Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union (HCFCU) is excited to announce its 2018 Scholarship Program will be accepting applications starting January 2, 2018.
Eight deserving Hawaii Islanders will each receive $2,500, totaling $20,000 given in scholarships, to help support their transition to higher education. HCFCU has provided scholarships to Hawaii Island students for more than 32 years.
Each scholarship is named after an HCFCU volunteer or manager who made important contributions to the organization.
Five of the scholarships — Peter Hirata Scholarship, Albert Akana Scholarship, Katsumasa Tomita Scholarship, Frank Ishii Scholarship, and Mitsugi Inaba scholarship — are awarded to students based on need, academic achievement, career goals, and extracurricular activities.
The John Y. Iwane scholarship will be awarded to a high school senior that meets all the criteria mentioned above with plans to enter an agriculture-related field of study.
The Michael Asam Scholarship will be awarded to a senior who actively participates in an HCFCU sponsored Student Credit Union as a teller or as a Student Credit Union Board member.
The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship will be awarded to a post-graduate on Hawaii Island, currently attending college or going back to college.
Eligibility Requirements
HCFCU’s Scholarships are open to our Hawaii Island communities. You do not have to be a member of Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union. You must meet at least one of the following requirements to be eligible to apply.
Graduating senior from any Island of Hawaii high school and planning to attend a post-secondary college or four-year college during next school year as a full-time student(post-secondary college, vocational, technical – with a minimum two-year curriculum); or
A posthigh school graduate on Hawaii Island who is either currently attending, or going back to, a post-secondary college or four-year college as a full-time student (post-secondary college, vocational, technical – with a minimum two-year curriculum).
Submission Requirements
The following is required in order to complete your application.
Academic Record
Non-Academic/Extra-Curricular Activities
Career Goals & Educational Plans
Financial Need -Verified EFC signed off by counselor. FAFSA will need to be completed. (not required for post-graduates returning to college)
Interested applicants may fill out an application online at HCFCU’s website, www.hicommfcu.com. The online application streamlines the process and allows the applicants to save their work and complete it at a later date.
Applications and all required information must be received by April 2, 2018 to be considered.
Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit, federally insured financial institution owned by its 40,000 members. HCFCU’s branches are located in Honokaa, Kailua-Kona, Kaloko, Kealakekua and Kohala, along with Student Credit Unions in Kealakehe, Kohala and Konawaena High Schools. In 2018, HCFCU will open its first-ever branch in East Hawaii in Hilo. In addition to complete checking and savings services,
HCFCU provides service-minded financial professionals to help facilitate mortgage, land, construction, small business, educational, personal and auto loans; drive up tellers; credit and debit cards with rewards; online and mobile banking; investment services and youth programs. HCFCU also supports numerous Hawaii Island non-profit organizations and community events. Membership in Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union is open to all Hawaii Island residents.
CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — Charleston’s ten-day Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, the largest and longest running event of its kind in South Carolina, will be headlined in January by Joan Robinson-Berry, vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina and Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Michael Boulware Moore, president and CEO of the International African American Museum.
Michael Moore
The annual tribute’s theme will be “One Man, One Dream… Together We Achieve.”
The MLK Ecumenical Service will be held on Sunday, January 14 at 4:00 p.m. at Morris Street Baptist Church, where Moore will deliver the keynote address to more than 1,000 expected attendees. The service is free and open to the public.
Moore was inspired to take the helm of the International African American Museum, slated to open in 2019, by the story of his own great-great-grandfather, who escaped slavery during the Civil War on a stolen Confederate ship, returned to fight for the North, and later rose to serve in the South Carolina legislature during America’s Reconstruction era. “He overcame obstacles to live a life of consequence,” Moore told Garden & Gun magazine in an interview.
The MLK Business and Professional Breakfast will cap the ten-day tribute. Held at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 16, at the Charleston Gaillard Center, the event will feature Joan Robinson-Berry as keynote speaker and City of Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg as honorary chairman.
Joan Robinson-Berry
Robinson-Berry has been honored for her work in diversity, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by a variety of global organizations, including the National Society of Black Engineers and members of the United States Congress. In 2017 Women’s Enterprise magazine ranked her among its Top 100 Leaders in Corporate Supplier Diversity, and the Long Beach chapter of the NAACP named her Woman of the Year. She has also been named one of the Most Powerful Women in Business by Black Enterprise magazine, honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Women in Aerospace organization, received the Woman of Distinction & Accomplishment award at the Washington State African American Achievement Awards, and was featured by Charleston Business magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Charleston.
The MLK Breakfast is again expected to be attended by hundreds of Charleston’s business, civic, and clergy leaders; at the 2017 event, more than 600 attendees packed a large ballroom at the Charleston Gaillard Center, joining hands at the close of the event in a show of unity.
This year’s theme emphasizes the need for everyone to participate in fulfilling Dr. King’s dream. “With this theme we’re celebrating Dr. King’s legacy and dream of equality,” said LaVanda Brown, executive director of YWCA Greater Charleston. “Saying ‘together we achieve’ emphasizes that we all have to invest in seeing his dream become real. We recognize that we’ve made some progress as a country and as a community, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. The positive is that together, we can accomplish that dream. We can bring it to fruition.”
Organizations can sign up to sponsor the MLK Celebration now at ywca-charlestonsc.org or by calling (843) 722-1644. Individual breakfast tickets will be available for $45 per person in early January.
Washington, DC – The DC State Board of Education (SBOE) announces that its High School Graduation Requirements Task Force will be taking a strategic pause during the month of January 2018 to take advantage of upcoming information that will influence the task force’s work. Stepping back for a month will allow staff and task force members to reflect on constituent feedback received thus far, as well as consider information from the ongoing investigation of the implementation of high school graduation requirements at Ballou High School and other schools across the city. The results of the citywide investigation being led by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education are expected at the end of January. Members will reconvene in February to continue their work.
“Too often, policymakers race forward with changes without pausing to consider how changing contexts may influence the direction of their work. We are taking the month of January to reflect on the work done so far by the task force, the input we have received to-date and to ensure we consider the outcomes of the ongoing investigation before moving forward,” said Laura Wilson Phelan, Ward 1 representative and task force co-chair.
“Recent developments make the work and forthcoming recommendations of this task force even more critical for our students and families”, said Markus Batchelor, Ward 8 representative and task force co-chair. “The promise of our work together with the broad representation that exists from across the city will be essential in the creation of groundbreaking new opportunities for our students. We want to seize this moment by ensuring our work incorporates new information as it becomes available.”
This task force marks an historic citywide effort to review, analyze and, as necessary, make thoughtful, implementable recommendations to adjust DC’s high school graduation requirements for all DCPS and public charter school students. Under the leadership of Ward 1 representative Laura Wilson Phelan and Ward 8 representative Markus Batchelor, the 26 members of the task force mirror our school-aged population, with half of the task force members living or working East of the Anacostia River. After the pause, the task force will resume its regular meetings with the goal of presenting recommendations to the State Board in the spring.
All task force meetings are open to the public. However, individuals and representatives of organizations are not permitted to speak or participate during task force sessions. District residents may stay involved and provide input throughout this process in a variety of ways. Individuals and representatives of organizations may submit written testimony or information for consideration by the task force by emailing sboe@dc.gov or by filling out this online form. Members of the public can also request to join our discussion group here to share input regarding the work of the task force.
The DC State Board of Education is an independent agency within the executive branch of the Government of the District of Columbia which works to advise the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), which is the District’s state education agency. The Board is comprised of nine elected representatives, each representing their respective wards, with one member representing DC at large, in addition to two student representatives. While OSSE oversees education within the District and manages federal education funding, the Board approves education policies, sets academic standards, and determines teacher qualifications. The State Board views its role in the achievement of this mission as one of shared responsibility, whereby it engages families, students, educators, community members, elected officials and business leaders to play a vital role in preparing every child for college and/or career success.
For the latest updates on the work of the task force, please visit sboe.dc.gov/gradreqs.
Tom McCarthy, DPI Communications Director, (608) 266-3559
MADISON — State Superintendent Tony Evers extended congratulations to Wisconsin’s 2017 Advanced Placement (AP) State Scholars: Teresa Wan of New Berlin West High School, and Christopher Xu of Memorial High School in Madison.
The College Board grants the State AP Scholar Award annually to the top male and female students in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia each year for their performance on AP exams. Students are chosen for the award for earning scores of three or higher on the greatest number of AP exams and then the highest average score (at least 3.5) on all AP exams they have taken.
“Christopher and Teresa obviously took challenging coursework in high school, including multiple AP classes, to prepare themselves for postsecondary studies. Congratulations on this award and on graduating college and career ready,” Evers said.
Wan is attending the University of California at Berkeley. Xu is attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.
The AP program offers students the opportunity to take college-level courses while in high school and to take end-of-course exams to demonstrate their mastery of the subject area. The AP Program offers exams in 38 subject areas. Students earning a score of three, four, or five on AP exams generally receive college credit, advanced standing, or both at many colleges and universities worldwide.
In 2017, 2.4 million public high school students took almost 4.3 million AP exams. In Wisconsin, Wan and Xu were among 42,783 students across the state who took 72,637 AP exams in May 2017. Among state students, 65.9 percent earned scores of three, four, or five on their exams, 9.9 percentage points higher than students nationally.
The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) this morning received encouraging feedback from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) following a review of its State plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). USED officials gave the indication for “ultimate approval of the plan” during a call with HIDOE officials.
“We had a great discussion with federal education officials who determined that Hawaii is well on its way for approval once we make minor adjustments to our consolidated plan,” said Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto. “The State plan is a culmination of a community effort and it’s rewarding to see that the USED recognizes Hawaii’s effort and commitment to providing equitable and accessible education.”
ESSA is a reauthorization of the federal education law known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It replaces the prior reauthorization, most commonly known as No Child Left Behind.
Following the Hawaii State Board of Education approval, the Superintendent and Governor David Ige submitted the signed state’s ESSA plan to USED in September 2017. The Hawaii ESSA plan is designed to support HIDOE’s Strategic Plan objectives, which provides common direction for public schools to empower students in their learning.
“I’m pleased to learn that we are close to getting our ESSA plan approved,” said BOE Chairman Lance Mizumoto. “The plan reflects our collective commitment to providing a well-rounded education for all students.”
HIDOE is making the necessary adjustments where further clarification is being sought on student supports that are already in place. Once the non-substantial changes are made, Superintendent Kishimoto will send the State plan to the USED for final approval.
Carmen Fariña, the chancellor of New York City Schools, announced Thursday that she would be resigning in 2018, leaving behind a school system fundamentally changed from where it stood when her tenure began four years ago.
Fariña, 74, plans to leave her job as head of the 1.1 million-student school system, the largest in the country, prior to the end of the school year.
“I took the job with a firm belief in excellence for every student, in the dignity and joyfulness of the teaching profession, and in the importance of trusting relationships where collaboration is the driving force,” Fariña wrote in a letter to staff Thursday. “These are the beliefs that I have built over five decades as a New York City educator, and they have been at the heart of the work we have done together for the past four years.”
A nationwide search for her successor is already underway, with plans to hire a successor within months, said Mayor Bill de Blasio. Under state law, the city’s mayor controls the schools.
Who de Blasio has in mind for his next chancellor isn’t yet clear, but school leadership experts say the job requires a hard-to-find combination of someone with credibility as an educator and the acumen to navigate the rough-and-tumble politics of New York City…
Read the full article here: May require an Education Week Subscription.
More midstate public schools are surpassing expectations for student progress.
The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement released its “Beating the Odds” report Thursday, and many Middle Georgia districts had additional schools on this year’s list.
The list details which schools in each district performed better than statistically anticipated on the College and Career Ready Performance Index, which is based on graduation rates, benchmark test scores and other data. Also considered are student characteristics such as race/ethnicity, enrollment, turnover rate, grade cluster and percentage of the population that’s disabled, economically disadvantaged and English language learners.
The report shows how similar schools compare in performance, and about 40 percent of schools “beat the odds” each year, according to the student achievement office. This metric is another way to “identify areas of opportunity” for schools, and it can be used as a “second look” for schools that don’t meet CCRPI targets, Houston Superintendent Mark Scott said.
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Kentucky’s plan for implementing the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has taken a step forward in the process toward approval.
This week the United States Department of Education (USED) provided feedback based on its initial review of the plan submitted in September.
“Overall, I am pleased with where we are in the process and the feedback we have received,” Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt said. “Primarily, USED is requesting clarifying or additional information, and several revisions to language, some of which has already changed as a result of the state regulatory process, so that our plan is in clear compliance with the federal law. Certainly that is our intent.”
ESSA provides states flexibility in how they meet the letter of the law. As a result, each state plan is different. To date, many states have received similar types of feedback on their plans as Kentucky.
Kentucky developed its plan over the past year-and-a-half with input from thousands of shareholders including educators, business and community leaders, parents and legislators.
The plan outlines how the state will evaluate public schools and districts, including charter schools, and hold them accountable for equitably educating each child regardless of where he or she lives, the student’s race, ethnicity, family income or whether the student has a disability. Kentucky’s plan, based on a system of continuous improvement for all schools, incorporates a method for identifying the lowest-performing schools and providing support. The plan also includes aggressive goals for closing the achievement gap, increasing graduation rates and ensuring all students leave high school with the knowledge, skills and dispositions they need to be successful in college or the next phase of their career education and training.
A panel of four peer reviewers, the majority of which have had recent practical experience in the classroom, school administration, or state/local education agencies, also evaluated portions of Kentucky’s plan and had some very positive feedback. Specifically, they cited:
the state’s attempt to include every student in accountability
the growth of individual students toward proficiency and beyond
the state’s focus on reducing the achievement gap
the inclusion of social studies and science in accountability
the state’s plan to identify both Title I and non-Title I schools for comprehensive support and improvement
The peer reviewers also noted the state’s unique opportunity and access indicator, which includes multiple measures of school quality and student success. Among the strengths mentioned:
the inclusion of visual and performing arts, physical education, career exploration, cultural studies, and career and technical education including a work ethic certification the intent to focus on high-achieving students in addition to those who are low-performing
the focus on whole-child supports to address a variety of student and family needs
an opportunity for districts and charter schools to highlight their focus or priorities
the state’s plan to report additional measures not included in the accountability system
In the area of school improvement, reviewers praised the Kentucky Department of Education’s rigorous approach to providing supports and technical assistance for schools before state intervention and called the state’s support plan for schools identified for comprehensive or targeted support and improvement “well thought out and impressive.”
The goal of the peer review is to support state- and local-led innovation by providing objective feedback on the technical, educational and overall quality of the state plan and advising USED on the approval of the plan.
While the report highlighted strengths of Kentucky’s plan, both the USED and peer review reports also made suggestions on how Kentucky’s plan could be strengthened.
“We recognize there is always room for improvement,” Pruitt said. “We welcome the feedback and will consider it very carefully before resubmitting our plan. We anticipate that, when all is said and done, Kentucky’s plan will be approved and will set an example for other states. Most importantly, we will have a strong roadmap for school improvement that will close the achievement gap and ensure all Kentucky children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
The state has 15 calendar days to respond to the initial feedback and resubmit its consolidated state plan. However, due to the upcoming holidays, the state requested an extension beyond the January 4, 2018, deadline to ensure staff has adequate time to review all feedback and provide details that will clarify the state’s intent, methods and processes. It is anticipated the state will resubmit its plan sometime around the end of January 2018.
A copy of Kentucky’s plan as originally submitted and the initial feedback letter are available on the USED website, as are peer review reports related to Title I, Part A; Title III, Part A and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
The Chronicle — (Charleston, SC) Representative-Elect Marvin Pendarvis (D-North Charleston) has pre-filed multiple bills aimed at promoting educational opportunity for South Carolinians.
Pendarvis pre-filed H. 4439, the “South Carolina Promise Scholarship Act,” which would establish a scholarship program for South Carolina students seeking an associate’s degree, certificate, or diploma from state postsecondary institutions. This bill would cover the cost of tuition and mandatory fees, less all other financial aid, and establish a mentorship program for Promise Scholars. Pendarvis’s House bill mirrors legislation filed in the state senate earlier this year.
H. 4449, the “Rural Schools Act,” would establish safeguards against closing rural schools in the Charleston County School District. The legislation requires the school district to show that such a school closing would be in the best interests of students and require public hearings to gather input from the affected community.
Similarly, H. 4510 would reform the Summerville School Board, providing for members to be elected from single-member districts. This would ensure that rural communities are represented in decisions that affect their local schools.
Pendarvis signed on as a co-sponsor to two additional bills. Partnering with Rep. Wendell Gilliard (D-Charleston) on H. 4388, the “Advanced Manufacturing Instruction Act of 2018,” this legislation would provide students with elective courses in advanced manufacturing. STEM education in public schools is an integral way for students to gain skills necessary in the modern workforce.
Working with Rep. John King (D-Rock Hill), H. 4390 calls for additional federal funding for public education in South Carolina.
“I grew up in the Charleston Farms neighborhood, graduated from Garrett High School, and went on to the University of South Carolina. As a product of South Carolina’s public schools, I know the importance of a quality education,” Pendarvis said.
“All students deserve quality education. All students deserve the opportunity to gain the skills needed to compete in the 21st century economy,” Pendarvis continued. “I’m sponsoring these bills so that South Carolinians – regardless of their ZIP code or economic background – have a fair shot at success.”
Council Member Yvette Simpson last week presented the groundbreaking Youth Commission of Cincinnati youth study titled “It’s Time to Wake the Village” to the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education.
The YCC Youth Study, also known as the Youth Gap Analysis Study, is a three-year study commissioned by Simpson and YCC to provide a complete report on the state of Cincinnati youth. Community Builders Institute at Xavier University conducted the study focusing on six areas: crime, education, health, poverty and homelessness, workforce development, and developmental opportunities.
A staunch advocate for Cincinnati youth, Simpson has been sharing the report with various organizations since its completion earlier this year, many of which have used the information to create or fine tune activities and programs for city youth. Now, she has decided to take the youth study to the people. She is encouraging the Cincinnati Board of Education to embrace the report and see how it can be incorporated into their curriculum and programming. She has also begun presenting the report directly to nine community leaders whose neighborhoods that are featured in the study.
Cincinnati has over 65,000 youth living in its city, and 50 percent live in nine neighborhoods: Avondale, East Price Hill, West Price Hill, Mt. Airy, Winton Hills, College Hill, Hyde Park, Mt. Washington, and Westwood.
By listening to young people the report discovered youths from all socioeconomic backgrounds believe they will be successful. The report also revealed families and schools are the first support network for young people; that youth experience and worry about violence; that they want to get out and see the world; and they do not feel connected to their neighborhoods.
For copies of the Youth Gap Analysis Study: It’s Time to Wake the Village, visit Simpson’s Council webpage at www.cincinnati-oh.gov/Simpson, click on Youth Commission of Cincinnati, and then click on Youth Study, and download the report
Council Member Yvette Simpson last week presented the groundbreaking Youth Commission of Cincinnati youth study titled “It’s Time to Wake the Village” to the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education.