No Child Left Behind Act Gives $3.5 Million Grant to Hawaii

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that $3.5 million had been awarded to Hawaii for educational projects under the No Child Left Behind Act. The eight projects include six in Honolulu, one in Kaneohe and one in Kapolei. The University of Hawaii at Hilo was also awarded $344,930.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, funds can be used for an array of programs and educational projects for native Hawaiian students, including early education and care, family-based education centers, reading and literacy programs, activities for the needs of the gifted and talented, special education programs and needs, professional development of teachers and educational staff, and activities to promote and enable students to complete post-secondary education.

The press release identifies the grant recipients in Honolulu as: College Connections Hawaii ($312,029), Keiki O Ka 'Aina Family Learning Center ($376,859), Pacific American Foundation ($422,345), Pacific American Foundation ($494,565), Partners in Development ($508,726) and Partners in Development ($510,222). In Kaneohe, Ke Kula O Samuel M Kamakau received $464,114; in Kapolei, the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture received $402,989.

College Connections Hawaii includes the Hawaiian Undergraduate Initiative project that will provide assistance to most colleges at 20 different sites on five islands; it is anticipated that some 500 students will be served. The project will provide financial support to Hawaiian college students, including scholarships and other funding to defray transportation and child care costs, as well as assistance with tutoring and classes to prepare students for college placement tests.

The Keiki O Ka 'Aina Family Learning Center includes the Community Alliances for Research and Education project. It's goal is to improve academic achievement in both social-emotional health and literacy. The project will serve more than 5,500 parents/caregivers and children, in addition to 200 teachers. There will be a total of 30 sites, located on the islands of Oahu and Maui. The focus will be on increasing parent/caregiver involvement in their children's education, emphasizing their role as their children's first teachers.

The Pacific American Foundation includes the Ho'ala Hou and the Akamai Alpha projects. Both will focus on developing culture-based programs. The Ho'ala Hou project will be for youth from at-risk communities and their parents and will be located on the island of Oahu. The project is expected to serve 200 youth and their parents. The Akamai Alpha project will target Oahu's 24 public high schools, as well as four community colleges on the island. It will involve the development and implementation of a financial analyst training program that will, among other things, prepare students for careers in the business world.

Partners in Development includes both the 'Ike Ea project and the Ka Pa'alana Traveling Preschool and Homeless Outreach project. The 'Ike Ea project is a collaborative effort including the University of Hawaii College of Engineering, the Hawaii Center for Advanced Communication and the Partners if Development Tech Together Program. The project will focus on physical science relating to technology, electronics and engineering and expects to impact some 8,000 students. The Ka Pa'alana Outreach project will serve the homeless on the island of Oahu with its mobile preschool outreach. The intent is to assist families break the "culture of poverty." It's expected to serve as many as 400 children and more than 350 adults.

The goal of the Ke Kula O Samuel M Kamadau Hookahua project is to align curriculum with the Hawaiian language and thus improve student achievement. It's hope the project will eventually serve as many as 1500 students.

The Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture includes the Kulia I Ka Pono project that will operate in rural communities on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii and Molokai. The project will focus on professional development programs for early childhood educators. It's expected the project will serve 45 adults and 300 children.

Finally, according to the press release, the grant to the University of Hawaii will be for supporting the Olelo Ola Oral Language Proficiency Project for grades K-3. The Hawaiian language immersion program will involve 15 elementary schools and more than 800 students on five islands.

As evidenced by the recipients and their many projects, the funds will provide the means for a comprehensive educational plan to assist Native Hawaiians and their children, as intended for everyone by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Source:

Press release, $3.5 Million in Grants Awarded to Honolulu Area for Innovative Education Programs; http://www.ed.gov/print/news/pressreleases/2007/07/07202007.html