[ HAWAII'S SCHOOLS ]
COURTESY OF NANAKULI HIGH & INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
Nanakuli High & Intermediate School is struggling to meet federal No Child Left Behind standards. English teacher Melissa Scroggins goes over the language arts standards with her students.
Nanakuli school
risks shutdownNHIS could get help after failing
to meet expected conditions
for five straight years
You are in a hole 100 feet deep, engulfed in darkness except for a ray of light coming from the opening at the top. You have been in this hole for more than 10 years and have managed to survive. However, in the last two years, because your provisions are running out, you have made an effort to climb out of this hole.
You have been able to climb up 25 feet a year the past two years. At this rate, slow though it is, you may be able to make it out in another two years, but only if you do not die of starvation first.
With the few provisions you have left, you have less than a year to make it out, or you will die of hunger. All your hope drains out of you at this realization, and you find yourself coming up empty-handed in terms of morale and motivation.
Suddenly, you hear voices from above shouting that they are here to help you.
Nanakuli High & Intermediate School is waiting for those voices to provide assistance to get it out of an academic hole.
And like the person whose provisions are running out, NHIS is also running out of time and could suffer a "death" such as being shut down or taken over.
NHIS did not meet the No Child Left Behind annual yearly progress in the latest published results from the Hawaii State Assessment and is now categorized as a Planning for Restructuring School.
A school is placed in Planning for Restructuring if it has not met the annual yearly progress for the last five years. The school must continue to allow students the choice of transferring to schools in good standing and continue to provide supplemental services. The state can initiate major changes, including replacement of most or all of the staff, assignment of school operations to the state or a private organization, or conversion to a charter school.
The school will meet today with a Department of Education triage team made up of state and district personnel. Together, the group will evaluate what the problems are at the school, what solutions have been implemented and how successful the school has been in addressing the problems.
From this data, the school will be placed in one of three tracks to get it to meet the benchmarks.
The first track states that a school is improving at a steady and productive rate, and it will be left to itself with minimal assistance.
Track two states that a school understands part of the problem but needs assistance in understanding and solving the whole problem. An Education Auditor's Support team will revise the School Improvement Action Plan, develop an intervention plan and call for a monthly progress report.
The third track states that a school is having trouble identifying the problem, or action taken to solve the problem was not successful. In this option, an External Educational Evaluator will be appointed, the SIAP will be revised, an intervention plan will be developed, a monthly progress report will be required and a plan for restructuring the school will be implemented.
With each progressive track, the school will receive more support and monitoring but less autonomy in how the school operates.
Some people question whether the school's would-be rescuers -- the state and federal governments -- will actually go into the schools to help them improve or whether they will just shout out advice without providing maximum resources.
"I think the intention is good, but I think how they're going to be successful is if they come in and work with the people who are there already," said physical education teacher Ellen Okada. "They need to educate the middle, so that means they need to educate the faculty, the staff, and they need to educate the administrators in making the kids successful."
Although NHIS has not met standards for the past few years, data from reports published in newspapers and on the state DOE Web site show that NHIS has made gains in its scores on the Hawaii State Assessment between 2001-02 and 2002-03.
For example, eighth-grade reading test scores show a 28 percent decrease in students categorized at the lowest level (well below standards) and a 23.4 percent increase in students right below the benchmark (approaching standards).
This indicates that NHIS is slowly succeeding in approaching the NCLB benchmarks, but this improvement is not being recognized.
The school has acquired many tools to pull itself out of the academic cavity.
The America's Choice Literacy Program in language arts and math has provided curriculum development and rituals and routines for the school. The Win 2000 computer program will provide students with computer-based lessons to address their needs in reading, math and other content areas. The Levels of Technology Integration program will train teachers on how to integrate technology skills into the curriculum.
"The state is trying to help us in terms of raising our test scores, but if you talk about why we are being restructured, the basis is strictly the test scores," Okada said. "So if they provide help in providing the administration with ways in which we can aid the students in taking tests, that will be great."
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New policy gets students
in their seatsChanges at Nanakuli High have already
had a positive effect on attendance rates
The tardy bell at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School gives its last shrill call as students all over the campus race to class. Students tumble into the classrooms, one after another, gasping for breath as they hurriedly take their seats, trying not to attract any attention as the teacher calls roll.
What is the cause of this? Is there a pack of hungry dogs chasing after NHIS students or a plague with no cure?
Actually, what has students literally sprinting to class is the new attendance policy at NHIS.
The new policy was implemented on Aug. 4 to help NHIS reach an average daily attendance rate of 85 percent, with an ultimate goal of 95 percent.
Over the years, NHIS has averaged a 78 percent attendance rate. This meant that 360 students were missing from school each day.
Goals for the new policy are to decrease absenteeism and increase opportunities for academic achievement in school.
The new attendance policy has several levels and consequences. Early consequences range from verbal reminders by teachers to students, to phone calls home to parents by teachers and the certified attendance person. After the fifth unexcused absence or tardiness, the student is referred to the NHIS Saturday school.
COURTESY OF NANAKULI HIGH & INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
Senior Chanel Reeve turns in an attendance verification pass to certified attendance person Cassie Nii.
The Saturday school runs from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on campus. Students are assigned a specific day to do community service on campus or attend academic lessons.
If a student does not attend the NHIS Saturday school, it will become what is called an "obligation." The obligation, if not cleared, will prevent students from participating in extracurricular activities such as sporting events, club activities or dances.
Further unexcused absences or tardiness will result in the referral of the student and his or her parents to the School Attendance Program, run by the Honolulu Police Department in Waipahu.
"I think the new attendance policy is really good," math teacher ChuYing Singletary said. "I find most of my students are coming to class. There are hardly any absences and tardies; at the most, I have one or two. In the past, I'd have at least five or six people absent every day."
In another change, the school will now accept only two parent/guardian letters each quarter as official documentation for students to qualify for an excused absence.
Data from the first quarter show the policy is having a positive effect on attendance. The average rate of daily attendance for the first quarter was 86 percent, compared with last school year's first-quarter average of 82 percent.
"It not only makes my job easier, it also helps the students to learn because it forces them to come to class," Singletary said.
Leigh Ann Siaosi, a member of the Attendance Committee, said, "If they continue to have unexcused absences and tardies, ultimately, because it's a Hawaii state law that all students attend school, a truancy petition can be submitted where the family and the student will have to appear in Family Court."
Cassie Nii, the new certified attendance person, said: "The attendance policy is schoolwide; therefore, even athletes get affected. If they are absent that day, then they don't practice that day, and if they are absent twice that week, then they don't play that weekend."
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About this Section
Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their school. This week's school is Nanakuli High & Intermediate School.
Newspaper:
Ka Leo 'O NanakuliEditor:
Nikita MendoncaStaff members:
Tiarae Gututala, Sarah Mastumura,
Zanna-Rae Taira, Kamuela WernerFaculty adviser:
Robin KitsuNext week:
Baldwin High School
Fast Facts
Address:
89-980 Nanakuli Ave.,
Waianae 96792Phone number:
668-5823Principal:
Levi ChangColors:
Black and goldMascot:
Golden HawkEstablished:
1967Enrollment:
1,347
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You Asked
How would you solve the "ice" problem affecting the state?Albert Iokepa
Junior
"Try to get rid of the dealers and put the people who are addicted into rehab, because dealers need smokers to make money and vice versa. So if one is gone, then the other can't last."Valana Aloy
Senior
"I think we would be able to solve the 'ice' problem by setting up hot lines for people to call, like we do for teen pregnancy. There should be a hot line for people to call for information and help on 'ice' and other drugs."Theodora Tuigamala
Junior
"Everyone should get more involved with the community and help out more with what's going on out there. Kids these days are our future, and I think it would be good if we taught them how to be better examples and follow through with their education while they're still in school. Who knows -- one day they could change the lives of other people."Sherri Jane Luafalemana
Freshman
"I would tell the stores to stop selling the ingredients that 'ice' is made out of."Raymond Telona
Junior
"I would solve the 'ice' problem by finding everyone who does these types of drugs and reporting them to the police/government so that they can be arrested."Rolando Espanto
Freshman
"I would talk to the state Legislature to implement a drug/'ice'-free program in every community."June Keawe
Junior
"We can solve the 'ice' problem by going out in the community and hold signs sending the message that 'ice' is very harmful and it can mess up your lives and the lives of the people around you. We should also go down to the elementary schools and teach them about the causes and effects of 'ice' and other drugs."
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