King Strives To $100,000 High

King Intermediate has received $100,000 – a fe-deral “Strive HI” award for extraordinary academic achievement over two years.

It is one of five schools statewide to earn the highest cash award for exiting No Child Left Behind restructuring sanctions and meeting its progress goals of two straight years.

The governor and state DOE officials presented the check March 1 at the Kane-ohe school, which will use the one-time grant to make further improvements and equipment upgrades.

“Receiving recognition for the work that we as educators do goes a long way,” said principal Sheena Alaiasa. “We believe in educating our future, we believe in our talents and abilities to teach, and more importantly, we believe in our children.

“To have this honor bestowed upon our school is affirmation that we are on the right track and that we have made a difference.”

Down the road a few blocks, Ben Parker Elementary School was one of two schools to receive $50,000 after exiting restructuring, plus a bonus of $12,500 more for ranking in the top 5 percent in math proficiency growth.

Maunawili Elementary earned $12,500 for scoring in the top 5 percent for reading.

The Strive HI money comes from Hawaii’s 2010 Race To The Top federal grant, explained DOE chief Kathryn Matayoshi: “The Strive HI Awards reflect that the department is not only focused on intervention in current priority schools, but also encourages other schools across the Islands to keep striving high.”