Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 8, 1 August 2011 — At community colleges, 'Dream' initiative excels [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

At community colleges, 'Dream' initiative excels

More Hawaiians graduating, enrolling, transferring to bachelor's programs

By Kekoa Enomoto More Native Hawaiian students are graduating from all seven isle eommunity eolleges and eontinuing on to four-year degree programs, thanks in part to the Offiee of Hawaiian Affairs. OHA made a five-year, half-million-dollar commitment, culminating next year, to the Achieving the Dream initiative being implemented in the University of Hawai'i Community College system. In addition, the Kamehameha Schools donated an average of $78,000 annually for five years to the initiative, according to program officials. "We have solid data that it's working," Lui Hokoana said about Achieving the Dream, whieh he spearheaded at Windward Community College while Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at that campus. "A really good part of Achieving the Dream is using data to measure the effect of a program," he said. Thus, educators involved in the national, multiyear Achieving the Dream initiative use

data to drive change and to close achievement gaps. The Achieving the Dream initiative in Hawai'i has exceeded its fourth-year goals, showing increases for Native Hawaiians in the areas of graduation fromcommunity colleges, transferring to bachelor's-degree programs, enrollment and Ananeial aid awarded. The Achieving the Dream annual report released last May presented statistics for Native Hawaiian students at the University of Hawai'i Community Colleges, as follows: °» The number of Native Hawaiians transferring to baccalaureate programs within the UH system was up 32 percent. » Enrollment more than doubled from 4,614 Native Hawaiians enrolled in 2006, to 9,374 in 2010 — a 103 percent hike over a four-year period. » 3,304 Native Hawaiians received $15.85 million in Ananeial aid in 2010 compared to 1,738 receiving $6.14 million in 2007, a 90 percent increase in the number of recipients and a 158 percent jump in amount awarded in a threeSEE ACHIEVING ON PAGE 11

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These recent spring graduates are beneficiaries of Achieving the Dream and the Ke Ala 'lke Native Hawaiian Excellence Program at Leeward Community College. - Photos: Courtesy of the University of Hawai'i

ACHIEVING Continued from page 5 year period. Achieving the Dreamrelated programs at Windward Community College included First Year Experience courses providing developmental work in math, English and other needed skills, and a Freshman Cohort, featuring a two-day eamp to acquaint incoming students with the campus, faculty and studentlife support programs; a fulltime predetermined sequence of classes; and post-lecture tutoring. Also, Windward Community College collaborated with the Kamehameha Schools to offer a storefront at a Windward shopping mall to "do hnaneial aid and college applications" several days a week, Hokoana said. "At Windward Community College, there was no (extra) money in the state because of the budget crisis. But we are able to reallocate positions and money to implement these programs," he said, reaffirming an Achieving the Dream policy to use data to

adjust efforts in order to realize student success. A Central O'ahu educator was also excited about the fourthyear results of the Achieving the Dream initiative. Fifteen-year communitycollege educator Auli'i Silva, who serves as Native Hawaiian Student Support Coordinator at Leeward Community College, said, "For the first time I've seen an opportunity for us to buy in, in a systemic way, to a target population, whieh is the Native Hawaiian population, and really deliver concrete actions to close those achievement gaps" for under-represented students. The Achieving the Dream initiative had set forth goals for the UH Community College system to increase the numbers of students, especially Native Hawaiians, who successfully complete remedial/ developmental courses and "gatekeeper" courses, such as introductory math and English courses; complete all courses with a grade of at least C; reenroll at the colleges from one semester to the next; and eam certiticates and/or degrees. Moreover, UH President

M.R.C. Greenwood last year had introduced the Hawai'i Graduation Initiative aimed at increasing the number of college graduates in Hawai'i by 25 percent by the year 2015. One of Silva's recent graduates, who benetited from Achieving the Dream courses, is set to enter a baccalaureate program at UHMānoa. "I was an '09 graduate of Wai'anae High School and graduated from Leeward Community College this past spring, in two years. I was really focused on doing something better," said Samuel Barr, 20, noting he's in the first generation of his family to earn a post-high-school degree. Leeward faculty "helped us in transitioning to the university," Barr added. "They helped us set up applications to go to Mānoa, told us all the requirements needed to attend, ... let us know where to go, what to do to keep on track and set us up with interviews with counselors and people in charge of eaeh department. "It's really eool," he said about such Achieving the Dreamrelated support. But Thomas Kamuela Chun, Director of the Achieving the Dream initiative, seeks to redouble efforts so more Native Hawaiian students like Barr ean graduate from isle community colleges and continue on to eam four-year degrees. "Even though we exceeded our goal, more work needs to be done ... with the Hawai'i Graduation Initiative," Chun said. "For the state, that's important for workforce development." ■

Kekoa Enomoto is a retired copy editor and StaffWriter with The Maui News and thefonner Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

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At Windward Community College on O'ahu, Achieving the Dream-related programs included tutoring, a predetermined sequence of classes and a Freshman Cohort to acquaint incoming students with the campus, faculty and student-life support programs. - Photo: Courtesy of the University ofHawai1