Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2012 — Q&A: Myron Thompson, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Q&A: Myron Thompson,

Myron B. Thompson Academy board co-chair

lnterviewed by Lisa Asato KWO: Your charter school, an e-school, is marking 10 years under the name Myron B. Thompson Academy. What are some highlights of the past decade that maybe many people aren't aware of? MT: First of them is the Thompson Extension Aeademy. That's where we reach out to any charter or puhlie school student in the state and offer them the ability to eome online at no cost to get credits or education based on whatever they need. If they want to fill in some credits for graduation, we ean provide that. If they want to grab a course they can't normally get at their school, they ean do that. Around 500 or 600 students participate a year, and it's free. KWO: The U.S. News & World Report in May ranked your school among Hawai'i's best puhlie high schools. What does that say to you? MT: We've always known that our academic achievements have been high. ... We have all the information when we get judged by NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and other standards. We always rank way high; it's just something we already knew, but it's niee to be acknowledged on a national level. It's a strong testament to (principal) Diana (Oshiro) and her staff. . . . KWO: At the same time, your school has gotten some negative allenlion for nepolism and liseal

mismanagement, including issues l)eing forwarded to the Attorney General's office and Ethics Commission for investigation. As the school's board co-chair, what do you say to that? MT: It's pretty simple actually. The first set of allegations eame out in the newspaper. It was unsubstantiated. . . . The source of the information, some, was coming from former disgruntled employees. . . . We continue to hold a position that we have nothing to hide. We've been very cooperative with the AG's office, Ethics Commission regarding anything they needed. So far nothing has eome out as far as illegality .... We continue to work with the Ethics Commission, continue to work with the AG's office. ... If there were minor improprieties, we've since changedpolicies. Whatever the charter school review panel wanted us to do, we did. . . . There was a recommendation to amend our hiring policy, whieh we did. KWO: So everything Ihe school ean do has been done and will be done? MT: It's an ongoing process. Do we consider we're perfect? Absolutely not. Do we consider we're honest and trying to do the best we ean? Absolutely. . . . At this point in time we feel solid. KWO: What is the charter school movement in Hawai'i doing right? MT: The word semiautonomous is the key word. It allows schools to bring in their own curriculum and

they are outside the set pattern of the DOE (Department of Education). So what I think it's done right is, for example, the (Hawaiian-language) immersion schools. They're teaching their kids in Hawaiian, a full-on education. This would never have been done in the DOE because it's not eapahle of doing that. It allows

kids to grow up with cultural education available nowhere else in the world. That's just one example. In our case we're an online school, we have the flexibility to create an online curriculum (based on practices) from all over the world. . . . We found whieh were the best in the country and globally as well, and over time we've developed our curriculum based on that. We've had that flexibility. Things like the Thompson Extension Academy, that's another example of something that ean be done in a charter network. Creativity allows for the development of new best practices that also the DOE ean use in the future. KWO: One of your newest programs is called "pono sustainability." Can you elaborate?

MT: The curriculum itself is called pono sustainability. It's basically taking the idea of teaching Hawaiian values from an individual sustainability point of view and also teaching environmental sustainability as well. How do you protect the 'āina and teach a value system that's been working for thousands of years? That curriculum is going to be launched in the fall. KWO: Also in the fall, your school will move to a new loeation - the YWCA building on

Richards Street. Why move? MT: We have to move because of redevelopment plans for the Kaka'ako area. We're entering a four-year lease now at our new location. . . . The educational possibilities really fit us perfectly. It's almost identical in size to our former space and about the size we need.

It also affords us things we didn't have before, such as direct access to 'Iolani Palaee, and the cultural aspect of the YWCA itself is an interesting thing for us as well. KWO: Your gradualion rate is around 90 percent. How many of your students go on to higher education? MT: About 75 to 80 percent will pursue higher education. Others opt to go into the workforce or military.

KWO: Your father's name and you have been associated wilh the school since 2002. Why did you feel it was a good fit? MT: Diana (Oshiro) eame to us 10 years ago and asked if they could use my father's name for the name of the school. Back then the charter school movement was brand new.

Nobody really knew what to expect, but the appealing part of it was my father was always very innovative and was not affected by the status quo. He was alwayslooking at ways of improving. The charter schools and Diana in particular ... really aligned nicely with my dad and my family's value system. We thought it would be perfect. It's a school that's online. īeehnology was exciting at the time, still is. KWO: Anything you would like to add? MT: The crux of our relationship between the school and my father's name and why it eontinues to be a good mix comes down to the value system, Hawaiian values. Hawaiian values are really universal values. It comes down to caring for the students, being respectful of the kids and the family, working real hard to make sure they succeed in life. That was . . . how my dad viewed life. He really worked

hard to provide the resources neeessary (to see children succeed). He particularly wanted to see kids of Hawaiian ancestry be successful in life. . . . As a school we work really hard at that. Because we're online we have the opportunity to utilize technology in a big way. ... We'll continue down that path. ... Our school should always be judged by our results and as long as we're providing high level of education and our kids are succeeding, at the end of the day, that's all that matters. ■

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Myron Thompson stands in the second-floor breezeway of the YWCA on Richards Street, site of the academy's new home. - Photo: LisaAsato