News Brief

03/01/13

High-Achieving Public Schools Win $1 Million Worth of Awards

Hawaii News Now (03/01/13) Yamaguchi, Melanie

The Hawaii State Department of Education recently handed out a total of $1 million in Strive HI awards to 32 schools, which each received between $12,500 to $100,000. The awards -- which come from the state's Race to the Top federal grant -- recognize schools that have demonstrated significant academic progress for two consecutive years. "These awards signify a very significant shift in our strategic direction. That's the strategic plan that is supported by our Board of Education and the department together because we're going away from a one-size-fits-all, you-make-it-on-the-test-or-you-don't version of success to one that really looks at the progress of each school in each community," says State Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi. "The schools really reflect, first of all, the school community and the leadership of their principal and their teachers working together. Many of them are in communities where they've not been traditionally recognized as high-achieving schools and yet the principals and teachers have come together and really focused on the students and have been able to move the schools forward."

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