Hawaii Island Schools Are In The Zone
The road to transformation in our public schools goes through the rural towns of Kau, Keaau and Pahoa on Hawaii Island. Just three years ago, schools in this area were among the lowest-performing schools in the state and the complex, known collectively as Kau-Keaau-Pahoa (KKP), was identified as being part of the 鈥淶ones of School Innovation鈥 (ZSI). Today, through the hard work of dedicated teachers, principals, staff, and students all pulling in the same direction, the results are remarkable.
How did this complex area get there? For one, its teachers who are enthusiastic and energetic, and who work tirelessly to raise student achievement at their schools. It also took an understanding about how evaluations play a key role in success.
Educator evaluations comprise two full-cycle observations per year. Currently they are taking place at 81 different schools, including schools at KKP. The evaluations are based on a pre-observation, and observation, and a post-observation meeting with the Principal/administrator, a Tripod student survey administered two times per year, and Student Growth Percentile calculation (annually), and a still in development Student Learning Objective, which has not yet been administered at all schools just yet. In addition, the school and complex area engages in a rigorous school improvement model (on -site school review) where teachers are required to gather evidence about their student achievement/progress and discuss them in teams on a regular basis to track overall school improvement.
A team of observers went to each classroom twice in August, September, October and November. From December through the remainder of the year, observations are held twice a month. This year, there will be 14 informal observations per classroom this year; and may be done in pairs. Again, these observations are informal and NOT individually evaluative. One other fact about these observations:
the Principal does not ever see individual results of these observations 鈥 only at a school- or department-level.
Standardized tests, which help gauge student achievement, are not required monthly. In fact, formative assessments used to gauge a student鈥檚 proficiency in reading and math, are not standardized. Also, with the exception of the Hawaii State Assessment test that is administered to students in third through eighth grade, and 10th graders, other tests are not standardized.
We invite you to see for yourself that numbers don鈥檛 lie. On the Department of Education鈥檚 Accountability Resource Center Hawaii (ARCH) website at arch.k12.hi.us, you can go to the 鈥淎ccountability Data Center鈥 from the home page and see that the complex has practically outperformed the entire state over the last three years 鈥 especially in reading and math proficiency. In fact, these schools have accelerated the learning of students by more than a grade level. This is the kind of data that stirs enthusiasm among educators. It鈥檚 what makes educators put forth their best and the results speak for themselves. The department believes in the evaluations as a tool for success. When teachers succeed, students excel.
About the author: Ronn Nozoe has served as Deputy Superintendent for the Hawaii State Department of Education since December 2010, and has worked within the DOE as a teacher and administrator since 1995. He has a bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in education, both from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Community Voices aims to encourage broad discussion on many topics of community interest. It’s kind of a cross between Letters to the Editor and op-eds. We do not solicit particular items and we rarely turn down submissions. This is your space to talk about important issues or interesting people who are making a difference in our world. Columns generally run about 800 words (yes, they can be shorter or longer) and we need a photo of the author and a bio. We welcome video commentary and other multimedia formats. Send to news@civilbeat.com.
