The View From Over There
Although we all know the value of “Island Wisdom” and the appeal of “home grown” solutions, none of us wants to spend time “reinventing the wheel” (or canoe, as the case may be). In this space we intend to feature some of the more promising “off-island” ideas and programs in education with the hope we all can learn something from them.
February 13th, 2009 at 1:09 am
Terry,
I am so happy to see another person mention the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools. I’ve added their website. I would love to see KIPP schools in Hawaii on all islands. This is the state where both parents are either working multiple jobs or there are other reasons the parents are unable to spend enough quality time with their children. KIPP schools would best serve the students by completely eliminating the need for A+ program in those schools, since the staff are dedicated to a longer day, a longer year and therefore longer retention of subject matter. 80% of the KIPP alumni (so far) have gone on to college.
I would definitely suppport KIPP on Kauai.
September 28th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I hope you find this useful and can spread the news:
“This American Life” on NPR, Saturday (9/27/08), aired a story re: The Baby College that I found very informative and interesting re: early childhood development and breaking the cycle of poverty. Latest research confirms that the more parents communicate with kids at early ages, reading and talking to them, the more the child develops communication skills and prepares them for school and life. Is this hard to fathom and yet many parents are deficient in this regard. I hope you will check out the story and spread the news. the story also talks about bettering parenting of the “underclass” (my term).
Aloha, Best regards, Frank Luke
September 19th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Alaska subsidizes homeschooling and counts homeschooled children who apply for the subsidy as enrolled in a virtual school. Homeschooled children of parents who themselves have no schooling beyond high school outperform students of the college-trained teachers in Alaska’s conventional schools. The homeschoolers’ median score is close to the 80th percentile score of conventionally schooled children. Homeschooled children are better socialized: their play is quieter and they are less aggressive.
The State of Alaska attaches to homeschooled children a budget of about 1/3 the per pupil budget of conventionally schooled children. This represents a substantial savings to Alaska taxpayers, even before taking reduced capital requirements (classroom construction) into consideration.
September 11th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Here’s a good paper on the limitations of NCLB (No Child Left Behind)
http://www.boldapproach.org/statement.html
September 11th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
This is an excellent site sponsored by the Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation. This type of movement organized and supported by the “users” of the public school system (parents, students, employers etc.) is just what we need to do here. Check out their adds in the middle of the page – they are phenomenal and shocking…
http://www.edin08.com/
August 26th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I have heard wonderful things about the KIPP schools, which have done a marvelous job in raising student achievement and narrowing achievement gaps in economically and socially disadvantaged communities. KIPP schools provide evidence to refute claims that schools in low-income communities cannot make big learning gains quickly for all students.
Since Hawaii currently has no KIPP schools, perhaps it would be useful to learn about them and decide whether their approach can be adapted to our schools.
Mahalo!