PUHI campus Kaua‘i Community College student Elisa Nakama was busy kneading her clay for ceramics as she watched a steady flow of parents and students converge on the dining room. When Nakama discovered the group was there to learn more
PUHI campus Kaua‘i Community College student Elisa Nakama was busy kneading her clay for ceramics as she watched a steady flow of parents and students converge on the dining room.
When Nakama discovered the group was there to learn more about the Running Start program, she couldn’t help but note that she was a product of the program.
A graduate of Waimea High School, Nakama said she took History 151 and English 101 as part of the Running Start program in 2002.
“It was fun,” she said. “And, it wasn’t hard, either.”
Nakama is currently taking care of her liberalarts coursework at KCC before moving on to another institution for her bachelor’s degree in accounting.
Since then, Dean of Student Services Earl Nishiguchi told the large audience of parents and students, the curriculum has grown from an initial 23 courses to 58 courses.
“An Evening with Parents” was Nishiguchi’s brainchild, Cammie Matsumoto, the program coordinator, explained. He suggested that it would be a good idea to get parents on campus so they can understand some of the goals of the Running Start Program.
Nishiguchi pointed out that Running Start accelerates the student educational process, helps save family college expenses, enriches or expands educational options for talented and motivated highschool students, and provides an alternative educational environment for talented highschool students.
born on June 19, 2000 when the governor signed into law Act 236.
This established the Running Start partnership between the state Department of Education and the University of Hawai‘i.
The pilot program involved six Honoluludistrict public high schools and Honolulu Community College in 2000. Running Start is now implemented statewide, with eight UH campuses participating.
Seven of the community colleges under the UH system participate in Running Start, and include Hawai‘i Community College, Honolulu Community College, Kapi‘olani Community College, Kaua‘i Community College, Leeward Community College, Maui Community College, and Windward Community College.
Any student enrolled in grade 11 or 12 in any public high school in the state of Hawai‘i is eligible to register for the Running Start program, which allows students to earn both high school and college credits at the same time.
The student must be under the age of 21 as of Sept. 1 of the school year in which the college course is taken, and fulfills and complies with collegecampus requirements such as admission forms, and achievement of appropriate math and English levels on placement tests.
The recent program at the campus dining room was unique in that it brought in parents as well as students to see how Running Start can benefit them.
One parent in attendance noted that her daughter is currently a 10th grader, and is planning to attend summer school.
But, since summer school entails a tuition, it was worth investigating to see whether or not she could earn college credits. Frances Dinan, the KCC financialaid officer, was also on hand to help explain what kind of options are available for students interested in registering for the Running Start program.
One of these options includes the Gear Up federal scholarship that is administered by the UH Manoa’s College of Business to cover tuition and books.
In addition to key KCC personnel who were in attendance to meet with interested families, counselors from the high schools as well as representatives from the state Department of Education were on hand to help field questions from the families. Others spoke of career opportunities in the teaching and healthoccupation fields.
For more information: www.hawaii.edu/runningstart
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, may be reached at 2453681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
