I try not to use a lot of what I call “eduspeak” in my articles, which means I have to avoid using the acronyms I hear and read on a daily basis.

But I stumbled across of acronyms on the Hawaii Department of Education website, and couldn’t resist sharing it.

Not all of them are directly education-related — automatic external defibrillator, or AED, makes the list — but there are more than 1,000 acronyms listed.

Some are familiar, like SPED (Special Education), A+ (After-School Plus Program), STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and NCLB (No Child Left Behind). Others are just downright strange: PASP (Program Accessible School Plan), PILWOP (Professional Improvement Leave Without Pay) and EFIG (Education Finance Incentive Grants).

Some of my personal favorites so far:

  • EDGAR: Education Department General Administrative Regulations
  • ELOSS: Extended Learning Opportunities & Student Support
  • FAST: Foundational Approach in Science Teaching
  • H-KISS: Hawaii Keiki Information Service System
  • HUSSC: Healthy United States School Challenge (Really? Did anyone say that one out loud before deciding to turn it into an acronym?)
  • MHTSIG: Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant (the abbreviated form is almost more of a mouthful than the full-length version)

Take a gander and share some of your favorites.

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