Promising Practices in the Pacific Region

Compiled by Stan Koki*

With the complexity of educational issues in the Pacific region and in light of dwindling fiscal resources, the need for collaboration—working well together—is compelling. There is a growing recognition that it takes more than a school to educate the child. Effective schooling is a shared responsibility, requiring collective action and the orchestration of energies of numerous partners.

This issue of Promising Practices in the Pacific Region highlights successful and promising practices related to various facets of collaboration in education—collaboration among agencies, with states, between schools, and with parents and the community. All of the promising practices featured in this publication have been described in publications of Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) during the past year. These practices have been selected for revisitation because they represent examples of collaboration to improve service delivery, and teaching and learning.

PREL-Ebeye Public School Partnership
In January, Kwajalein Atoll Local Government (KALGOV) and the Ebeye Public School Board formed a unique partnership with PREL called Project Al Maron. The Marshallese words al maron mean “community members coming together to work on a project,” such as the building of a canoe or a house. The focus of this project is to assist Ebeye Public Elementary School improve the quality of education for its 1,228 students. It is the only public school serving grades 1-8 on the Island of Ebeye, which has an estimated population of 13,000.

Coordinated by Hilda Heine, Director of Educational Services at PREL, Project Al Maron is a new direction for PREL, a first-time effort in providing direct services to a single school. An important goal of Project Al Maron is to encourage the community to gain an increased ownership of the school and to understand its strengths and needs. The success and lasting impact of the project depend on the development of community ownership. The partnership covers four phases: assessment, planning, implementation, and renewal.

The assessment of current status and school needs was conducted in February. Four components were examined: 1) school environment, 2) school leadership, 3) curriculum and academic development, and 4) parent and community involvement.

The second phase, the School Improvement Plan (SIP), sets the longterm foundation for improvement. The SIP phase began with a week-long series of working meetings during May. Participants included traditional leaders, a senator, the mayor, members of the local government and community, parents, school board members, and school staff. The outcome of the week’s process was the draft of a three-year School Improvement Plan, an action plan that prioritizes the dreams and visions of the participants. Principal Edison Anjain reported that this was the first time that so many facets of the community had worked together to plan for the school. The concept of al maron was truly practiced that week.

The Ebeye Public Elementary School and community have been successfully implementing major components of the school facilities improvement plan, the third phase of the project. Classroom furnishing and school buildings have been repaired and painted. The school library has been organized and a parent/student handbook produced. PREL has coordinated the donation and shipping of books, school supplies, furniture, and equipment contributed by schools, businesses, and service organizations in Hawaii.

With the new school year, the focus has been on the fourth phase, renewal. A three-member team has provided leadership to the School Improvement Plan implementation. A PREL staff member and a Pacific Educator in Residence (PEIR) have conducted several teacher workshops and classroom lesson demonstrations. Project Al Maron coordinator Hilda Heine is assisting the school board in developing teacher employment policies.

Teams in CNMI
The CNMI Interagency Leadership Team represents agencies that serve populations with special needs in the CNMI. Team meetings aim at networking and collaborating to improve service delivery and provide mutual support. The Team meets regularly on issues and concerns, invites participants as needed, and encourages members to become proactive. Work committees include Public Awareness, Parent Involvement, Database Development, and Planning the Memorandum of Understanding Process.

The following agencies are now involved: Maternal and Child Health, Department of Public Health; Office of Vocational Rehabilitation; Special Education, Early Childhood Education, and Headstart within the Public School System; STRAID Assistive Technology; Northern Marianas Protection and Advocacy Systems; Center for Child and Family Guidance; Department of Youth Services; University of Guam University-Affiliated Program; Parent Advisory Council; CNMI Legislature; and PREL Saipan Office.

The CNMI is collaborating to implement the inclusion model for special education students. Federal laws that protect individuals with disabilities and ensure their rights to educational opportunities with nondisabled peers have been a major stepping stone toward educational reform. Meeting the unique educational needs of diverse students is the goal of inclusive educational practices. This goal presents an unprecedented challenge to public
education.

Because inclusion schooling is complex and requires significant changes in attitudes and beliefs, a promising practice has emerged in the CNMI. It is inclusion through partnership. This collaborative approach has unified the efforts of Garapan and Oleai Elementary Schools (GOES). The GOES Team consists of the principal and volunteer regular and special education teachers from each school.

Under the leadership of the GOES Team, the two schools have identified needs for training and technical assistance among school staff who have not taught special education students. The team also seeks to strengthen parental and family involvement in education. The work of the GOES Team is being supported and facilitated by the PREL Saipan Office and the University of Guam University-Affiliated Program staff.

A string of staff development activities has resulted from the GOES Team’s efforts. A workshop on the integration of subject areas was facilitated by teachers from both schools. The team organized structured opportunities for teachers to share their talents and skills, learn from one another, and observe classrooms where teachers were using innovative teaching practices.

A major effort of the GOES Team was an institute, held in Saipan in April 1996, on “Building Inclusive Practices in Schools and Communities: An Institute for Community/School Teams.” The goals of the two-day institute for teachers and parents were to 1) create a common vision for inclusive practices, 2) strengthen the use of inclusive practices, and 3) demonstrate inclusive practices for ALL students.

The institute offered several interactive learning activities: creating the ideal community school, sharing examples of what happens in inclusive schools, and developing plans to implement inclusion practices. The teams were inspired by the words of Vince Lombardi, “Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another, and of strength to be derived by unity.”

An atmosphere of learning about ways to meet the needs of children with disabilities continues in the CNMI. The inclusive schools admit that there have been ups and downs with trying to include special education students in regular classroom instruction, but the administrators and teachers are encouraged by the increased parental and community support and the benefits to all students.

Project Seed is Blossoming in Maui
First implemented six years ago at Lihikai Elementary School, in the Hawaii State Department of Education’s Maui District, the Science for Early Educational Development Project (Project SEED) has now spread to 22 schools in the district.

Lihikai School was selected as the first Project SEED demonstration site outside of California, where the program was developed by the California Institute of Technology and the Pasadena Unified School District. Project SEED is now the official elementary science curriculum in Pasadena.

The goal of Project SEED is to develop a science education program that is a hands-on and innovative approach to teaching science at the elementary school level. Elementary students become scientists by using the scientific method and learn to problem-solve and to appreciate the creative aspects of science.

A basic concept of Project SEED is that learning about science should and can be integrated with math, reading, writing, and other subjects taught in elementary school. Through this integrated approach, students are able to see the interconnectedness of learning.

The Lihikai School principal Richard Higashi explains, “The direction issued by the State Superintendent is towards integration of content areas. Consequently, Lihikai School has focused on SEED as our core that integrates all other content areas to the extent possible in a natural and meaningful way. Where specific skills are not amenable to integration, teachers determine the processes by which these skills are learned.”

A Maui District innovation in the implementation of Project SEED is the “Factory.” This is an arrangement between SEED programs on Maui and the Occupational Skills Program at Baldwin High School. Through this collaboration, two part-time staff members work with high school students in the Occupational Skills Program to regularly replace the consumable SEED kit materials used by previous classes, so that each school implementing the program has fully stocked SEED kits at all times.

Teacher training in science is an essential part of Project SEED. Many members of the Lihikai School community echo the belief stated by a teacher that “perhaps holding the most promise to improve teaching and learning is SEED. Since teachers have been trained to use questioning to develop higher-level thinking skills, these skills have been imparted to SEED students, and a tremendous response and excitement takes place in the classroom throughout the day!”

Parent Inolvement at the Waialua School Complex in Hawaii
The Waialua Complex on the North Shore of Oahu is composed of Waialua High School and its two feeder schools, Haleiwa Elementary School and Waialua Elementary School. The elementary schools serve grades 1-6, and the high school serves grades 7-12.

Sixty percent of Waialua Elementary’s 594 students participate in the free or reduced-cost lunch program, and ten percent are identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP). Similarly, 58 percent of the 449 students at Haleiwa Elementary are in the lunch program and 16 percent are LEP students. Growing concerns in the Waialua community are drug abuse and school violence. Further affecting the community’s low-income, rural lifestyle has been the recent closing of the Waialua Sugar Plantation, once the area’s main employer. To counteract the negative influences facing its schools, the Waialua Complex has been engaging parents and businesses in its educational efforts.

The parents know that they are always welcome at the schools and that their contributions will be valued and appreciated. Parents also know that they can talk with whomever they feel most comfortable. For example, a parent may not feel comfortable talking with the principal or teacher, but be very comfortable in speaking with the custodian at the market or on a weekend. Even though such a conversation may be informal, parents know that their concerns will be brought to the attention of the appropriate person at the school and that they will receive a prompt response. This third-party, indirect mode of communication fits local communication styles and is an important means of communication between parents and school.

The staff realize that talking with parents and encouraging their involvement in activities on and off school grounds are key to a successful partnership. The schools’ Parent/Community Networking Centers have organized some of the following activities for parents who are willing and able to participate: Parent Hula, mushroom farming, aquaculture, Kids Appreciation Day, food and clothing drives with the Hawaii Foodbank, playground equipment construction, parent drop-in centers, Wahine (female) Talk, and parent bulletins shared among schools. The Pihana Na Mamo (Native Hawaiian Special Education Project) facilitator organized a hula troupe that performed at Haleiwa Elementary School. Hawaiian parents who had not previously been involved with the school were able to have contact with the school by contributing their cultural knowledge and skills rather than by meeting over counseling concerns.

The three schools have conducted workshops that address community issues, such as drug awareness and neighborhood watch. The complex coordinates an annual Education Fair that emphasizes community development. A School/Community-Based Management (SCBM) Council for the complex also deals with issues of concern to the separate school SCBM councils.

Each school provides instruction in entrepreneurship and technology. Students have an active voice in school governance and planning, and they work alongside parents and teachers in various projects. The Haleiwa Elementary student council regularly participates with the high school’s student government. The student council at Waialua Elementary is an equal partner with the school administration and PTA in setting rules and policies and making choices for instruction.

Student-Run Cooperative Business Venture
What began with $2,000 in seed money from the federal government to a general mathematics class at Rota High School, CNMI, has flourished into Pure Matua Designs. Pure Matua Designs began in a general mathematics class as a plan to develop a business venture that would promote and preserve the Chamorro culture on Rota. (Matua means excellence in Chamorro.)

Pure Matua Designs is a student-run T-shirt design company that combines mathematics and vocational skills. During the school year, Pure Matua Designs is a course option in the Business Math program at Rota High School. The course, which has been very popular, motivates students to participate actively. Students learn the fundamentals of owning a small business by engaging in hands-on activities that develop their skills in collaboration, cooperation, decision-making, creative problem solving, marketing, accounting, advertising, communications, sales, and research and analysis. Performance-based rather than traditional assessment is emphasized. Students are given the time and guidance to master tasks and to develop skills according to their own interests.

Pure Matua Designs also encourages student artists to create designs promoting Rota’s Chamorro culture. The company, made up of all the students in the math class, has a board of directors that determines financial details and reviews them each quarter. Designs selected by the company are purchased from the artists, who also receive royalties for each shirt sold. Students in the class work as the sales staff and earn a commission for every T-shirt sold.

The shirts produced by the company have been selling well. Profits are reinvested into the company. As the line of shirts has expanded, a showcase to display the merchandise has become necessary.

Conclusion
Collaboration in many forms is, indeed, a promising practice for educational improvement in the Pacific region. Research points to the many benefits of collaboration to improve teaching and learning.

Collectively, they are a testament to the power of collaboration in making a difference in the education of our Pacific children.

*Stan Koki is Program Specialist, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning.

This publication was produced with funds from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, under contract number RJ96006601. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of OERI, the Department, or any other agency of the U.S. Government.