Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 10, 1 October 1987 — Kamehameha Officials, Trustee Clarify Record [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kamehameha Officials, Trustee Clarify Record

Charges of lnaccuracies Leveled at Series

Editor's Note: During the first week of September, the Honolulu Star Bulletin ran a prouocative series of articles on Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate. While scrutiny by the press is weleomeā, the Schools and Bishop Estate also expectfair and balanced reporting. Kamehameha officials haue said, howeuer, that the series presented many inaccuracies about the Schools and its programs. Thus officials feel compelled to prouide accurate information about the Schools' programs and policies to their beneficiaries. In an effort to clarify the record, Ka Wai Ola O OHA is happy to present the following series of three interviews submitted by President Jack Darvill, Trustee Myron Thompson and Public Affairs Director Neil Hannahs, the three men most quoted in the Star Bulletin series. A question and answer format is used for this purpose. Readers with additional questions are encouraged to contact Kamehameha's Public Affairs Department, 842-8300. REACTION Question: What is your reaction to recent Star Bulletin articles on Kamehameha Schools? Darvill: Many of us at Kamehameha - students, parents, teachers, staff and alumni - have been deeply offended by the articles. Personally, as one who is nearing the end of a 25-year career at The Schools, I am surprised, bewildered and upset. KAMEHAMEHA SECONDARY SCHOOL Question: Most of the focus was on Kamehameha's Secondary School. What are the educational objectives for grades 7 - 12? Darvill: We are committed to the growth of the "whole child". We assist students to develop academically to the best of their abilities. We are also concerned that they acquire skills needed to relate positively to self and others, maintain health and continue learning. We want them to leave us with the capabilities to make their life rewarding and productive. Question: Describe the student body in grades 7 - 12. Darvill: We have a secondary school population of 2,080. Generally, applicants exhibiting the greatest achievement are admitted according to geographic quotas. Preference is given to orphans and indigent children, as stated in Mrs. Bishop's will. Consequently, we get a student body with average to very high abilities. At least four of every five students have college aspirations, but our program must meet the needs and interests of all. That's why the Secondary School is called comprehensive. SAT COMPARISONS Question: What do you think of the comparisons made between Kamehameha and other private schools? Darvill: They are invidious. As Iolani's Paul Kennedy said, "It's not fair to take a school like Iolani, where admission is competitive . . . and compare it with Kamehameha, whieh has a mission to reach out to all Hawaiian children." Our best students ean compete with anybody. But Kamehameha should be assessed on the basis of progress made in achieving our own goals, not those of an elitist institution like Andover whieh enrolls 1,200 students from 40 states and 30 foreign countries. Tuition there is $8,000 for a day student with an additional 34% underwritten by its endowment. Question: Are your students showing any gains on SAT scores? Darvill: Yes! The number taking this test increased by 71% in a decade — from 55% of the juniors and seniors in 1977 to 94% in 1986. Also comparisons of the respective performances of the top 55% of the students in 1986 with the 55% who took the test in 1977 show that verbal scores rose 25 points and math scores jumped 73 points. During the same ten years, national scores increased only two and five points respectively. Our 1987 results are even better, increasing 34 and 97 points, respectively, for verbal and math over the 1977 scores.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS Question: Kamehameha's graduation requirements for math and science were questioned. Exactly what is required? Darvill: Four years ago the requirements for math and science were increased to two years eaeh, taking effect with the Class of 1988. Even so, for years our students have been taking more science, math, social studies and language courses than are minimally required. For example, 99% of our students took two years of math even when we required only one. In effect we just made it official. • See Kamehameha, pages 2,3,4

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS v» ACTUAL STUDENT COURSE SELECTIONS CLASS OF 1987 R*qulr«m«nU * S«l«ct*d Math - 1 year 2 years - 99% 3 years - 88% 4 years - 54% Science - 1 year 2 years - 82% 3 years - 38% 4 years - 8% Foreign Language -0 2 years - 82% 3 years - 38% 4 years - 18% * In 1983, math and science requirements were increased to two years eaeh for all classes graduating after 1987.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS VS. ACTUAL STUDENT SELECTIONS CLASS OF 1987

Jack Darvill

• Kamehameha, from page 1 COLLEGE ADMISSION Question: Is the number of Kamehameha students going to college increasing? Darvill: Yes. Between 1977 and 1986, graduating class sizes remained constant — about 360 students per class. Yet the percent of students going to 4-year colleges increased from 36% to 60% of the class. The actual number of students went from 130 to 215, an increase of 65%. Another 20 - 25% of eaeh graduating class continues their education at 2-year colleges. Many of them do this for eeonomie reasons and then transfer to complete their baccalaureate requirements.

KAMEHAMEHA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (KES) Question: Why are Kamehameha elementary students required to compete with others for admission to grade 7? Darvill: Kamehameha Elementary School (grades K - 6) and Kamehameha Secondary Schoo! (grades 7-12) are operationally separate because they have very different purposes and enroll different types of students. They are located on the same campus, but just as University High School students do not pass directly into the University of Hawaii-Manoa, KES sixth graders must compete with others for admission to Kamehameha's Secondary School. Our two schools could well have different names and be miles apart. Actually, that might help people to realize they are autonomous. Question: How do admissions to the two schools differ? Darvill: Kindergarten students are admitted to KES through a random computer selection process. This yields a group of children with below average, average and above average abilities similar to a typical Department of Education class. This is done because our elementary school is a demonstration and training site for a reading program that Kamehameha offers in DOE schools to assist a larger number of Hawaiian children. Currently 87 teachers in six DOE Schools are participating in our program, whieh involves over 2,000 students in addition to the 714 served directly at KES.

• Kamehameha, from page 2 Secondary School students are selected on the basis of achievement measures. As a group, students in grades 7 - 12 have above average ability. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Question: Are Kamehameha Elementary School students progressing satisfactorily? Darvill: Yes. Most students in the program test at or above their predicted level of achievement. This was so with the sixth grade class that graduated this June. When they entered kindergarten in 1980, standardized tests indicated that 55% had ability levels below the national average, and 45% had above average ability. Seven years later, upon completion of the sixth grade, 75% of these students had achievement scores that were above average, and only 25% scored below average. The percentage that ranked in the top 10% went from 5% at kindergarten to 14% at sixth grade, nearly three times more than would have been predicted on the basis of their earlier ability tests.

GRADE SEVEN ADMISSION Question: Why aren't these students automatically admitted into grade seven? Darvill: Competition. Three-fourths of our sixth graders may be achieving above average, biit so are many of the other 1115 applicants for grade seven. Thirty percent of our KES students were accepted to grade 7 this year. That's more than one would have predicted given their random selection at kindergarten, but not nearly as many aS wanted to attend. At all grades there are a lot more students seeking admission than ean be enrolled. That results in a lot of disappointed youngsters. If we were to enroll all 55,000 school-age Hawaiian children, we would need 43 elementary schools and 13 secondary schools. That's not possible and we don't believe it would be wise to put all Hawaiians in a segregated school system. Instead, we are trying to offer other educational services through our Extension Education Division, our Center for Development of Early Education and our partnerships with the DOE, University of Hawaii and some 30 other agencies and private organizations. FOUR WAY TEST Question: What provoked such harsh criticism? Darvill: We really don't know. Constructive criticism of these programs is one thing. But it's mystifying why anyone would want to harshly condemn our attempts to make a meaningful contribution to the advancement of a people and the progress of our community. I've been a Rotarian for many years and I've always felt that the four-way test for community conduct offered good rules to live by. That is - 1. Is it the truth? 2. Is it fair to all concerned? 3. Will it build goodwill and better friendship? and 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned? In my opinion, this series of articles would fail eaeh test. Kamehameha's efforts over the last 20 years are unique in American education. No other private school that I know of has ever tried to assist an entire group of children in a public setting as we are doing. We cannot honestly say how long it will be before the results we seek (first, parity with national norms and then, with the best loeal norms) are achieved. We only know that if we do not try, we will never succeed. And that would be one of the greatest tragedies we ean imagine. "No Comment" Explained Question: On behalf of the Schools/Estate, you have questioned the ability and desire of the Star Bulletin to fairly and impartially discuss Kamehameha's policies and programs. Why did you take that position? Hannahs: We were deeply disturbed by the tone and bias of the articles on our school. Many of the charges lacked evidence to support the claims. We urged the editors to put it on the editorial pages if that's their opinion of us. To our chagrin, the innuendos were presented as if they were facts. Imagine the impact of being branded an "academic laggard"! Even people who thought the author raised some valid points have agreed that the stories were extraordinarily mean-spirited and one-sided. That's why we felt it necessary to take such an extreme position.

Seek Balanced Picture Question: What impression should have been left with readers? Hannahs: We don't pretend to be perfect. But, the articles could have conveyed some of the good in our programs and that we have dedicated ourselves to the awesome goal of changing the educational profile of the Hawaiian people. We don't believe readers were left with an understanding of how hard we have worked to meet more of the needs of the Hawaiian community, or of the tremendous growth in the number of individuals served. Recognition was not given to the effort put into a pioneering exit skills program whieh enables us to measure whether students are acquiring all the knowledge and skills we want them to leam. All this over the past 20 years. We felt it would be irresponsible of us to sit quietly while the Star Bulletin impugned or ignored these efforts. The images I associate with an "academic laggard" are quite the opposite of those I would use to characterize our school. We are tremendously proud of our students, staff and program. Their honor and record of achievement merit a strong defense.

Question: Weren't your views published? Hannahs: Our responses did appear. But ean you say the stories are balanced when charges are made in a sensational way and then a spokesman is asked to defend himself? Is it fair to level all the criticisms on the front page, in the headlines and through graphics and captions and then force the reader to search out the other side in the fine print? Nowhere in the series could we find our explanation of how insensitive and specious it is to compare achievement by a populahon drawn from a disadvantaged minority against the performance of an ultra elitist school like Andover. Absent was any citation of the research whieh shows that performance on tests like the SAT are known to be influenced by family ineome and parent education level. UH President Albert Simone was recently issued a Star Bulletin report card based on the responses of 50 people who were surveyed. The evaluation gave him an A where he was doing well and a C where he was not. We would have been satisfied with similar treatment. Our accomplishments could have been included and been as prominent as the alleged deficiencies.

Scrutiny Question: Is the Schools/Estate above scrutiny? Hannahs: No. In fact we invite examination and evaluation of our programs by experts as well as lay people. Our Secondary School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. We have invited leading educators from the Ford Foundation, Stanford, Harvard, the Illinois Center for the Study of Reading, to name but a few to evaluate our programs. Question: Is scrutiny by the media appropriate? Hannahs: Sure. In fact one of the responsibilities of the

Public Affairs department is to attract media attention to our programs. Of course we'd like to see positive coverage, but we understand that you must accept the good with the bad. We also believe that the media has a responsibility to present the negatives in a fair and eonstructive way. We don't think that occurred in this instance. Star Bulletin Biases Question: Specifically, what problems do you have about the series? Hannahs: One problem was that information was used selectively and manipulated to leave a negative impression. For instance, it was reported that our Secondary School serving 2,080 students operates on a $30 million budget. This appeared exorbitant compared to the other schools listed. The grades 7 - 12 budget is actually $9.2 million. The Star Bulletin was aware that the $30 million funded many programs whieh the other schools do not have. These include: a boarding department; extension services; a center for early education; dissemination of a reading program to public schools; and a fleet of 17 buses. In all, the $30 million budget enables Kamehameha to serve more than 40,000 individuals eaeh year. Secondly, we thought the series was insensitive and demeaning to the Hawaiian people. One eame away with a feeling that Kamehameha students and alumni are second class and not as capable as their counterparts of Punahou or Iolani. That's unfortunate and it is wrong. A third eoneem is that the sensational and confrontational tone of the series does little to create an environment whieh encourages progress and program improvements. We have labored to build partnerships for improving education and for assisting the Hawaiian people. These articles are divisive and inflammatory. They've created pro-Kamehameha and anti-Kameha-meha factions. History shows that people are more productive when they work together. Future Star Bulletin Relationship Question: Will the Schools/Estate be willing to work cooperatively with the Star Bulletin in the future? Hannahs: We didn't want to adopt a "no comment" approach in dealing with the Star Bulletin, but we felt that the circumstances warranted drastic action. One problem with this policy is that it is contrary to our goal of increasing public awareness of our programs. A second eoneem is that it paints with a single brush the entire Star Bulletin staff. That's not fair to people like Bud Smyser, Jerry Tune, Catherine Enomoto, Hildegaard Verploegen, Helen Akonn, Russ Lynch, Gregg Kakesako and other Bulletin staffers. These individuals have not always agreed with us, but they've always treated us in a professional and even-handed manner. We intend to maintain our trust and confidence in those reporters who have been fair in the past. Our hope is that this will begin the process of re-building the mutually supportive relationship we have long enjoyed with this newspaper. TRUSTEE'S REACTION Question: What do Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate T rustees think about the Star Bulletin articles on Kamehameha? Thompson: We think that the Star Bulletin maligned a worthy institution and a dedicated staff. Worse, the series denigrated the achievement of a fine student body and demoralized these young people at a time when we are celebrating the growth and progress not only of Kamehameha Schools, but of the Hawaiian people as well. MISSION Question: What is the mission of Kamehameha Schools?

Neil Hannahs

Myron Thompson

• Kamehameha, from page 3 Thompson: Princess Pauahi intended that Kamehameha Schools provide Hawaiian children with the education they would need to better themselves. For the past century Kamehameha has provided those educational opportunities. On October 15, 1975, the Trustees adopted the mission "to provide as many meaningful educational services to children and youth of whole or part-Hawaiian ancestry as resources will permit to assist them in their efforts to develop their highest potential as effective participants in contemporary society." Given the rising numbers of school-age Hawaiians it is a mammoth task, not one that ean be accomplished overnight. HAWAIIAN DEMOGRAPHICS State of Hawai'i 200,000 Total Hawaiians 55,000 School-age (K - 12) Question: Do Hawaiians have special educational needs? Thompson: Although Hawaiians continue to make significant gains and many individuals are successful in their careers and community involvement, Hawaiian children still have special educational needs. In 1983, Kamehameha compiled a report on Hawaiian educational needs. It documented standardized test performanee and cited obstacles to educational achievement. HAWAIIAN EDUCATIONAL NEEDS 1. Standardized Achievement: Taken as a whole, Hawaiian students score below the nahonal average on standardized tests in reading and math.

2. Special Educational: Hawaiians are over-repre-sented in many negative social and physical statistics that pose barriers to educational achievement. 3. Culturally-Related: Hawaiians are affected adversely by the loss of their culture. There are many problems where the Hawaiian culture interacts with the dominant culture (for example, the classroom). ENDOWMENT COMPARISONS Question: Are comparisons of the endowments of Kamehameha School and Yale University valid? Thompson: No. To suggest that there are similarities between the endowments of Kamehameha and Yale simply because one is valued at $1.57 billion and the other at $1.75 billion is superficial and misleading. Ninety percent of Yale's portfolio is comprised of stocks, bonds and cash, while 7% is in real estate. Our portfolio is just the opposite: 92% is in real estate, and the balance is in stocks, bonds and cash. Yale's stocks generate mueh higher annual cash flow than our real estate, especially considering that 97% of the land we inherited is zoned for agricultural use or conservation and nets little or no ineome. However, the value of our land has grown many times more than the value of stocks.

Question: Whey don't trustees sell all the land and buy more stocks like Yale? Thompson: First, because land has been an excellent investment. Sometimes, people allow the glitter of a lot of cash in hand obscure their vision of what might be best in the long run. That's a particularly important eonsideration for trustees of a perpetual trust. Second, we must contemplate more than eeonomie factors in deciding to sell the land. Mrs. Bishop's will specifies that the land should not be sold unless the trustees deem it necessary "for the . . . maintenance of said schools ..." We are also aware that Princess Pauahi's lands are perceived as a symbol of the Hawaiian people's struggle for survival. The dissolution of this estate would have a depressing effect on the Hawaiian people because of the cultural value Hawaiians ascribe to the land. TRUSTEE COMMrSSION Question: Do you have a comment on trustee eommissions, beyond what was published? Thompson: I would add that my fellow trustees and I have steadfastly defended the principles upon whieh compensation should be based, not the amount. First, we feel a law to regulate only KS/BE trustees would be discriminatory. Whatever guidelines the Legislature

adopts for Kamehameha should apply to other trusts as well. Second, trustees compensation should consider trustees' responsibilities and exposure to surcharge. Third, the level of compensation should relate to the resources available to the trust and the compensation offered to chief executives with comparable responsibilities in the community. CONFIDENCE IN KAMEHAMEHA PROGRAM Question: How do you feel about the way the Star Bulletin used your remarks about your son's education? Thompson: I am extremely upset that my comments were used to mislead the reader. The statement that "I wouldn't put my child in Kamehameha" inferred that I lacked confidence in the quality of Kamehameha's educational programs. Nothing is further from the truth. I know that Kamehameha offers a first class staff, curriculum, facilities and opportunities to its students. My youngest "child," Nainoa, is 34-years-old, and we made the decision of where to send him to school back in the 1950's. The newspaper's attempt to make my concerns of 30 years ago seem current is terribly distorted. I wou!d not hesitate enrolling my children or grandchildren in Kamehameha Schools.

RAW MEAN SAT SCORES COMPARISON Point 1977 1986 Increase % Increase Verbal 435 460 25 6% Math 489 562 73 15% Hawaii Verbal 401 403 2 .49% Math 470 477 7 1.50% National Verbal 429 431 2 .46% Math 470 475 5 1.06%

I KAMEHAMEHA GRADUATES POST-HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION 357 Students Class of 1977 Class of 1989 4 year colleges 36% 60% 2 year colleges 27% 22% Military /Work Force 35% 17% Trade/ Business School 2% 1%

KAMEHAMEHA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Class of 1987 National Norms Msasursd Achievement Ability at at Grade Six Kindergarten Upper 10% 5% 14% Upper 25% 19% 33% Upper 50% 45% 75% Lower 50% 55% 25% Lower 25% 13% 7% Lower 10% 4% 2%

Educational Program Growth Numbers Served Program 1977 1987 % Increaae Campus (Grades 7-12) 2,000 2,193 9% * Kamehameha Elementary 50 2,000 4000% Educational Program - DOE dissemination Pre-Kindergarten 0 200+ 200% Post-High School 275 700 250% Scholarships Extension Education 22,000 44,000 100% Program * Reflects partial phase-in of 16% expansion of student body. Expansion to be complete by 1989-1990 school year. Secondary school enrollment will total 2,320.

ASSETS YALE vs KAMEHAMEHA Yala Kamahamaha Stocks 67% 3.4% Bonds 13% 4% Foreign Stocks 9% 0 Real Estate 7% 92% Cash 1% .2% Venture 1% .4% Other 2% 0 KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS LAND USE Conservation 49% Agriculture 48% * Residential 2.5% * Commercial /Industrial .5% 100% * (Produces 90% of lease rent income)