Hawaii’s public charter schools have appeared much in this newspaper of late, in both positive and negative lights. But, as one opinion piece showed ("Charter schools just allow DOE to avoid its responsibility," Island Voices, March 26), charter schools and their place in our public school system are not always well understood.
As Hawaii’s charter school sector continues to transform itself, a quick overview might help.
Charter schools are public schools, tuition-free and open to all students. The state Department of Education (DOE) does not create, approve or manage charter schools, nor is it the source of their funding. The schools have their own governing boards, which hire their principals. They are granted the enormous privilege and responsibility of educating Hawaii’s keiki — and public funding through a legislative formula — under a charter contract from the State Public Charter School Commission. The commission is not "the DOE of charter schools" but is tasked primarily with authorizing and oversight.
Those seeking a charter contract, like the founders of Ka‘u Learning Academy (KLA), scheduled to open in July, now must succeed in a rigorous application process. KLA was the only successful applicant in 2013. The charter contract holds schools accountable under frameworks tracking academic, financial and organizational performance. Like all public schools, charter schools also are evaluated under Hawaii’s Strive HI Performance System.
While it’s undeniable that Hawaii’s charter schools have ample room for academic improvement, some of our state’s standout public schools are charters. As the commission’s 2014 Annual Report pointed out, charter schools last year showed collective progress on all but two Strive HI performance indicators.
And as we have just seen with Halau Lokahi Charter School ("School gets interim funds," Star-Advertiser, March 31), if a charter school proves unable to overcome its severe financial, operational and academic problems, it can lose its charter contract.
Hawaii’s charter school movement is powered by many factors. While families do appreciate educational choices, charter schools do not owe their existence to parents’ lack of confidence in the DOE. There are many reasons the Legislature allows for charter schools, founders start them and parents choose them.
When the Legislature revamped Hawaii’s charter system and created the commission in 2012, it stated that charter schools "support new approaches to education that accommodate the individual needs of students," provide "successful templates that can dramatically improve Hawaii’s educational standards," and create opportunities for "innovative models of community-based education."
Charter schools focused on Hawaiian language and culture have formed a critical part of that movement, which is starting to redefine public education in Hawaii.
Others like West Hawaii Explorations Academy, whose students’ technological and humanitarian accomplishments recently were celebrated ("Robotics students create helping hand," Star-Advertiser, March 31), stress science and technology and/or project-based learning.
In some cases, charter schools are testing grounds for other kinds of innovations, as when Kona Pacific Academy this year became the first Hawaii public school to provide breakfast in the classroom to all students.
In other cases, the charter sector as a whole can try something new and contribute to the larger system: The DOE is considering some revisions to Strive HI based on features of the commission’s academic performance framework for charters.
Far from signifying an abandonment of the DOE’s responsibility for the education of Hawaii’s children, our charter schools form part of the public education system that features the variety and innovation Hawaii’s parents desire.
As the DOE continues to garner national attention for its progress, Hawaii can expect its public charter schools to make similar gains and to contribute even more to public education in our islands.
