Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 1, 1 January 2013 — Keeping up the hard work [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Keeping up the hard work

Moloka'i High School has a student population of about 320 of whieh 75 percent are of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Being the only high school on island, all four elementary schools and the one middle school feed into its student populahon. Moloka'i High School has a lot to be proud of, though it didn't make Adequate Yearly Prog-

itōō ^Air school did receive a six-year Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation. Moloka'i High improved its test scores in every single category in the Hawai'i State Assessment and saw a ĪOO percent promotion rate of its ninth-grade students to 10th grade. All of these items are great indicators of achievement by the students, faculty and staff. To attain its six-year WASC accreditation, Moloka'i High started its improvement plan almost two years ago when Principal Stan Ha'o arrived. Following any accreditation visit, the accreditation visiting committee leaves specific recommendations a school needs to address and follow up on. The school needs to demonstrate how it is addressing these recommendations and eomplete a self-study. If there are areas the school identifies as challenges, the school needs to show how it will address them. The visiting committee makes a recommendation to the WASC for an appropriate length of accreditation. This recommendation, the self-study, along with the visiting committee's findings are reviewed by another WASC committee for a hnal disposition. To address the recommendations and further the process, Moloka'i High had a series of staff meetings and evening 'Ohana Nights where it gathered feedback and input for the self-study. Moloka'i High also went out to eaeh of the eommunities to solicit feedback and recruit participation in the accreditation process. Attaining a six-year WASC

accreditation is a big deal as this is an accomplishment that is not eommon. Less than half of the schools in the state are able to say they have a six-year WASC accreditation. Test scores on the Hawai'i State Assessments have also improved as scores in reading went up by 13 percent, math scores improved by 21 percent. According to Prineipal Ha'o, "Improved test scores for the high school were also due in part to

uiw aōōiōuaiiww ui uawai 1 EDISON Allianee. This organization assisted as an external provider because Moloka'i High was identified as a school in restructuring. We appreciate the assistance we have received from EdisonLearning and our school community!" There are muhiple factors that contribute to the success of Moloka'i High. They have an advisory program that meets twice a week where students are assigned to an adviser who will be with themfor their entire high school career. The Moloka'i Advisory Program (MAP) provides an opportunity for an individual student to build a relationship with a significant adult on campus. This adviser becomes someone they ean trust and depend on for assistance as they face the demands of high school. Principal Ha'o is grateful for the dedicated faculty and staff who are concemed for eaeh student's success at the school. He states that, "We recognize that our school provides access and opportunities some of our students would never have. As a staff we look out for these children to find them the best opportunity for future success. Moloka'i is unique and has certain challenges that other communities do not face. As a community, they treasure 'ohana, they are less materialistic, are more attuned to cultural practice and tend to support eaeh other as a eommunity differently than other places." With support like this, making AYP will be Moloka'i High School's next accomplishment that it will be eelebrating. ■

/ LEO 'ELELE V > TRUSTEE MESSSAGES "

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATiVE HAWAiiAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Cūlette Y. Machadū ChairpErsūn, TrustEE Mūlūka'i and Lāna'i