Hawaii faces turbulent times in public education. Our Governor has called for a “reboot” of the system that is forward focused and helps students to innovate for jobs that do not yet exist. Meanwhile the State Board of Education has decided not to renew Superintendent Matayoshi’s contract and Deputy Superintendent Schatz has announced his departure. […]
The only thing constant is change
UPDATE (March 15, 2017): We commend chair Lance Mizumoto and the entire Hawaii State Board of Education for their efforts to safeguard the integrity of the search for state superintendent so that it can be conducted in a fair, transparent and open way. The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation has resumed its funding of the search […]
Hawaii students did well on challenging exams
(commentary by Foundation President/CEO Terry George and Castle & Cook President Harry Saunders) As Hawaii’s largest employers, we care deeply about the abilities of Hawaii’s public school students. So what are we to make of recent news that slightly less than one out of two public school students met the standard in 2015? After all, […]
Teacher voice: how do we move forward together?
(guest commentary written by Hope Street Group Teacher Fellow Chris J. Rodriguez of Waipahu Elementary School) Before I became a teacher, I would dream about my career and imagine how things would be. My future classroom occupied my thoughts. I saw this one room as the place where great learning would take place. But as […]
The heat is on: cared straight at Castle
Guest commentary by Windward District’s Jorene Barut Old habits die hard. But sometimes a spark ignites change, casts a light and levels the past into a distant memory. The Pookela Academy (Academy of Excellence) is the spark at Castle High that’s refining former self-described “kolohe” kids into steel-willed students committed to turning their lives around […]