Feb 23, 2011 | Education
Ten things you can do to contribute to Education:
- Read to your child daily.
- Tutor one hour a month at your favorite school.
- Check that homework gets done every day.
- Provide feedback to the Board of Education.
- Start a book sharing program to “recycle” gently used books.
- Adopt an intern at your business.
- Donate supplies to a classroom.
- Show up at school fundraising events.
- Create a school garden.
- Organize a Math Night at your school with other families.
What else can we do to contribute to education? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
Feb 17, 2011 | Education
Joe Apolo President of Maui Pop Warner and Community Volunteer
Improving education is a key community value identified through Focus Maui Nui, and Joe Apolo, President of Maui Pop Warner, takes pride that Pop Warner football is the only national sports organization in America that requires its participants to meet academic standards in the classroom in order to play on the field. “The Pop Warner scholars program gives our players an appreciation of the role that academics, combined with athletics, can play in their lives,” says Apolo. Students have to maintain a 2.0 grade average, or 70 percent, equivalent to a “C” grade or better to be able to play Pop Warner.
“It’s a great incentive, and we always see grades go up as a result,” observes Apolo. “Of course, some of our players excel anyway, and for them, there are national Pop Warner scholarships available—one of our Maui players qualified recently. For many of our kids, following in the footsteps of Kaluka Maiava is their goal, and we can tell our players that good academics can increase the chance of college scholarships.” Maiava attended Baldwin High School and the University of Southern California before joining the Cleveland Browns in 2009.
Apolo has presided over Maui Pop Warner since 1986. “I got involved because I was a volunteer, I’d been coaching for over 20 years — and I didn’t know what I was getting into,” observes Apolo with his trademark dry wit. Anyone that knows how seriously coaches and parents take their football here on the Valley Isle will appreciate that spending 25 years at the helm of Pop Warner is a remarkable achievement. “I really believe in the program, which is why I’m still here,” says Apolo. “We have 23 teams at all levels, with over 500 kids playing football each year. We’re making a big difference for many of Maui’s students—and their families.”
Jan 26, 2011 | Community, Education
If you have ever wondered what might happen if you mix together bright young minds, committed teachers and parents, and energetic community volunteers, then look no further than Molokai. Over the last few years, a transformation has been taking place on the island as teams of students have been winning awards and turning heads with their robotics, science and math accomplishments. One of the catalysts for forging partnerships, bringing funders and volunteers together, and facilitating success is robotics “team mom,” Kimberly Mikami Svetin.
Svetin is a 13-year product of Molokai’s public schools and currently serves as school community council chair for Molokai Middle School. After leaving the island in 1987 to earn her bachelor’s degree from Pomona College, she returned in 2005 to manage her family’s business, Molokai Drugs, and raise her two young sons. She committed herself to sparking community-wide interest in developing the expertise of Molokai students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects, and she has a reputation for bringing people and projects together. Others active in the community, such as Barbara Haliniak, President of the Molokai Chamber of Commerce Foundation, pay tribute to Kimberly’s efforts. “I think we are witnessing a shift of momentum, and now there’s a mindset on the island that our students can go far, and compete not just against the best in the State and on a national level, but globally,” says Haliniak.
Our second-year robotics teams spent ten months preparing for their Maui competition and have distinguished themselves,” said Svetin. Three Molokai robotics teams–the Gleeks, the Kaunakakai Pharmers, and the Forget-Me-Nots–outperformed other Maui County teams to represent the district in the 6th Annual Hawaii First Lego League Championship on December 11th in Honolulu. Enthusiasm for robotics has spread to Molokai High School, which now has a VEX robotics team. Svetin’s latest endeavor is to bring graduate students and instructors from the University of Hawaii-Manoa to mentor 300 students for Molokai Math Day on February 26th.
Dec 17, 2010 | Education
We need your help with securing a major grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Island Innovation Fund. The process is now in the “Collaboration” phase and we need feedback to strengthen our proposal before the final submission.
Please review our proposal at the Island Innovation Fund website and give us your candid feedback by leaving a comment on their site—positive and negative—by noon, Monday December 20.
The Island Innovation Fund is a groundbreaking approach to advancing extraordinary innovations for our community. It is looking for projects that are innovative, ripe, scalable, leveraged, and achievable. It is expected that no more than 8 grants will be awarded.
In our proposed concept, MEDB builds on the Focus Maui Nui community engagement program to create a Civic Engagement System™. This “high tech, high touch” system is centered on the internet and mobile devices, with a phone app that will expand and transform the penetration of Focus Maui Nui.
The Civic Engagement System™ will strengthen and enliven community engagement on issues identified as priorities by the community and will mobilize greater numbers of constituents in policy and decision-making processes. The system extends informed discourse by continuing the Focus Maui Nui practice of making it as convenient as possible for residents to participate.
We look forward to hearing from you by Monday December 20th. If you prefer to call with comments, please contact John Harrisson at 808 270-6806.
Dec 1, 2010 | Education
Iokepa Nae`ole proudly traces his family’s ancestry back to the time of King Kamehameha’s infancy, on the Big Island. Teaching comes naturally to Nae`ole and the vocation has always run in his family. Many know Nae`ole as a canoe paddling coach; he has been an integral part of the statewide success of the Kahului-based Hawaiian Canoe Club and helped guide King Kekaulike High School to a State paddling championship in 2004. He is also an active environmentalist, cultural advocate, and mentor.
Nae`ole’s latest project is the Hawaii Outdoor Experience, a pilot educational initiative funded by the State Office of Youth Services and administered through Neighborhood Place of Wailuku. The program provides up to 80 teenagers with after-school and weekend activities, and “campovers”; parents are invited to go through the program too. Ropes courses offer team building, personal development, trust and leadership skills. Canoe paddling provides a healthy outlet and a metaphor for community life. To function successfully, a canoe crew needs to move in the same direction, contribute to the team while focusing on their specific task, and place trust in the steersman. Long-distance runs and canoe excursions are planned for some weekends.
“We need to educate our young people about traditional values, stewardship, and community life,” says Nae`ole. “The cultural element of the HOE curriculum is about connectedness, developing kinship with the land and ocean. My philosophy revolves around the 3 “E”’s: Experience, exposing youth to real world situations and to the natural world, away from electronics, the mall, and other superficial, material things; Education, especially on environmental and cultural issues; and Empowerment – letting young people know they can to something about their world, whether it’s taking personal action, writing to a County or State official, or attending an event.
“Prevention is an important aspect of the program,” adds Nae`ole. “The young people get so involved and feel so good about their activities, maintaining a positive outlook, they don’t waste their time or have opportunities to get into trouble.”
Nov 24, 2010 | Education
When a state-of-the-art photovoltaic (PV) system was installed on the roof of the Ke Alahele building in the Maui Research and Technology Park, a unique opportunity presented itself for two Maui students to show what they could
contribute. The PV system is linked to a sophisticated energy storage system, demonstrating the technical potential of cutting-edge technologies as Maui County moves to increase renewable energy sources and reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuel.
It took Kurt Rasos and Nick Mahoney, working as interns with the Maui Economic Development Board in Spring 2010, to explain the system details clearly and concisely in terms a nontechnical audience can understand – an important
teaching tool. The final display makes it readily apparent that the technology demonstrated here can be scaled up to make larger renewable energy generation with battery storage installations a reality. The PV system not only powers parts of the Ke Alahele building, but the batteries serve as a buffer to the MECO system and turn the training room into an emergency preparedness facility with back-up power.
Nick, a senior at King Kekaulike High School, and Kurt, a recent graduate of Maui High School who currently attends the Art Institute of Portland, are both Project EAST students. They joined forces to create a series of explanatory
displays on the PV energy system and an informative brochure for people to take with them. Nick, the engineering half of the team, explains the process: “We took what we learned about PV panels and put it together so we could explain it to people who don’t have any background in electricity or technology.” Kurt, the graphic designer, comments: “It was really fun. I learned a lot about the technology and I enjoyed working on the explanations.” Both interns say they have been inspired by what they learned. “It’s all part of the learning stream,” says Nick.
Oct 20, 2010 | Education
There’ s good news for anyone that missed the live October 6 broadcast of the “Focus 2010: Gubernatorial Conversation” on Akaku Maui Community Television between Lt. Gov. James “ Duke” Aiona and former U.S. Congressman Neil Abercrombie. The forum, held at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center and aired simultaneously on Hawaii Public Radio (HPR) stations, is to be broadcast nationally on C-SPAN, the National Public Affairs cable network. Refer to local listings for exact times and dates for these repeats. In addition, the debate is available online at www.akaku.org; go to Akaku Online and then Video on Demand. It can also be accessed at www.hawaiipublicradio.org.
The 90-minute Forum, which was presented by the Maui Economic Development Board and Hawaii Public Radio, took place in front of a live audience. Kayla Rosenfeld, News Director at HPR, moderated the session and posed questions that reflected the priorities of the Focus Maui Nui vision. The conversation was polite, if occasionally pointed, as the candidates made clear they agreed on defining issues while differing on how state government can respond.
Aiona noted the current administration’s support for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education in Hawaii’s schools and proposed an audit of the Department of Education. Abercrombie spoke in favor of improving education by giving local schools more control and accountability.
Both candidates support development of renewable energy resources, and while Abercrombie proposed a State Energy Authority to support development, Aiona cited progress by the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative to support renewable energy research and development. Among several other issues, both candidates spoke to the need to deal with the high costs of island transportation, citing high fuel costs as a major factor, and both spoke positively about the importance of spurring science and technology jobs and the potential of astronomy in particular.
View the entire debate on C-SPAN or Akaku, and VOTE in the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
Oct 13, 2010 | Education
With education identified by the Focus Maui Nui process as a community priority, the Maui Economic Development Board’s recent Education and Graduation Rate conference proved to be both timely and enlightening.
The event, with the theme “E Ulu – Growing Together”, was held in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C. dedicated to enhancing high school success. The focus of the conference was to strengthen the Maui Nui’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education “pipeline” as a means of improving high school success and increasing graduation rates.
Following an inspirational keynote speech made by Congresswoman Maizie Hirono, a variety of perspectives were shared on challenges, opportunities and a vision for education in Hawaii. Presenters from a wide variety of sectors included a parent, an industry/business professional from a local tech company, a high school principal, elected officials, and a panel of 5 high school students.
These sessions set the direction and tone for the rest of the day. Discussion followed on the most important determining factors for educational excellence: student proficiency, teacher proficiency, school proficiency, and school management. Conference participants then formed smaller groups that focused on each of the four proficiencies in depth.
In addition to exploring means of improving STEM education locally, one of the outcomes of the summit was the creation of an Education Working Group that will continue the work begun at the summit in modeling our education system to better equip our students for STEM careers.
Sep 12, 2010 | Education
This week, the 11th AMOS (Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance) technical conference, presented annually by the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), is being held in Wailea. The conference is the premier event in the field of space situational awareness, and more than 600 leading scientists, engineers, and technical managers from across the country and around the world will be in attendance.
This year, the Space Foundation is co-sponsoring a new educational component to the conference—Space in the Classroom, consisting of two main elements, one for students, the other for teachers. More than 300 Maui middle school students will attend a full-day program with hands-on, space-themed science experiments and demos. The highlight will be a 90-minute “Audience with an Astronaut”, Captain Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., U.S. Navy (retired). Capt. Curbeam is a veteran of two space shuttle flights (Atlantis and Discovery). He has logged over 590 hours in space, including three spacewalks, and will share what it takes to get from middle school to becoming a space explorer.
In a separate conference session, up to 25 teachers from Maui Nui’s middle and high schools will attend a full-day workshop providing classroom activities designed to inspire and enable their students to become the next generation of space explorers and scientists. The training provided will better equip our teachers to engage Maui students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects.
Through MEDB’s partnerships and commitment to unique educational initiatives such as these, Maui Nui’s youth can benefit from opportunities that will prepare them for 21st century workforce opportunities.
Ten things you can do to contribute to Education:
