The converted office space in a Kakaako strip mall does not look like much now, but the founders of Voyager Charter School promise that come August, children will find an inviting haven that nourishes their hearts as well as their minds. Voyager School full of
promise at launch
By Christine Donnelly
Star-Bulletin"The main aim for Voyager is 'joy in learning.' We want to find the gift in each child and nurture that gift," Principal Vicki Draeger told parents gathered for a recent tour of the new school, housed in about 19,000 square feet of space in the Coral Commercial Center at 670 Auahi St.
Public charter schools such as Voyager get funding from the state but are not controlled by the Department of Education.
To find out more about Voyager School, call 545-7545 or visit the Web site at www.voyagerschool.com. A parent orientation is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. Call ahead to reserve a spot. VOYAGER SCHOOL
They have wide latitude to run their own affairs, as long as campuses meet health and safety regulations and students meet statewide performance standards. Because they are partially government-funded, enrollment is free.
Although the physical space still needs renovation, Voyager's educational philosophies are firmly cemented in three guiding principles:
>> Unity and strength in diversity: Students will study a variety of cultures as they are taught that the world is one global community. Every child will study three languages besides English, most likely Hawaiian, Spanish and either Mandarin or Japanese, said Draeger.
>> The "golden rule": Community service will be part of the curriculum as students learn to treat others as they would like to be treated.
>> All one family: Teamwork will be a high priority in multi-age class groupings that have one teacher for every 18 kids.
Voyager will open with about 180 students in kindergarten through fourth grade. But over the next five years, they plan to expand through the eighth grade, for a total of 300 students.
They did not arrive at that total by accident, said Executive Director Jim Williams. Research has consistently shown that total school size, apart from simply class size, "is directly related to student achievement and well-being."
Applications are available now to children anywhere in Hawaii entering grades kindergarten through four. Most people who apply by March 30 are likely to get in, said Williams. After that, if there are more applicants than openings, there will be a lottery balanced by age and gender.Recruiting is under way for 10 teachers who would earn the same pay and benefits as in the DOE.
About 30 people have applied so far, said Williams, who is also president of the Royal State Trust, Voyager's founder.
Among Voyager's attractions for teachers is a curriculum that incorporates the latest brain research showing that a child's "EQ," or emotional stability and health, is as crucial as basic intelligence to academic achievement. And the Total Quality Management philosophy of the late business consultant W. Edwards Deming will be applied to all aspects of the school.
Deming's ideas revolutionized Japanese industries after World War II, helping to transform them into global benchmarks of quality and value.
"With TQM you measure for quality all along, not just at the end, and that helps people constantly improve. We want to see our kids ready for anything, at any time," said Draeger, reassuring parents who asked whether Voyager's collaborative approach might give kids too much freedom and not enough work.
Trista Adamson, whose military family moved to the Leeward Coast from Kansas a month ago, was among those at the orientation.
She liked what she heard so much that she filled out an application that day for her 7-year-old son, Orion. Adamson especially liked that Draeger seemed "really committed to success."
During a 35-year career, the principal has been in on the ground floor of three other schools, including founding Clearview Christian Girls' School on Maui five years ago. Her academic credentials include bachelor's and master's degrees, Montessori certification, graduate credits in special education and current course work toward a doctorate.
But what has prepared Draeger most "is that I have five children of my own."
She acknowledged that parents who choose Voyager now are taking a leap of faith, seeing the school in its raw state in a semi-industrial neighborhood.
Come August, she said, the learning space will be "very interactive and hands-on" with teachers weaving art, music and movement into lessons on everything from math to science to reading.
As for the strip mall site, Draeger sees mostly positives. It's air-conditioned, large enough to accommodate the school's flexible class groupings, across the street from a tiny park and a short ride to a large waterfront park and children's museum.
Plus, she figures the "in-town" locale will draw both parents who would like their kids closer to work and teachers seeking an easier commute.
"There's a lot of work when you start from scratch, but it's worth it. The most important thing is that we attract people who believe in the mission of the school. And we are," she said.
Some parents also worried there would be a yearly battle in the Legislature to maintain state funding. Several bills introduced this session, and since killed, would have threatened the charter school movement.
The best political protection will come from making Voyager successful so "the Legislature sees that we're providing something that families want and need," said Williams.
"We're going to help every child succeed. And in addition to being a really good school, we will be an incubator for systemic change throughout the state."