Dozens of East Hawaii teachers, principals, complex area administrators and community members gathered Wednesday to discuss ways to improve Hawaii’s education system. The town hall meeting was among several scheduled around the state this summer to compile input on the
Dozens of East Hawaii teachers, principals, complex area administrators and community members gathered Wednesday to discuss ways to improve Hawaii’s education system. The town hall meeting was among several scheduled around the state this summer to compile input on the Every Student Succeeds Act. The new federal education law is replacing No Child Left Behind.
Members of Gov. David Ige’s “ESSA team” — a group of education leaders largely from Oahu — led the two-hour meeting at Waiakea High School.
Proponents of the new ESSA law say it will give states more flexibility when creating standards. The law will be implemented for the 2017-18 school year.
“There’s a lot of hope,” said attendee Jenifer Tsuji, a teacher at Mountain View Elementary School. “They seem to be quite open to wanting to hear from us. The fact that they have reached out to the community to meet our needs looks really hopeful. This is a lot more hopeful than I’ve felt in a long time.”
The state is drafting a plan to submit to the federal government that will describe how Hawaii will meet requirements of the new law. It’s also drafting a separate “blueprint” — essentially a “larger picture” look at the state’s education system, members of the ESSA team said.
The state Department of Education is also currently updating its Joint Strategic Plan which outlines goals to help Hawaii students succeed.
