The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation has awarded 21 Hawaii public schools $10,000 each for their excellence in improving reading scores for keiki in the third grade. The award-winning schools were those that gained 20 or more percentage points in third grade scores on the Hawaii State Assessment reading exams from 2003 to 2006, as identified by data provided by the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE). The cash grants were given under the Castle Foundation’s Nā Alaka‘i Ho‘ona‘auao Reading Leadership Awards program.
To qualify, schools must have had at least 28 students enrolled in the third grade in 2006 and achieved an increase of 20 percentage points or more in the number of third grade students scoring “at or above proficiency” on the Hawaii State Assessment between 2003 and 2006.
The awards are part of a Castle Foundation initiative to shine a spotlight on schools and teachers for their demonstrated leadership and emphasize the need to close the achievement gap in Hawaii’s schools. Case studies will be conducted on a group of the winning schools in the hope that their methods of achieving success will be adopted by other schools, thus creating a platform for sharing information which will benefit all of Hawaii’s keiki by establishing a solid foundation for learning.
The schools that received grants are on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Island of Hawaii:
The awards were presented at the second annual P-3 Principals’ Summit, held August 30 at the Hale Koa Hotel, by Lt. Governor Duke Aiona and DOE Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto. The event was organized by the DOE along with the Hawaii Elementary and Middle School State Administrator’s Association, Good Beginnings Alliance and INPEACE/SPARK Hawaii. The summit was designed to provide a venue for school principals, area superintendents and early childhood directors to get new information and resources on early childhood education as well as plan participation in the request-for-proposal process to access funds from the P-3 W.K. Kellogg grant, Capturing the Momentum.
“The Harold Castle Foundation’s efforts to recognize reading improvement among our keiki in Hawaii Public Schools are very important. These awards call attention to schools that have excelled at increasing third grade reading test scores,” said Patricia Hamamoto, superintendent of the DOE. "With these examples, we can develop case studies that can be analyzed and applied to other schools and will hopefully improve their test scores. The studies will also help the state meet its goals under the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's $10 million grant program to ensure that all Hawaii's children read at grade level by third grade."
“Achieving third grade reading gains is one sign of great school leadership. Students who are not reading at grade level by third grade are at higher risk of never catching up to grade level, and studies show they have higher dropout, unemployment and teen pregnancy rates,” said Mitch D’Olier, President and CEO of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and Kaneohe Ranch. “Given the important educational and social benefits of early literacy, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation sees reading achievement as an important area requiring strong public education leadership.”