Hawaii 24/7

MEDIA RELEASE Public school students have been given a letter to take home to their parents as a reminder of the upcoming spring assessments for English language arts and math. The new assessments, known as Smarter Balanced, are aligned to the Hawaii Common Core standards implemented statewide at the start of the school year. The […]

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MEDIA RELEASE Hawaii’s public elementary schools have made significant headway in reducing the number of students chronically absent, a strong predictor of academic success, according to the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) 2013-14 Strive HI Performance System results. Chronic absenteeism is one of the most powerful predictors of student success, even accounting for other […]

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MEDIA RELEASE The state Department of Education has released a report that announces actions it is taking based on a panel review of Pono Choices, a middle-school sexual health education curriculum. The report entitled, Implementing Sexual Health Education: Background and Actions for Improvement, details 11 specific recommendations to improve the curriculum and a dozen internal […]

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MEDIA RELEASE The state Board of Education (BOE) has taken action on state Department of Education (DOE) management salaries, including the salaries of Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi, Deputy Superintendent Ronn Nozoe, assistant superintendents and complex area superintendents. Beginning July 1, the base salary for the DOE Superintendent will be $200,000. Matayoshi was approved for a three-year […]

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MEDIA RELEASE The state Board of Education has approved a three-year contract for state Department of Education (DOE) Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi. The contract extension was approved subject to a report from Superintendent Matayoshi to the BOE responding to the concerns raised by a recent survey of educators. The related issues were presented in public testimony […]

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MEDIA RELEASE An arbitration panel has issued an award for educational officers of the state Department of Education (DOE) who are members of the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA) bargaining unit 06. The decision affects DOE school principals and other educational officers. “Our principals do tremendous work in leading their schools towards student and staff […]

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MEDIA RELEASE The state Department of Education (DOE) and the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) recently conducted a joint survey regarding the Educator Effectiveness System (EES), which was implemented statewide at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year. The purpose of the joint survey was to gather teacher feedback on their experiences and opinions regarding […]

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MEDIA RELEASE Hawaii’s public schools can be a model for the nation, according to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who visited two schools Tuesday before returning to Washington, D.C. Duncan, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi spoke with media in reflecting on the progress made during the last three years based on […]

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MEDIA RELEASE The state Department of Education is receiving high praise from the U.S. Department of Education for its efforts in implementing key reforms such as the Educator Effectiveness System, professional development on the Hawaii Common Core and work to support its most needy schools. “Over the last few years, we have seen Race to […]

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MEDIA RELEASE The state Department of Education has provided its 2014 report on School Year and Instructional Time before a joint legislative education committee hearing. Act 167 and Act 52 define student instructional hours as “… student learning time during which students are engaged in learning activities including regularly-scheduled instruction and learning assessments within the […]

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MEDIA RELEASE The state Department of Education has presented its Fiscal Year 2014-2015 Supplemental Budget Request before the Senate Ways and Means and House Finance Committees in the State Capitol Auditorium. The budget focuses on the DOE’s strategic goals. The request totals $31.7 million in operating funds, which puts the DOE at its current funding […]

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MEDIA RELEASE Hawaii’s efforts to prepare students for college and careers earned high marks from Achieve, a national non-partisan education reform organization. Hawaii is one of 46 states and D.C. to adopt Common Core State Standards (CCSS), rigorous education standards aligned with college- and career-readiness (CCR), or the knowledge and skills necessary for success after […]

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MEDIA RELEASE Hawaii’s fourth- and eighth-graders continue to progress in mathematics and reading; and for the first time, the state’s fourth graders have scored above the national average in math. This is according to the “The Nation’s Report Card” released Thursday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) spring 2013 state-by-state results. “The growth […]

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MEDIA RELEASE Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and Hawaii State Board of Education members have joined education leaders from public and private sectors in signifying their shared support for and participation with the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s (PVS’s) Worldwide Voyage. Representatives from early childhood to higher education institutions gathered at the Marine Education and Training Center on […]

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