Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 3, 1 March 2004 — Education advisory committee proposed to address unique needs of Hawaiian keiki [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Education advisory committee proposed to address unique needs of Hawaiian keiki

Aloha mai kākou. In this artiele, I would like to share my mana'o on the subject of education and my suggestion to the OHA Board regarding this important issue. More specifically, I'm very interested in the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (Puhlie Law 107-110) and how it affects our Hawaiian keiki. If you are not familiar with this federal law, let me briefly tell you what it is and what it intends to accomplish. The "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" is a federal law that imposes certain requirements on state education agencies. By the end of school year 2013-2014, the State of Hawai'i, Department of Education (DOE) must ensure that all students be proficient in math, reading and science. This Act points eoneem to certain "subgroups" of students: eeonomically disadvantaged students, students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency. Just how many Hawaiian keiki fit into these sub-

groups? Lots! In fact, a preponderanee of Hawaiian keiki fit into these subgroups statewide. OHA's Strategic Plan, Goal 4, Education, reads: "By 2007, OHA shall have assisted 28,750 Native Hawaiians to achieve age appropriate literacy. The following three strategies are listed under Goal 4: (1) leverage potential resources to create educational opportunities, (2) create additional literacy resources for Native Hawaiians and (3) engage kūpuna in developing Hawaiian learning methods. In early February, I proposed to the Chairperson and all members of OHA's Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment, in accordance with OHA bylaws, the creation of an advisory committee to be called the "Advisory Committee on Education." The advisory committee would address the ramifications of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" and what we need to do to kōkua our Hawaiian keiki to succeed. By the time this article is printed, I hope this proposal will have been

approved. To give some background on the proposal, I offered the following: The requirements of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA 2001)," coupled with philosophical difference of opinions by the DOE, Board of education (BOE), Hawai'i State Legislature and Governor regarding NCLBA 2001 exacerbated by education reform proposals and disagreements, unless resolved quickly will continue to negatively impact Hawaiian keiki education. The primary tasks of the proposed advisory committee would be: (1) To assure appropriate state funding for areas of high populations of Hawaiian keiki to properly address the NCLBA 2001 specifically, and basic education generally; (2) To assure that the DOE operational policies adopted by the Superintendent's office do not circumvent the intent of the NCLBA 2001 and thereby "shortchange" the Hawaiian keiki in the identified subgroups; and (3) To assure the BOE policies adopted

further address the needs of Hawaiian keiki affected by the Act and likewise do not circumvent the intent of the Act. The suggested committee eomposition recommends at least two OHA trustees, one OHA education staff and two education advocates from either puhlie and/or private sector schools. The proposal also suggests attending DOE and BOE meetings and legislative hearings, seek appropriate research and analysis, and recommend testimony as appropriate to OHA's Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment. I am expecting a positive response to fulfill OHA's advocacy responsibility for all Hawaiian keiki in our puhlie school system statewide. Finally, as always, my staff and I invite your advice and counsel on the above or any other concerns within our purview. My OHA access numbers are: phone 594-1854, fax 594-0210 and e-mail address: dantec@oha.org. A hui hou, mālama pono. ■

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Dante Keala Carpenter Trustee, O'ahu