Learn how community schools can help Hawaii’s students and families

With the American Rescue Plan funded by Congress and President Joe Biden, Hawai‘i has a tremendous opportunity to mālama waiwai—to nurture or to take better care of our community, children, and families so they can be healthy, safe, and ready to learn. Mālama waiwai is a value, a mindset, and practice of seeing the connections and resources that surround our schools. The community is the school!

Across the country, full-service community schools, a strategy in which the school becomes the hub of its community, have proven to be an evidence-based approach that improves a range of student outcomes, including academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and reduced racial and economic achievement gaps. With new support from federal ARP funds, schools in the islands and across the country have an opportunity to leverage support from families and community partners to help students re-engage, re-connect, and recover.

On Monday, July 19 from 10 to 11:15 a.m., join the Hawai‘i Afterschool Alliance, Hawai‘i State Teachers Association, Ceeds of Peace, Pacific American Foundation, and the UH Hilo Center for Place-Based Socioemotional Development for a roundtable discussion to explore what’s possible, hear from national experts on community schools and local leaders implementing the strategy, and learn how to maximize an investment in community schools for student recovery.

The speakers will be:
José Muñoz, interim director, Institute for Educational Leadership; director, Coalition for Community Schools
Annie Bogenschutz, director of training and development, Community Learning Center Institute; former Community School Resource Coordinator, Cincinnati, Ohio
Janette Snelling, West Hawai‘i complex area superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education
Ross Pagat, community school manager at Kohala Elementary, Middle and High Schools, Partners in Development Foundation

Register here for the July 19 online roundtable discussion called Mālama Waiwai: A New Pathway Toward Community Schools.