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Billions spent In Hawaii and our kids are still left behind
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The Bush Administration will be remembered for many things but above all stands First Lady Laura Bush’s attempt to save America’s children with “No Child Left Behind”. Unfortunately in our global race to the top many are left behind. Americans have always been conscious of those poorer nations needing a helping hand but never were we made more aware of our problematic education system that leaves our own children behind.
This notion of “No Child Left Behind” is incredulous at first when trying to get our heads around the suggestion that we as a nation are failing. National issues are difficult to put into perspective until they hit home. The sub-prime mortgage market debacle recently affected many but not all homeowners. Healthcare issues currently debated impact a large part of the country but not those young and healthy. But the one common denominator to our country is our children; everyone has at least one or knows one personally. The reality today in America is our children are being left behind by countries with lower incomes but higher average test scores in math and science. Out of thirty countries ranked in a recent study America places 25th and 24th in Math and Science respectively.
Bringing it home, what does this look like and more importantly what can we do to help our children? The average public school student in Hawaii is allotted $12k on average by the State Department of Education. The cost for a private education varies depending upon the school but Punahou School for example levies its tuition fee for school year 2009-2010 at approximately $16,675. The difference of less than $5k per school year from what the State spends to what Punahou cost is dramatically played out when these same children enter their future job markets.
If these private schools do a better job at education then why doesn’t the state have them teach our kids? Kamehameha Schools on Oahu, a leading college preparatory college, attempts to educate an entire race of people outside of state coffers by reaching out to the broader community with academic and social programs designed to improve our general condition and quality of life.
If you are interested in learning more about Punahou’s community outreach contact the PUEO Program at http://www.punahou.edu or Kamehameha Schools Scholars program designed to encourage Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian students towards a college career at http://www.ksbe.edu Both programs are equally stellar with a fundamental focus on reading, writing and math. Parents might consider following these prep-schools lead in encouraging your child to spend just a little more time reading, writing and reviewing their math. Not sure how to get started with your after school project? Visit your State of Hawaii local library and talk to the youth librarian. They will be more than happy to assist you.
