Job Opportunities
Teacher Posting #1 for 2012-2013 School Year
Anticipated Teacher Vacancies for Kualapu’u School are:
- Hawaiian Immersion, Grade 3
- Special Education, Grades K-6
- Performing Arts, Grades K-6
Opening Date: January 31, 2012
Closing Date: February 17, 2012
Please submit a current resume, proof of teacher certification, and Hawaii State Teacher license.
Please contact Lydia Trinidad, Principal, at 808-567-6900 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Request for Proposals (RFP)
Kualapu’u School is seeking Request for Proposal (RFP) for the evaluation of its Pre-Kindergarten Implementation and Program
Closing Date: Friday, February 3, 2012, 3:00 p.m.
News
Kualapu’u Public Charter School’s Success Story
Once-struggling campus makes educational U-turn
In an ongoing series on charter schools in the Star Advertiser, the following May 22, 2011 article on Kualapu’u School on Molokai was published. Kualapu’u is a Pre-K to 6th grade school that serves 89% Native Hawaiians and 79% free and reduced lunch students. Read Star Advertiser article
Principal: Lydia Trinidad
The School Leadership Team at Kualapu’u Elementary School is directed by their school principal, Lydia Trinidad, a certified Hawai’i State Department of Education (DOE) administrator with a Master’s degree in Educational Administration and over 11 years of experience, to implement the strategic plan, mission and vision of the school.
Kualapu’u Elementary School is a public school serving kindergarten through sixth grades. Kualapu’u converted to charter school status in June 2004 because of the flexibility, potential for increased community involvement and outreach, and the additional resources available through Ho`okāko`o. At this time, Kualapu’u School was also categorized as a “Planning for Restructuring” school. As stipulated in No Child Left Behind, a school in restructuring has the option of either having an external provider to support the school or to convert to charter status. Kualapu’u School chose conversion to charter status as its restructuring option. Now in the fourth year of conversion, Kualapu’u Elementary School is celebrating meeting the NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) proficiency goals for two consecutive years: 2006-2007 and for 2007-2008, removing them from Restructuring status and placing them into Good Standing, Unconditional Status!
Principal Trinidad has also participated in numerous leadership development opportunities, including trainings on meeting facilitation and CAPE (Collaborative Action for Public Education) Principals’ Leadership Academy - an initiative of the Hawai‘i Business Roundtable. The School Leadership team consists of one administrator, one business manager, math/science curriculum coordinator/development specialist, reading coordinator/coach, Hawaiian Immersion curriculum coordinator, team leaders (based on grade teams of K-2, 3-4, 5-6, HLIP, Special Education, Content level specialist), and the Local Advisory Panel that contribute to the organizational leadership of the school. Teachers are integrally involved in school planning and decisions regarding the overall instructional program through curriculum committees in leadership, technology, physical education, math, reading, science, and writing.
The number of children at Kualapu’u School has been close to 370 over the past few years. The majority of these children are of Hawaiian or Part-Hawaiian ethnicity (91%) that lives in the Kualapu’u, Kalae, Manila Camp, Kalamaula, and Ho’olehua Homestead areas. We also offer the Hawaiian Immersion Program, which serves kindergarten through sixth grade children from the entire island, and has an enrollment of about 100 students. While there are very few serious discipline problems among the children, average daily attendance has been less than the state expectation of 95% for the past four years, for 2007-2008 our attendance rate was 93.4%. Approximately 75% of the children receive free or reduced-cost lunch.
Characteristics of the children are often influenced by the environment in which they spend most of their time. Molokai is a small, isolated community with approximately 7,000 people. It is viewed by many as one of the few remaining hubs of Hawaiian culture. On the other hand, the 2000 Census Proximity Report presents demographics that are far less attractive. The median age of the population is lower than the State, with 47% of the families having children under age 18. Nearly 1 in every 4 of families lives in poverty. Of the families with children under 18, 8% have a female head of the family with no male present.
Approximately 22% of the adults in the community have less than a high school education, and only 14% are college graduates. Molokai continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the state and worsened this year by the closure of Moloka’i Ranch and the layoff of about 120 employees. Concurrently, goods and services are more costly here than in most places in Hawaii. Access to the other islands is cost-restrictive for many of the families, with the high cost of transportation (air and ferry). To illustrate the cost of transportation, as of September 15, 2008, a gallon of unleaded gas was $5.13.
The school also offers the island’s only Hawaiian Language Immersion Program (HLIP) for elementary students and accepts geographic exceptions from all areas of Molokai. HLIP is an integral part of the school organization, yet provides a unique language and cultural program for students in the home and community. For future growth, the school would like to pursue implementing a pre-school program and extend the school day an additional hour - to be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
As part of Kualapu’u Elementary School’s strategic plan, ‘Ike Hawai’i is an important part of the school culture and curriculum which will begin implementation in 2008-2009. The Ike Hawaii committee developed a curriculum scope that all teachers, Hawaiians and Hawaiians-at-heart, will implement with their students. Curriculum for the 1st quarter focuses on Hawaiian Values. The curricula schedule for each quarter is as follows: 1) Foundational Values (curriculum completed); 2) Makahiki; 3) Moloka’i; and 4) Islands of Hawai’i. The Hawaiian Language Immersion program continues to provide Ike Hawaii as a “lived” experience in school through language instruction, daily routines and teaching.
The school uses as its core curricula (three researched based programs) for academic success—Success For All Reading, Everyday Math, and Foundations & Framework system for Hawaiian Language Arts. The trainings for teachers for these programs are from the developers. In addition, tutoring and extended learning activities are offered (during the school day and after school) for reading and math to at-risk students. The school also offers a schoolwide standards-based social studies, science, physical education, and arts program. The school will implement its writing curriculum in July 2008 and continue to study extension of the school day or school year. The school also plans to continue brain-based engagement strategies through Quantum Learning professional development; these strategies help teachers maintain students’ brain states for learning.
Kualapu’u Elementary School’s website is located at: http://www.kualapuu.k12.hi.us/
‘Ike Hawai’i program: http://ksdl.ksbe.edu/ikehawaii/
