The federal No Child Left Behind law and reauthorization of the federal Individualized Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) took center stage at a forum on education convened recently at the Aloha Beach Resort in Wailua. The presence of U.S. Rep. Ed
The federal No Child Left Behind law and reauthorization of the federal Individualized Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) took center stage at a forum on education convened recently at the Aloha Beach Resort in Wailua.
The presence of U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-rural Oahu, Neighbor Islands, made discussion of the federal legislation more meaningful, said Daniel Hamada, Kauai district superintendent for the state Department of Education.
Case said he will support Kauai’s request for an exemption from federal legislation requiring that all paraprofessionals (educational assistants, for example) have college degrees, said Hamada.
Without that exemption, most of the kupuna, or elders, who assist in classrooms and teach Hawaiian values and other meaningful things to students at nearly every public school on the island, would not be able to continue their work.
“There’s a lot of history that we can learn from these individuals,” Hamada said.
Case spoke of the plusses (increased accountability) and minuses (insufficient funding support, one-size-fits-all approach) of the No Child Left Behind Act.
“The questions posed by the public were very interesting,” said Hamada.
From parents in attendance, concerns were mostly individualized, by student or school, and ranged from concerns about the No Child Left Behind act and IDEA reauthorization to school funding to school maintenance to textbooks, he said.
“We need to continue working with these situations at schools.”
Where administrators are concerned, complying with provisions and issues of the No Child Left Behind Act has been a top priority, he continued.
“I think their biggest challenge is the issues of the No Child Left Behind Act, because every school must maintain a certain benchmark every year, and by a certain point all 100 percent of your kids have to be at a certain point.
“So the task is to get the school there, by 2010 or 2012,” he added.
When looking at public-school facilities from Hanalei to Kekaha, Hamada feels the island is in “pretty good shape.”
In the academic arena, “all of our schools met the state’s benchmarks according to new test assessments. It showed that all of Kauai’s schools are doing well academically in meeting the state benchmarks,” Hamada noted.
Around 120 parents, teachers, principals and other community members attended The Future of Education in Hawaii n A Kauai Community Forum, hosted by state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kauai, Niihau.
Hooser, co-chair of the Senate Education Committee, provided a general overview of public education in Hawaii, pointing out that “while there are many challenges to overcome, there are also many things that our schools do well.”
Recent increases in national test scores, plus state and national recognition of exceptional Kauai teachers and students, were offered up by Hooser as positive examples.
State Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-Moanalua, Salt Lake, chair, Senate Committee on Education, addressed the subject of direct funding at the school level.
Sherwood Hara, the Kauai and Niihau representative on the state Board of Education, addressed the need for increased funding for schools, and state Rep. Roy Takumi, D-Pearl City, Waipahu, chair of the House Committee on Education, talked about the pros and cons of multiple school-board districts.
The event is the first of several planned for Kauai that will address a broad range of community issues, said Hooser. Future events will allocate more time for questions from the community.
“That is the main area that we could improve the format,” says Hooser. “The panel discussion, while offering good information, went longer than expected, and cut into the question-and-answer period.”
While his intent is to conduct at least one general education meeting for each complex area (east, central and west), Hooser said he will also be arranging informational forums and community meetings focusing on economic development, energy and the environment, and health care and human services, he said.
“It is important,” said Hooser, “that Honolulu legislators are able to visit our community and experience personally some of the particular challenges our residents face. They need to visit our schools, drive on our highways, and talk to our residents,” he said.
“My goal is to utilize this activity to educate myself and my colleagues in the Senate, so we are better prepared to address pertinent issues when the next legislative session begins in January 2004.”
Surveys filled out by most of those in attendance provided insightful comments useful to legislators preparing for the 2004 session, he concluded.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
