Page 6 - MidWeek Windward - January 25, 2023

6 JANUARY 25, 2023
Small Windward Schools Partner To Ensure The Future Needs Of Keiki Are Met
FROM PAGE 1
ty partners — and to gener- ate a small schools report.
tion to develop a vision and five-to-seven-year action plan to bring this deep learn- ing experience to life for the haumāna (students).
“Through my eight-and -a-half-years as Waiāhole’s principal, Jennifer Luke- Payne, Ka‘a‘awa Elemen- tary principal for the past 13 years, and I have always talked about ways to reimag- ine our schools,” says Obra.
Three main findings out- lined how to propel the schools forward for the years to come: changing the nar- rative of small schools; de- veloping autonomy through financial stability; and iterat- ing a collaborative core edu- cational model.
“The Small Schools Hui is unique, and I don’t know of any other schools that have participated in a collabora- tive model to this extent,” says Obra, while mention- ing they hope to eventually bring small school principals across the state together “to share processes and pick their brains.”
“While we have a lot to provide our students, fund- ing has always been diffi- cult,” she continues. “We have frequently lobbied the Legislature, but we also wanted to use our energy in a different way and discuss more possibilities.”
“The Small Schools Hui is all about collaboration — honing in on the strengths of our communities,” Obra summarizes. “We currently are finding processes that work and meeting regular- ly.”
Community members attend a recent gathering of the Small Schools Hui. The next meeting is from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at KEY Project. PHOTO COURTESY SMALL SCHOOLS HUI
The Small Schools Hui also has regular community meetings, serving as a think tank of people “who have ideas and can contribute to small schools’ projects,” Obra explains.
Thus, the schools applied for and were rewarded with a $25,000 grant from the Harold K.L. Castle Founda- tion. The money was used to hire a facilitator to speak with stakeholders — fami- lies, teachers and communi-
Obra and Luke-Payne have weekly meetings, where they have discussed ideas such as an endowment. Also, teachers from each of the campuses have visited one another.
“As small schools, we op- erate under unique circum- stances. When our teachers can collaborate between our two campuses, they can share knowledge and resources to better our stu-
dents’ learning experiences,” Obra illuminates.
ing the mauka (mountain) school and Ka‘a‘awa being the makai (seaward) school. The schools are currently working with the Hawai‘i Department of Education’s Office of Hawaiian Educa-
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One idea is to develop curriculum and assessments around the ahupua‘a (tra- ditional Hawaiian land di- vision), with Waiāhole be-
For more information, email smallschoolshui@ gmail.com.
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