Superintendent’s
EDUCATION UPDATE
Hawaii’s RTTT
progress ‘amazing’
REFORM
The Department received
high praise from the U.S.
Department of Education
for efforts in implementing
key reforms such as the
Educator Effectiveness
System and Hawaii
Common Core, and work to
support its most needy
schools. This from the Year
3 Race to the Top (RTTT)
report released March 18.
“When we originally gave
(Hawaii) the RTTT grant,
lots of folks doubted our
judgment there, and said
there was no way they
could be successful. ...
they've shown amazing
leadership in a relatively
short amount of time.”
— U.S. Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan
VIEW THE REPORT
bit.ly/RTTTY3HI
Historic sustainability,
education program launched
KA HEI
Opportunities
TEACHERS
The DOE will harness
sustainable energy and
modernize campuses while
expanding real-world
educational opportunities in
science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM).
It has selected Chevron
Energy Solutions to help lead
implementation of the five-year
sustainable energy program, to
be called Ka Hei.
As an extension of facility
upgrades, Ka Hei will feature
educational opportunities to
Kupu Hou Academy returns to
Mid-Pacific Institute June 4-6
with a professional development
program focused on ProjectBased Learning, integration of
mobile technologies, placebased learning, and Next
Generation Science Standards.
Details/register: www.midpac.edu
/kupuhouacademy.
ONLINE
bit.ly/KaHeiProgram
engage students and staff in
energy awareness and STEM.
Components of the program
include living laboratories,
energy conservation hands-on
learning, green energy
simulators, STEM career
exposure and contests. Students
will receive real-time data on
clean energy systems, creating
relevant lessons about realworld scenarios.
GREAT TEACHERS
Milken nods for Michelle Kay (Kalakaua Mid), Ryan Kagami (Kailua Int)
Michelle Kay, a Kalakaua
Middle science teacher, was
surprised by the Milken Family
Foundation March 3 as
Hawaii's latest recipient of the
prestigious Milken Educator
Award. The national award
recognizes outstanding
excellence in education and
includes a $25,000 cash prize.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie made
the announcement to an
unsuspecting Kay before more
apriL 2014
Kay
Kagami
than 1,000 students and
dignitaries at a school assembly.
Ryan Kagami, who teaches
7th- and 8th-grade science, was
honored March 14 as the
Hawaii State Department of eDucation
National Milken Educators of
Hawaii 'Teacher of Promise.'
The award recognizes a teacher
who demonstrates excellence in
the field and the highest
qualities of a professional
educator during the first four
semesters in the classroom.
Kagami received a plaque
and $1,000 through a
sponsorship from HawaiiUSA
Federal Credit Union during a
school assembly.
HawaiiPublicSchools.org
SCHOOLS
Aina in Schools is a farm-toschool initiative that connects
children to their local land,
waters, and food to grow a
healthier Hawaii.
kokuahawaiifoundation.org/aina
Six Strategies
FOCUS: COMMON CORE
Visit the Intranet for our new
Educator Resources Packet to
support teachers in their ongoing
implementation work. Includes
one-stop resource guide, parent
roadmaps, talking points,
brochures and more. https://
intranet.hawaiipublicschools.org/
sixstrategies/commoncore
On our website
GET HEALTHY!
Access our Wellness and
Nutritional Guides and learn
about student health resources.
www.hawaiipublicschools.org
/BeyondTheClassroom/Health
AndNutrition
/HIDepartmentofEducation
@HIDOE808
eDucation upDate › apriL 2014 › BacK paGe
Don’t Miss This!
EVENTS, DEADLINES & FUN STUFF
APR 21
eDucator SeSSion on wwV
Learn how to engage your students with
the Worldwide Voyage. Register by
April 7 at bit.ly/DOEWWV. Details, links in
Announcements on the Superintendent’s
Intranet site, or contact
Jenna Ishii at Jenna
@pvshawaii.org.
MAY 15
HonorinG Great teacHerS
Schools are encouraged to submit
nominees for the 2015 National Teacher
of the Year program. Seven District
Teachers will be selected; one
exceptional teacher will be
chosen to represent Hawaii.
See Announcements on
the OHR Intranet site.
Deadline: May 15.
2014 Hawaii State Teacher of
the Year Matthew Lawrence
Supt.’s Corner
In August 2010, Hawaii’s
education community forged an
unprecedented partnership to
ensure every child in the state
receives a top education from
early childhood to college.
Our ambitious plan was
rewarded with a competitive,
$75 million federal Race to the
Top grant. For the past 3½ years,
we have faced — and overcome
— many challenges to execute
our comprehensive, five-point
blueprint for student and staff
success. We knew the fast pace
of change would not be easy, yet
necessary to truly transform our
public schools and reach students
APR 1
APR 25
matHematicS, maGic & mYSterY
Each day in April, the Mathematics
Awareness Month Committee will reveal
30 activities; tune in to see behind-thescenes explanations and videos of
Mathematics,
Magic and
Mystery! New
activity released
daily on Twitter
(@MathAware) and
online: mathaware
.org/mam/2014.
REMEMBER by Christina Rossetti
‹‹‹ SMARTER BALANCED
1. Remember me when I am gone away,
2. Gone far away into the silent land;
3. When you can no more hold me by the hand,
4. Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
5. Remember me when no more day by day
6. You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
7. Only remember me; you understand
8. It will be late to counsel then or pray.
9. Yet if you should forget me for a while
10. And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
11. For if the darkness and corruption leave
12. A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
nominate SteLLar empLoYeeS
Do you have stars working at your
school or office? See they get the
recognition they deseve. The Office of
Human Resources is seeking
nominees for the DOE's Employee of
the Year, Manager of the Year and
Team of the Year. See
Announcements, Office of Human
Resources Intranet site: https://intranet
.hawaiipublicschools.org/offices/ohr
Deadline: April 25.
8tH GraDe enGLiSH LanGuaGe
In the sonnet
“Remember,”
which two lines
reveals a change in
the speaker’s
message to the one
she loves?
13. Better by far you should forget and smile
14. Than that you should remember and be sad.
who only get one shot at
education.
Thanks to the extraordinary
work of educators and leaders
from Pahoa on the Big Island to
Waimea Canyon on Kauai, we
have made tremendous progress
rolling out high quality standards
and assessments, improving our
data collection and use,
advancing educator
effectiveness, supporting our
lowest-performing schools, and
realigning offices toward our
strategic goals.
Last week, Hawaii’s third-year
Race to the Top report noted our
remarkable success raising
Hawaii State Department of eDucation
student achievement in the
Zones of School of
Innovation — an effort that
continues to guide our work to
prepare students statewide for
college, career and citizenship.
Realizing educators are the
most important factor in raising
student achievement, we have
committed to provide teachers
and administrators valuable
feedback and professional
development through the
Educator Effectiveness System.
We have also raised the bar for
our students and ourselves by
adopting the Hawaii Common
Core — clear and consistent
HawaiiPublicSchools.org
At left is a poem, a
sonnet, in which
the speaker
discusses her
feelings about a
relationship.
Read the poem
and answer the
question, left.
Answer at
bottom of page.
standards aligned
with college
expectations and global
workforce demands to ensure
students will thrive upon
graduation.
The Race to the Top grant has
helped pave the way for Hawaii
to keep building on its progress.
We know there is no finish line
in education, and we will stay the
course to provide better
opportunities in school and in
life for generations to come.
Thank you.
/HIDepartmentofEducation
Education Update is a monthly newsletter by the Department of Education’s Communications and Community Affairs Office,
distributed to schools, the first Board of Education meeting of the month and posted online at HawaiiPublicSchools.org. We welcome
your submissions: 1390 Miller Street, Rm 312, Honolulu, HI 96813. Phone: (808) 586-3232; E-mail: [email protected].
@HIDOE808
Answer:
Lines 9 & 10