Hawaii has good reason to be proud of the progress made by our public schools over the last decade.

A quick snapshot of our achievements include: higher graduation rates; more students taking Advanced Placement classes; more students passing AP tests; unprecedented growth on national assessments in math and reading; more students enrolling in college; and fewer students needing college remediation.

Recently, one vice principal simply but enthusiastically said, "Things are really happening at this school."

He’s right. Good things are happening — not just at his school, but across the public school system. Lifting the load are our principals and teachers whose dedication to their profession has proved that when there is a strategic approach to success, progress will take place.

So, it’s a shame that anyone would discount the irrefutable results in our schools and the hard work of our educators instead of celebrating these successes.

We stand behind our efforts to enact transformative changes that will give Hawaii’s students the first-class education system they deserve. At the beginning of this school year, 87 percent of educational officers agreed the state Department of Education (DOE) is on the right track to ensure all students graduate college- and career-ready.

There’s no question that this has been a difficult year for educators, particularly with respect to our new staff evaluation systems: the Educator Effectiveness System (EES) and the Comprehensive Evaluation System for School Administrators (CESSA). There is an increased burden on adults, and we are working to address this. But we believe these systems will reap big educational dividends for our students and we have the professional capacity and skills to make these improvements.

Large-scale transformational work requires all of us — both in and outside of the Department of Education — to work together. When the conversation devolves into finger-pointing rather than problem-solving, it creates a divisive environment that pits educators against each other.

Educators’ voices matter. We have taken several steps to build informal support and new ways for school administrators and teachers to provide real, constructive feedback that can be used. A few examples:

» Dedicated funding and regular planning meetings for the long-standing Middle and High School Principals Forum to maximize principal participation.

» Establishment of a principals’ advisory group to provide direct feedback to the deputy superintendent throughout the year on a range of topics.

» Principal sessions for a detailed conversation about the challenges and possible solutions for improving the EES to complement other feedback we received from teachers.

» Regular convening of the Teacher Leader Workgroup — more than 75 excellent teachers from across the state — to inform the EES.

» A DOE and Hawaii State Teachers Association joint committee to review progress and necessary EES improvements.

We’re in the process of translating feedback into system enhancements that will reduce burden and build support for teacher success.

Principals and teachers have heard us say we want to work together to find opportunities for more collaboration, more joint advocacy, and better solutions. But we are also clear — we need problem-solvers.

During his visit, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan summed it up best when he stated, "The only way you get better is to challenge the status quo. The only way to accelerate the change is to do something different and that sounds easy (but) that is hard to do."

We’ve challenged the status quo at the DOE because we know we can do better through honesty, transparency, collaboration and a relentless focus on results for students.

We invite the community to learn more about these efforts here:

» Strategic Plan: http://bit.ly/DOEBOEstratplan

» EES: http://bit.ly/HIDOEEES

» CESSA: http://bit.ly/DOECESSA