3 agencies unite
to fix education

The Good Beginnings Alliance, UH and the state
DOE try to ease students' transitions

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By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com

Three agencies have joined forces to better student achievement in Hawaii from early childhood through college.

The community organization Good Beginnings Alliance has teamed with the Department of Education and the University of Hawaii to create a "seamless education system" through a program called "United for Learning: The Hawaii P-20 Initiative."

"We need a seamless system to boost achievement by getting all children off to a good start by raising academic standards, by conducting relevant assessments, by placing competent and caring teachers in all classrooms and by smoothing students' transitions from each learning level to the next," organizers said yesterday in a written statement.

The letter "P" represents provisions for early learning, and "20" refers to years of schooling through college. At least 24 other states have started P-20 initiatives.

According to educators involved in the project, "education before kindergarten and beyond high school is essential today." However, many parents lack the funds to send their children to preschool.

About 15,000 children between ages 3 and 4 in Hawaii are in low-income families, said Liz Chun, executive director of Good Beginnings Alliance. More than half of them are not receiving assistance to attend a preschool program. Also, less than 1,000 children are assisted by a Department of Human Services program for low-income families called Preschool Open Doors.

"These families with young children often struggle to balance family and work while providing their keiki with quality early education and care," said Chun, adding the average annual cost of preschool in Hawaii is more than $5,000.

"Every year, approximately 8,000 children begin kindergarten with little or no preschool experience. Why should this concern us? An evaluation by Georgia State University found that children who experience pre-kindergarten programs had higher academic and social rating from their kindergarten teachers than children who did not attend preschool programs," she said.

Members of the P-20 initiative are looking at ways to increase funding for more preschool programs and to allow more children to attend. A bill at the Legislature seeks $5 million for the Open Doors Program.

Chun, state Schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto and UH President Evan Dobelle started this project six months ago. One of the components of the initiative is to create a 20-member council that will hold all three agencies accountable. The P-20 partners created an agenda to:

>> Align curricula, standards and student outcomes.

>> Ensure smooth transitions for students from one system to another.

>> Increase the numbers of excellent teachers and other school professionals prepared by the university.

>> Create new leadership development programs for administrators in all three systems.

>> Create a grant project designed to encourage partnerships among P-20 educators statewide.

The council will include the UH president, the chairman of the UH Board of Regents, the state schools superintendent, the chairman of the Board of Education, the executive director of the Good Beginnings Alliance, the chairman of the Good Beginnings Alliance Board, the governor or designated representative from the governor's office and representatives from labor unions, parent organizations, independent schools and colleges, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children.

In one of the goals the program has set, the DOE will "sustain and expand a beginning teacher support program" to help reduce the number of teachers who leave their jobs within their first three years.

Hamamoto said the P-20 initiative will provide "a formal framework and keep students on the right track."

The university also plans to offer 25 additional tuition waivers for students entering teaching in fields that show a shortage and to create a program of small grants to fund projects addressing P-20 issues.