When students at Lanakila Elementary begin to fall behind, teachers quickly group them into small classes to help them catch up, often after school and without extra pay.

The effort has paid off.

Lanakila was among three public schools that received the 2009 Hawaii Blue Ribbon award yesterday. Kapalama Elementary and Kaimuki Middle also took the prestigious prize, which comes with a $3,000 check and recognizes schools posting substantial gains in test scores or for placing in the top 10 percent of state schools in reading and math.

The trio, picked from 10 finalists, will represent Hawaii in the 2009-10 National No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Winners will be announced next year.

The NCLB law requires an increasing percentage of students be able to read and solve math problems at grade level, culminating in 2014, when every child should be proficient. Educators have complained the law is unfair and punitive because schools do not get credit for overall improvements if groups of students fail.

Kaimuki Middle Principal Frank Fernandes said the law's rising test targets, while difficult to attain, push teachers and students to always do better.

“;You can regard it as a challenge or give in to the temptation to dismiss it,”; he said.

He attributed his school's accomplishment in large part to a model in which teacher teams meet daily to review the progress of individual students and share techniques to help them improve.

In the 2007-08 academic year, 83 percent of Kaimuki Middle eighth-graders were proficient in reading and 52 percent were proficient in math—above the federal benchmarks of 58 percent and 46 percent for each subject, respectively.

At Kapalama Elementary, where nearly 60 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of poverty, children have also exceeded the law's expectations.

“;A lot of them come from not necessarily the best home environment, so it's really about looking at ways that we can support them,”; Principal Patricia Dang said. “;It really is the whole school working together.”;

Lanakila Elementary Principal Michael Ono praised a local parish that has raised funds for the school's summer program, as well as teachers and students who worked after hours to raise test scores.

“;It took a lot of hard work from the staff and the community,”; he said. “;Children know, too, what they have to achieve. They are willing to go into our intervention program. Sometimes it's after school, and they may have to forgo some other activities to better themselves.”;