all of their colleges “They may very well be in a position where they’re going to have to make the call without the numbers,” Green said.  These delays could ultimately affect Hawaii’s college-going rates are still waiting for financial aid packages in the spring they may prioritize other pathways like working or joining the military recent changes to the FAFSA may have less of an impact on their abilities to issue financial aid packages Chaminade’s smaller applicant pool allows the university to process its FAFSA forms more quickly Chaminade has hired more representatives to visit high schools across the state and help families complete their FAFSA applications in 2024 the University of Hawaii Manoa has encouraged students to submit their college and FAFSA applications by a priority deadline in early February but less funding for financial aid may be available vice provost for enrollment management and interim director of admissions at UH Manoa.  UH Manoa hasn’t changed its priority deadline yet but it’s considering moving it back to later in the year the university aimed to send out its financial aid packages between January and March the university may start issuing financial aid packages in March at the earliest.    UH Manoa will continue to encourage new students to enroll by May 1 but the university will be understanding of the delays students are facing this year “We’re in a mode of just trying to be flexible,” Chun said.  the revised FAFSA looks promising for high school students adding that he recently completed his own test application in 10 minutes the application has taken him around 30 minutes it will take time to work out the current challenges with the FAFSA and the class of 2024 may pay the price.  “I think the parents and the students are going to experience new levels of frustration that they don’t deserve,” Green said As parent frustration and aggression escalates in schools the Hawaii Department of Education grapples with how to keep employees safe while respecting families’ rights 10 teachers and public school employees in Hawaii have sought restraining orders against a single parent they say has repeatedly harassed and threatened them the parent has called school employees a “pregnant dog in heat” and a “Fucken Micronesian Idiot,” told a principal he had hired a private investigator to investigate them made shooting and throat-slitting motions at another teacher while driving past them joined his son’s online class without warning and insulted the principal and threatened to find a DOE employee on a hiking trail to confront her and her family Yet very few of the restraining orders filed against the parent have been approved While police have struggled to serve him papers for a court hearing judges and state officials have also been wary of infringing on the right of a parent to participate in their children’s education The parent is “an individual with a belligerent personality who communicates with verbal intimidation and swearing in order to control and overpower any attempt to having a civil conversation with him,” James Halvorson wrote in a letter to a former Department of Education worker in 2021 the Hawaii Department of Education has “an obligation to communicate with him regarding the education of his children.” DOE’s 13-year struggle to curb Costa’s behavior illustrates the difficult balance schools must strike between protecting teachers and respecting parents’ say in their children’s education The Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated this dilemma, with parents losing trust in the public school system and teachers taking the brunt of families’ frustrations with online learning, said Amy Klinger, director of programs for the Educator’s School Safety Network. In an American Psychological Association survey conducted in 2020 and 2021 nearly half of teachers said they wished to or planned to quit their jobs because they felt unsafe Hawaii lawmakers are now considering a bill that would increase protections for school workers By requiring DOE to develop additional procedures for responding to harassment claims advocates say the bill establishes clear expectations for the protections and support teachers should expect to receive when dealing with unreasonable parents But separating unwanted parent behavior from harassment can be a difficult task adding that she doesn’t know of any states or districts that have developed the perfect policy response we have to not treat parents as though they are the enemy.” harassing an individual is considered a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $1,000.  But charging a parent with harassment can be a difficult task for teachers. Under state law harassment includes repeated calls which intend to “harass or alarm” the recipient and have no legitimate purpose.  Families often have legitimate reasons for contacting schools even if employees feel that their communication is unwanted or overly-aggressive Even if a parent repeatedly contacts a school directing calls at a specific teacher the courts may not consider these calls a form of direct communication that constitutes harassment Teachers can also file temporary restraining orders which can lead to a court hearing granting them a restraining order for a maximum of three years It can be easier to make a case of harassment when filing a temporary restraining order but teachers would still need to prove that a parent is contacting them unnecessarily sought criminal harassment charges against Costa in late 2020 Chambers said she received threatening phone calls and voicemails from Costa that began in 2019 and continued until 2021.  I’m using definitions of what she is,” Costa said in one voicemail according to an internal complaint Chambers filed while working in the DOE “Anytime your husband wants to shake my hand and talk to me like a man we can do so I would love to have this conversation with him about how his wife is such an evil person.”  Chambers said she interpreted this voicemail as a threat that Costa would fight her husband and harm her family adding that his calls constituted “intense psychological harassment” over three years But the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office declined to press harassment charges against Costa.  deputy prosecutor Dwane Tegman said it would be difficult to pursue her case because Costa was consistently contacting DOE’s communications branch rather than communicating with Chambers directly.  they also served the purpose of communicating his concerns about his children’s education.  “He does have a partial legitimate purpose in complaining about his kids’ education,” Tegman said in the call which Chambers recorded and shared with Civil Beat Chambers ultimately received a restraining order against Costa in January 2021 Chambers had moved from DOE’s communications branch to the department’s Covid-19 response team and said Costa had no reason to contact her who serves as the director of the department’s policy “We are not law enforcement,” Kakesako said in a legislative hearing last month.  DOE isn’t able to file TROs or press harassment charges on teachers’ behalf If administrators receive harassment reports they can pursue solutions such as developing safety plans for employees or reporting incidents to the police said Deputy Superintendent Heidi Armstrong.  DOE is also able to ban individuals from entering school campuses for a year the department will develop a plan explaining how an individual can remain involved in their child’s education DOE issued a letter to Costa banning him from entering all school campuses and department offices While Costa’s spouse was allowed to attend in-person meetings and contact schools on the family’s behalf Costa’s communications with DOE were supposed to be limited to speaking with a department official over the phone for an hour every Friday.  But school workers filed nine more TROs against Costa after DOE issued its letter Costa continued to repeatedly call school lines to criticize and threaten employees Principals and administrators have a responsibility to remedy situations making teachers feel harassed or threatened deputy executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association DOE typically handles harassment incidents on a case-by-case basis leaving educators unsure what protections they’re entitled to.  “That’s just a general obligation of an employer you need to make sure that your employees are feeling safe,” Eshelman said “It’s not super clear on what steps those administrators have to do.” A new provision in HSTA’s contract explicitly requires principals to take “appropriate action” when responding to harassment reports initiating internal investigations or supporting employees in pursuing restraining orders.  If teachers believe their administration hasn’t appropriately responded to their harassment claims HSTA can initiate a grievance process.  The union filed three harassment-related grievances against DOE within the first two months of the school year Eshelman said the three cases were not related to one another but would not share more in order to protect teachers’ privacy DOE communications director Nanea Kalani said the department doesn’t consistently track statewide harassment reports from employees Other states and school districts have also searched for ways to protect teachers without discouraging parents from participating in their children’s education A California bill introduced last year would have made it a misdemeanor for parents to interfere with teachers’ lives by harassing or threatening them outside of school The bill passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov “The tenor of our country’s political conversations is alarming,” Newsom said in his veto message we need to be cautious about exacerbating tensions by implementing additional laws that can be perceived as stifling parents’ voices in the decision-making process.” Hawaii lawmakers are grappling with similar concerns House Bill 1651 requires DOE to develop more standardized policies to address employee complaints of harassment procedures include reporting all harassment incidents involving physical threats to the police within 48 hours and providing workers with paid leave to attend court proceedings relating to TROs and harassment charges.  “It’s clear that the status quo is not sufficient to protect the employees,” said Rep chair of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee A similar bill introduced in 2022 included similar provisions but also proposed to create a new crime harassment would cover any acts which aimed to “impede the government operations of an educational worker” and would disrupt or interfere with a school’s functions.  Punishment for a misdemeanor includes up to one year in prison and $2,000 in fines.  with advocates and parents submitting hundreds of pages of testimony against the proposed policy Many argued the bill’s definition of harassment was overly broad and would target parents who frustrated or annoyed teachers parents of special education students argued that the bill would punish them as they advocated for better services and accommodations for their children HB 2125 “chills parents (from) accessing skills and educational success It would affect parents in their communications with the DOE and BOE and intimidate them,” Cynthia Bartlett An early version of HB 1651 also included a provision raising the harassment of school employees to a misdemeanor but that part was removed after legislators decided existing state laws on harassment provided enough protection to teachers The bill has passed through the House and is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate.  Chambers said she believes the bill will establish important accountability measures for DOE By requiring DOE to track and document all harassment claims the bill can help the department identify parents with a history of harassment and aid employees in making a stronger case for restraining orders and other legal protections in the future “This is a service that cannot turn people away Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy The Department of Education wants to include financial literacy in students’ individual transition plans for career planning After years of pressure from legislators to make financial literacy a graduation requirement the Hawaii Department of Education is considering changing high school students’ personal transition plans for the first time in more than 15 years Financial literacy aims to help students manage their money and financial decisions and may include lessons on spending and saving the department has committed to piloting a transition plan that includes financial literacy and a greater emphasis on college and career planning The plans task students with researching career and academic interests completing personal statements and building resumes as early as their freshman year But some students and education advocates say schools need to do more to make the process engaging and meaningful for high schoolers before introducing new requirements “It seems like a really good concept but is used pretty inconsistently across the system,” said David Sun-Miyashiro, executive director of HawaiiKidsCAN DOE guidelines outlining the basic components of personal transition plans haven’t changed since 2007 Counselors and administrators are responsible for ensuring that students complete their plans by the first semester of their senior year to fulfill DOE’s graduation requirement While some students are reluctant to work on their plans it’s rare that they don’t complete them by graduation said James Campbell High School Principal Jon Henry Lee “I feel fairly strongly that we owe it to students to figure out how to make financial literacy accessible.” Hawaii schools offer electives related to financial literacy but high schoolers aren’t required to take these courses to graduate At least 15 states mandate financial literacy in high school either through stand-alone courses or integrating lessons on personal finance and economics into other core classes Lawmakers have unsuccessfully attempted to incorporate financial literacy into Hawaii schools’ curriculum for years either by requiring it in students’ transition plans or creating a separate In last month’s hearing for recent appointees to the Hawaii Board of Education Donna Kim said financial literacy is especially important to help students cope with Hawaii’s rising costs of living and make smart decisions about the loans they may need to take out for college “I don’t know if we’re placing the right emphasis on what should be taught in kindergarten through high school,” Kim said McKinley High School junior Malia Manuel said she’s thinking about life after graduation but her transition plan hasn’t played a large part in that She only receives assignments related to the transition plan once a month “It’s not been a big thing for us to think about,” Manuel said.  Lynsey Bow, counseling program director for Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education said she often sees students who only begin considering their job and college options in the final months of their senior year They should actually be thinking about their future in their freshman year Personal transition plans are a good way to get students on track but not all high schoolers recognize the importance of the plans counselor Erin Henderson oversees the transition plans for all students in grades nine to 12 The Big Island school tries to help them see the real-life applications of the plans by adding components that aren’t in DOE guidelines like completing a mock job interview in senior year and applying to at least one college before graduation Teachers provide feedback on assignments like writing resumes and personal statements ensuring that students put some level of effort into developing their plans it’s hard to make students take their plans seriously especially when there’s no specific class requiring sophomores and juniors to work on their plans Freshmen and seniors have more instruction and time to develop their plans in the transition classes Kohala High requires them to take at the start and end of high school.  students complete their personal transition plans in hour-long These include lessons on financial literacy such as learning about checking and savings accounts and how to complete financial aid forms for college Other schools across the state could follow Campbell’s lead. On Thursday, the Board of Education will consider policy recommendations developed by a task force on financial literacy that convened earlier this year One of its proposals is to include financial literacy in student transition plans The department has already committed to piloting a transition plan which includes a financial literacy component next school year, according to its strategic implementation plan said schools could incorporate financial literacy into their transition plans by requiring students to complete related online modules or including information about college affordability and financial aid into larger discussions about higher education But some members of the task force raised concerns that educators responsible for overseeing student transition plans may be unqualified to teach financial literacy or that students would receive insufficient exposure to the subject through the plans alone “I feel fairly strongly that we owe it to students to figure out how to make financial literacy accessible,” Sun-Miyashiro said adding that he would like to see schools take the next step of requiring stand-alone financial literacy classes within the next 10 years it’s already difficult to provide all the courses students need for graduation It could be challenging for students to fit a new class into their schedules or expand the requirements of their personal transition plans Some students are more optimistic about what a new transition plan could bring said she’s learned some valuable skills from completing her plan such as how to fill out a pay stub and format a resume she would like to see a class explaining the plan’s requirements in greater detail and offering more lessons on financial literacy.  “I feel like personal transition plans give you somewhat real life experience in high school,” Pajarillo said Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.  As part of a multi-agency search that included the Reno Police Department two suspected gang members were arrested on multiple charges including Attempted Murder and illegal firearm possessions Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device While chronic absenteeism improved in Hawaii public schools there was little improvement in reading and math scores in the 2022-23 school year Hawaii’s public school students slightly improved their math skills while reading scores remained stagnant in the last academic year underscoring the challenges in recovering from learning setbacks during the Covid-19 pandemic The Department of Education released a summary of results from the 2022-23 Strive HI reports which assess the performance of all public school students including individual schools’ performances when the DOE presents the report to the Board of Education.  52% of students achieved proficiency on state assessments in language arts the same percentage as the previous year though slightly higher than 50% in the first full school year following the start of the pandemic That was a drop from 54% language arts proficiency in the two years before the pandemic began in March 2020 The improvement was more pronounced in math skills with 40% of students achieving proficiency in the last school year compared with 38% in 2021-22 and 32% in 2020-21 That figure was 43% in the year before the pandemic Hawaii received a waiver for standardized testing and did not include math and reading data in its annual report Students in grades three through eight and 11 complete assessments that measure their proficiency in state math and reading standards director of the educational advocacy group Hui for Excellence in Education described the results as “positive and promising,” adding that she looks forward to seeing how the DOE continually pursues its strategic plan goals relating to math and reading proficiency The department’s 2023-29 strategic plan calls for all students to be proficient in reading by the end of third grade and proficient in math by the end of eighth grade or to receive additional support if they’re falling behind in these subjects.  Fourth and eighth graders also complete the National Assessment of Educational Progress assessments which provides a standardized measure of proficiency in reading and math for students across the country Hawaii achieved the highest gains in fourth grade reading across the country.  While the state achieved “incremental progress” in reading and math DOE can continue to support students through initiatives such as prioritizing summer learning and providing intensive tutoring opportunities He added that he would like to see additional information on how the department spent federal Covid-relief funds and how effective these interventions were in addressing learning loss.  “Being able to answer those questions as a state is really important,” Miyashiro said commended Hawaii’s improvement on National Assessment of Educational Progress scores noting that the state has gone from being among the lowest in the country in reading and math in the early 2000s to keeping pace with the rest of the nation in recent years not all students have seen the same levels of achievement.  The state’s achievement gap among high needs and non-high needs students was 34% in reading and 29% in math during the 2022-23 school year The state defines high-needs students as those who are English learners economically disadvantaged or receiving special education services.  “Hawaii’s done better than many other states in trying to maintain achievement but the gaps are still stubborn,” George said.  the achievement gap for language arts has remained around 34% while the gap for math has remained around 29%.  Miyashiro said he would like to see a more detailed breakdown of test scores by student demographic in the DOE’s memo while fourth grade reading scores were a strength for the state as a whole only 18% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students achieved proficiency on the NAEP assessment we have to be honest and clear who isn’t getting caught up yet and who needs the extra support,” Miyashiro said.   Hawaii follows national trends surrounding high rates of chronic absenteeism since the pandemic 30% of students were considered chronically absent a 7% decline compared to the previous year The DOE defines chronic absenteeism as missing 15 or more days of school and said in its memo that elementary students have experienced the greatest levels of absenteeism since the pandemic.  George said he remains hopeful that the DOE can make progress toward its strategic plan goal that students attend at least 90% of instruction he would like to see the department use results from the Strive HI report to inform the next steps it can take to carry out its 2023-29 strategic plan.  he would like to see a productive discussion between the Board and DOE around how available data can inform the state’s priorities moving forward.  “We need to move beyond blame for issues,” he said and we need to work together using all the resources at our disposal to really advance learning for all students in all schools.”  The $29 million center aims to promote collaboration among students on different career pathways Waipahu High School’s Integrated Academy Learning Center brings together different career academies under the same roof Department of Education superintendent and former Waipahu High principal Keith Hayashi said at its opening Friday The three-story building accommodates the culinary and natural resources academies two of the six career pathways available at the school “It’s an opportunity to begin to integrate academy design and really focus on purposeful learning that’s relevant that’s connected to the industry and prepares students for life after high school,” Hayashi said All students at Waipahu High School are enrolled in a career academy Students take core academic classes while also gaining practical experience in future careers adding that he hopes most students have career-related internships by their senior year Hayashi said he hopes the building will encourage teamwork among students across the academies building the collaborative skills they will need to use in their future careers Plans for the $29 million learning center emerged around 2016 when architectural and planning firm WRNS Studio began working with the DOE to design the center Nagata-Wu said the building accommodates hydroponics and aquaponics on its lower levels and a dining room and teaching kitchen on its top floor Students in the natural resources academy can provide produce to their peers in the culinary pathway who can then prepare and serve the food in the same building In addition to promoting collaboration across the high school principals also hope to see more partnerships among schools in the Waipahu complex said exposure to careers should start at an early age his elementary students take classes aligned with the professional pathways available at the high school Many then go on to Waipahu Intermediate School which offers a series of elective classes that can inform students’ academy choices in high school they have a lot of opportunities,” said Waipahu Intermediate School principal Alvan Fukuhara students are allowed to change academies one time he hopes students’ experiences in the academies provide them with professional skills and experiences that can help them succeed regardless of the career path they ultimately pursue raising the expectations of what our students do,” Hayashi said of the new building “It also helps to continue to raise the expectations that our community has of our public schools.” the Hawaii Department of Education must make the case for continued investments in summer learning After-School All-Stars had limited funding to hire staff and cover the costs of the activities it offered to low-income schools during the summer months an influx of federal Covid relief money has provided the nonprofit with approximately $1.3 million for its after-school and summer learning initiatives the nonprofit offered summer programs ranging from field trips to the Polynesian Cultural Center to hip-hop and baking classes After-School All-Stars served approximately 850 students in its summer school programs on Oahu and Big Island last year With student achievement still below pre-pandemic levels advocates say that affordable and accessible summer learning opportunities are critical for children’s academic and social recovery. But the federal funding that supported After-School All-Stars and other summer learning programs throughout the state will expire on Sept “Are we going to have such robust summer programs next year I don’t know,” Fitzell said about summer opportunities in 2025 The Hawaii Department of Education has cited summer learning as a top strategy for addressing pandemic learning loss and has offered free programs since 2020 the DOE offered summer school to students who had failed their classes or wished to get ahead in their coursework Summer learning in DOE now includes a range of opportunities from traditional academic classes to enrichment programs and extracurriculars offered by schools and nonprofits like After-School All-Stars The department is now seeking $20 million in state funding to sustain its summer offerings although the impact of summer programs on students’ academics during the pandemic remains unclear The latest version of the state budget being debated by the Legislature includes DOE’s funding request for summer 2025 said he fully supports programs offering learning opportunities for students outside of the traditional school year while DOE has developed new summer programs in recent years it’s unclear which initiatives have resulted in the greatest gains for students strategic approach moving forward,” Sun-Miyashiro said.   In 2024, DOE will offer six different types of summer programs including official summer school and learning hubs Official summer school provides courses students can take for credit while learning hubs have a variety of programs targeting academic remediation said families seem to have taken a greater interest in summer learning since the pandemic After seeing their children struggle with online classes some parents want to use summers to remedy or advance their children’s studies especially when DOE’s programs are free of cost.    families paid up to $190 to enroll their children in a one-credit course The DOE has spent more than $40 million in federal funds to make programs free for public school students.  In 2020, the first year DOE published its summer learning data dashboard, almost 21,000 students enrolled in the department’s programs. Last summer DOE enrolled more than 27,000 students.  federal funding also allowed the department to develop learning hubs at more than 90% of its schools assistant superintendent of the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design teachers try to improve student attendance and motivation by making lessons engaging and exciting “You can create an experience that is a rich learning environment while the students are still finding the joy,” Ushijima said.  student services coordinator at Kaimuki High School said the school was also able to use federal funding to hire a counselor to serve students throughout the summer The same counselor also works on campus during the regular school year and is already familiar with students’ mental health and academic needs “Our school just couldn’t afford it,” Matsumoto said about hiring summer counselors before the pandemic counselors at the high school are only 10-month employees While DOE expanded its summer offerings to address students’ needs during the pandemic it has also received scrutiny on its approach to summer learning “I couldn’t see the relationship of the money that we spent on summer school and what impact it had on our students,” former Board of Education member Kenneth Uemura said in a fall 2020 meeting more than 90% of students received passing grades in DOE’s official summer school and learning hubs but the department did not provide additional information on students’ academic achievement Ushijima said the department is currently working on a report about the impact of summer learning on student achievement A 2023 study from Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education found success in DOE’s summer start kindergarten transition program a three-week initiative exposing incoming kindergarten students to their new elementary schools before the start of the academic year DOE increased the number of schools offering the transition program from 13 to 82 during the pandemic It took time for some schools to find the the best approach to maximizing student learning over the summer Minakami said Kaneohe Elementary offered intensive math and reading tutoring for struggling students in 2020 and 2021 but students had a hard time remaining motivated and focused for hours at a time Students maintained their academic progress from the school year “As much as we tried to make it interesting it can get repetitive,” Minakami said.  the school has shifted its approach to enrichment lessons that integrate core subjects into hands-on curriculum and projects throughout the summer Students might spend part of the day painting murals with a local arts foundation or learning about native species and agriculture in a science class The school plans to track students’ progress carefully this year to see if the focus on enrichment can lead to more summer growth all students should participate in summer learning adding that schools should take advantage of any extra instructional time they can offer outside of the academic year But with limited state funding available this year he said he would like to see DOE provide more detail on the outcomes of the department’s summer investments thus far.  “I think we need to be as strategic as possible,” he said.  Civil Beat’s community health coverage is supported by the Atherton Family Foundation, Swayne Family Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation, the Cooke Foundation and Papa Ola Lokahi The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. Opportunities for high schoolers to earn college credit have been growing in popularity but Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students are participating at lower rates In a portable classroom near the back of Farrington High School’s campus students gathered around Ka‘iulani Murphy and the star map she spread across the classroom table students carefully traced the constellations spanning the map and practiced pronouncing the names of stars in Hawaiian and English.  Murphy said she plans to take her students to the Bishop Museum planetarium where they can practice identifying stars in real time If the forecast calls for clear skies later in the quarter she’ll bring her students onto the Farrington football field at night “It’s a great spot,” Murphy said “You can turn the lights off and lay on the field.”  Murphy’s class on Hawaiian astronomy and navigation isn’t typically offered on high school campuses She usually teaches at Honolulu Community College Murphy has brought her course to Farrington’s campus through the state’s early college initiative instructors in the University of Hawaii system teach college-level courses in Hawaii Department of Education schools students can earn credit that counts toward both their high school graduation requirements and college degrees Since its inception in 2012, early college has grown in popularity. In 2023, nearly a quarter of Hawaii high school graduates participated in a dual credit program which includes both early college courses and UH classes that students can independently enroll in.  Last year Hawaii high schools offered over 580 early college classes Advocates say that early college can yield greater academic and career success for students with participants more likely to pursue higher education and earn their degrees.   But while the program intends to grow the number of Hawaii students pursuing higher education some education advocates and college counselors say it tends to serve students who are already college-bound Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders — student groups that have historically been underrepresented in higher education — tend to have lower participation rates in dual credit programs “How do we make sure that the kids who would benefit the most have access?” said David Sun-Miyashiro “The results can be pretty game-changing.” executive director of Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education Early exposure to college courses can help students gain greater confidence in their academic abilities and develop a deeper understanding of future career paths According to research from P-20 students who earn dual credit in high school are more likely to attend and graduate from college than non-participants 75% of dual credit students enrolled in college after graduation compared to the statewide rate of 51%.  But disparities in early college participation across the state are a concern Roughly 21% of Native Hawaiian and 12% of Pacific Islander students in the class of 2023 enrolled in dual credit courses both Asian and Filipino high school graduates had a participation rate of approximately 30% while white students recorded a participation rate of 23% The data does not include students who took Advanced Placement courses which can also allow students to earn college credit The differences in dual credit participation are mirrored in college-going rates in Hawaii white and Filipino students had college enrollment rates above the state average of 51% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander enrollment rates were 35% and 30% In a strategic directions document published earlier this year UH and DOE set goals to increase statewide participation in early college particularly among students who are underrepresented in higher education Schatz said DOE and UH haven’t set specific enrollment targets for students adding that the two partners are still working on future implementation plans Kuilei Outreach Program coordinator at Kapiolani Community College said he worries that early college has strayed from its original intent of providing free college classes to students who hadn’t previously considered higher education Tawata said he’s seen more students using the program to advance their existing college plans “This is all really great,” Tawata said “But I think it’s lost its focus.” In the program’s early years the percentages of economically and non-economically disadvantaged students participating in dual credit were closely matched almost 4% of high school students from both groups participated in dual credit 7% of low-income students in grades 9-12 took dual credit courses compared to 10% of their peers who weren’t economically disadvantaged Tawata added that he also wants students to make intentional informed choices about participating in early college especially if they’re low-income or the first in their families to attend college If students take too many early college classes that won’t count toward their future majors they may face challenges with receiving adequate financial aid once they become college students “What they do in early college has an impact down the road,” Tawata said an early college program coordinator at Leeward Community College said he understands concerns that early college is primarily reaching students who are already on track to receive their degrees But he’s also hopeful about new initiatives and classes that target students who hadn’t previously considered higher education.  “We’re going back to the roots of early college,” Carlos said.  P-20 is currently developing career maps detailing training and degree programs that students can pursue through early college career pathways strategy director for P-20 the maps can connect UH program coordinators and high school counselors to help them determine what courses students need to take to pursue their preferred degrees and careers “If we can connect the people and identify the course they can have the conversation on whether or not this is the right course for their student,” Kawano said Waipahu High School began its Early College Explorers initiative targeting English Learners first-generation and Pacific Islander students the program teaches students how to navigate UH’s course management system explore financial aid opportunities and create academic roadmaps for themselves The school is still tracking data on the success of the initiative but Fukunaga said she’s seen many students complete the program and then enroll in other early college courses Other schools have expanded their course offerings in the hope of attracting students who aren’t planning to pursue four-year degrees.  Kekaulike High School on Maui has seen a rapid increase in its early college participation since the Covid-19 pandemic Principal Amy Strand said the school recently added a welding class to its early college offerings to draw more students interested in the trades The class filled to capacity on the first day of course registration adding that some students have already expressed interest in taking more welding classes at UH after graduation Murphy said she’s excited when students she’s taught at Farrington High School come to Honolulu Community College after graduation and take more of her courses She takes pride in the quality of her Farrington students’ work adding that many seem prepared to pursue a college degree after graduation.    “I feel like a lot of them are already on that path where they’re planning to go to college,” Murphy said Civil Beat’s community health coverage is supported by the Atherton Family Foundation, Swayne Family Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation, the Cooke Foundation and Papa Ola Lokahi Rain: 7am to 7am: .00  Month: 1.51 Year: 25.00 Recorded temps:  High: 68 Low: 46 The National FFA Farm and Agribusiness Management event is designed to test the ability of students to apply economic principles and concepts in analyzing farm and ranch business management decisions Participants respond to questions concerning economic principles in farm business management as well as a problem-solving analysis section Each team in the event has competed with other chapters in their state for the privilege of participating in the national event In addition to the team receiving the gold ranking and 10th place in the nation Shrable and Coleman each placed Gold individually and Josh Dickinson placed Silver