The pageantry of Hawaii’s high school graduation season–better than anywhere else in the country–is upon us. For many, this is a culminating moment to celebrate the accomplishments of young people and their ‘ohana. But once all the lei are given out and the graduations parties end, what comes next for nearly 12,000 public school graduates? […]
Skilled Trades: Reflections and Projections
Over the last two years, our Foundation has proudly invested in a focused portfolio of seven grants—each designed to help more young people in Hawaiʻi enter the skilled trades, especially those from underrepresented and rural communities. We marked the close of this work at our Skilled Trades Final Convening in late 2025 at Honolulu Community […]
Scaling Opportunity
photo caption: students from Kailua, Kalaheo and Kahuku High Schools celebrate completion of internships with Hawaii Herald, Kuilima Farms, Makai Pet Hospital, Ōlelo Media and Pixar Animation, and Tofu Creative. My interest in education as a career was sparked while watching my grandmother teach French to seventh grade students in upper Manhattan. I was ten at […]
Why don’t more students go to college?
Column originally appeared in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on April 30, 2023 By Laura Bekes, Alem Tecle and Alex Harris Only about half (51 percent) of the graduating high school class of 2022 matriculated to a 2- or 4-year college, a statistic that has remained flat for the last several years. This is troubling as higher […]
Windward Community College Enrollment
Nestled at the base of the Ko’olau mountain range lies the emerald campus of Windward Community College. Celebrating its 50th birthday, this institution serves as the gateway to higher education for residents of Ko’olauloa and Ko’olaupoko. Early in the pandemic, though, troublingly low student enrollment rates plummeted even further. We sought to meet the challenge […]