Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 2, 1 February 2016 — Helping our families ease the burden of paying for college [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Helping our families ease the burden of paying for college

Our recent announeement about a w a r d i n g $500,000 in scholarships should offer encouragement to some Native Hawaiian students who are hoping to turn the dream of a college education into a reality. This is the latest example of OHA's commitment to helping strengthen the future path of students, who continue to look to us to help piek up the bill for

courses, housing and books. Our research shows that Native Hawaiian college students tum to us to cover up to 25 percent of their college costs. It comes at a time when tuition and other costs are rising, and family budgets appear tighter than ever. The role our scholarship awards play in helping foot tuition and other college bills is part of a broader effort at OHA, where improving education in the Hawaiian community ranks near the top of our priority list. Specifically, we have sharpened our focus on two educational goals: increasing the percentage of Native Hawaiian students who meet or exceed reading and math standards at the middle and high school levels; and increasing their graduation rate at a post-secondary level. Given that reality, our investment is in their hope for a life where they ean support a family and develop abilities they need for higher-skilled jobs. For example, a study by Hono-

lulu Community College found that, in good times, Hawai'i needs up to 28,000 trained workers a year to fill new openings and retirement in trades and professions. It also found that the state's ability to fill those positions depends on the effectiveness of its public schools in teaching reading and math skills. As a result, OHA has been working with various community partners to address this issue, whieh is

ultimately about creating a stronger future path for Native Hawaiian students. We have been working with these community-based partners to provide them with resources meant to help Native Hawaiian students graduate from high school with marketable skills to obtain well-paying jobs or pursue a college education. OHA's involvement is ultimately about helping to ensure that our people are among the skilled workers employers need to better contribute to the state's eeonomie vitality and competitiveness. For this reason, we eonhnue to approach our commitment to higher education for Native Hawaiians with a sense of urgency. Look no further than the help that our scholarships are providing finan-cially-stressed students for evidence of OHA's sincere commitment to easing their burden for college. ■

LEO 'ELELE V www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org TRUSTEE MESSSAGES ' NATiVE HAWAUAN » NEWS l FEATURES I EVENT S

Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr.

Chair, TrustEE, Hawai'i