Laura Thielen says the decision to move her older daughter from Aikahi Elementary to Punahou School for fifth grade this year was "one of the hardest I've ever made," and prompted her successful bid for a seat on the state Board of Education. BOE members have
stake in public schoolsYee and Thielen favor turning
Lingle criticizes gov's policies
public schools into magnet schools
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Lingle, lawmakers stress bipartisanship
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By Susan Essoyan
sessoyan@starbulletin.com"I don't want to opt out of public education," Thielen said. "I want to keep my younger daughter in public schools. But I'm not willing to do so for much longer under the current system."
Thielen now has a chance to change that system as one of four new members elected Tuesday to the board. All of the newcomers are parents whose children have spent at least some time in Hawaii's public schools.
Thielen was elected to represent the Windward district, while Shirley Robinson will be taking the Central Oahu seat, Mary Cochran the Maui slot, and Randall Yee will be an Oahu at-large member. Thielen, Yee and Cochran are attorneys, while Robinson is a community volunteer.
Yee, like Thielen, said his experience with public and private schools makes him committed to helping improve the state system. His daughter attends his alma mater, Iolani School, but his son graduated from McKinley High School. The state system needs to better identify kids who are having trouble and give them extra help and guidance, he said, noting that his own son was a case in point.
"To be honest, my son could have gone either way. He could have turned into a productive citizen or ended up being a criminal," he said. With tutoring and extra attention, he got back on track.
Both Yee and Thielen want to convert more public schools into magnet schools that excel in specific fields, such as science or performing arts. They also strongly support charter schools as a means of enhancing local involvement and sparking innovation.
"Private schools generate a lot of school pride," Yee said. "To a certain extent, it used to be that way in the public schools, but we seem to have kind of lost that. I want to try to help regenerate that. Sports is one good way, but why can't we do that on the academic side?"
Cochran, a former field representative for the Hawaii State Teachers Association whose kids graduated from public schools, also will be pushing for adequate funding for charter schools and more support for community-based management. "I'm not for local school boards," she said. "I am for local school control."
The issue of local control is likely to be a hot one for the new board. Governor-elect Linda Lingle advocates replacing the current centralized system with seven locally elected school boards. Although that plan has run into opposition, some members favor giving more autonomy to local districts and schools. The 14-member board sets statewide policy for the public schools and oversees Hawaii's libraries.
Robinson said yesterday that she would like to see "teachers and principals having more say in how money is being spent." She started her children in the public schools but ultimately switched to private.
"I would like to see the day," she said, "when public schools are just as great as the private schools."
State Board of Education
State Department of Education
