[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 19 (Monday, February 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1453-S1455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                     THE STATE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

 Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, the Hawaii State Legislature took a 
historic step on January 28, 2004, and invited education Superintendent 
Patricia Hamamoto to address a joint session of the house and senate, 
underscoring the priority public education will be accorded during 
their legislative session.
  As a teacher first, then principal and now superintendent, her words 
were

[[Page S1454]]

progressive, and at times, provocative. She was honest about the 
system's shortcomings, clear on the improvements that need to be made, 
and focused on increasing student achievement by enhancing and 
supporting the relationship between teacher and student.
  Hawaii Superintendent Hamamoto's words are worthy of both local 
action and national consideration. I ask that the full text of her 
statement be printed in the Record.
  The statement follows.

                    Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto

                     THE STATE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

                            January 28, 2004

       President Bunda, Speaker Say, members of the Legislature, 
     Lieutenant Governor Aiona, Congressman Abercrombie, 
     distinguished guests from our business, labor, military and 
     education communities, fellow citizens of Hawai`i, good 
     morning.
       My name is Pat Hamamoto and I am a teacher, a principal, 
     and an educator. I believe teaching is one of our greatest 
     callings, and I spent 12 happy and productive years teaching 
     at Ilima Intermediate, Highlands Intermediate and Pearl City 
     High School.
       As a classroom teacher, I was often frustrated with the DOE 
     bureaucracy. My 7th graders at Ilima struggled with math. I 
     wanted to make math ``real'' by relating it to something they 
     cared about, namely, money. So I set up a little in-class 
     economics lesson. When my students turned in work that was 
     acceptable, they got tokens they could use to buy classroom 
     supplies like pencils, rulers and notebooks. I'll tell you--
     the lesson worked. The students saw the connection between 
     math and money and buying things, and they did enough good 
     work to empty out my supply closet. Now technically, I was 
     supposed to just give out those supplies, no strings 
     attached. So before I embarked on this program, I asked my 
     principal for permission. He said, ``Don't tell me! If I 
     don't know, I can't tell you no. Just do it.'' And so I 
     learned to work around the system. But teachers shouldn't 
     have to work around a system; the system should work for 
     them.
       As principal of McKinley High School, I thought things 
     would get easier within the system. When we were renovating 
     McKinley's historic administration building, the whole campus 
     was dug up to put in new wiring. Since the trenches were dug 
     anyway, I thought it would be a perfect time to put in 
     conduit pipes to wire our campus for computer technology. I 
     was told no. The reason? It wasn't on the blueprints. 
     Finally, in frustration, I called the head of the Department 
     of Accounting & General Services, and asked for help. And he 
     helped. McKinley's students now have a school fully wired for 
     fiber optics. But principals shouldn't have to work around a 
     system or use personal connections; the system should work 
     for them.
       As Superintendent of Schools, I recognize that a lot of 
     people consider me, and the people who work with me in the 
     DOE offices nearby, to be symbolic of the problem and 
     unwilling to change. Nothing could be further from the truth. 
     We have been changing this bureaucracy since the day I was 
     named Superintendent two years ago. Before I talk about how 
     we have changed and will continue to change, let me talk for 
     a moment about something that hasn't changed--our principals, 
     teachers and students who represent the best of what we are.
       Our teachers work long hours, and pay for classroom 
     supplies out of their own pockets. Our principals are 
     dedicated to ``finding a way around the system'' to make 
     their schools rich learning environments. Our students are 
     excellent scholars, future scientists, inventors and CEOs, 
     future legislators and perhaps a Governor or two. They have 
     come from across the state to be here this morning, to remind 
     us of why we are here, and why public education deserves 
     every ounce of attention and support we can give it. 
     Principals, teachers, and students of Hawaii's public school 
     system, will you please rise and receive the acknowledgement 
     you deserve!
       Despite the many achievements of our public education 
     system, I come before you today to report that Hawaii's 
     public education is simply not working as it should. It is, 
     in fact, obsolete. And in my view, this is the single biggest 
     problem we face as a state. Why? Because we are not properly 
     preparing Hawaii's citizens of the future, our workforce of 
     the future, our business and civic leaders of the future.
       Too many of our teenagers fail basic eighth grade English 
     and math tests. They cannot qualify for journeyman 
     apprenticeships in the building trades. They have little hope 
     of decent-paying jobs that will allow them to raise and care 
     for their families. We are failing them, the next generation. 
     And that is not acceptable. I am not here to defend the 
     status quo. I am here to tell you we must all work together, 
     to transform public education in these Islands we call home.
       I feel very fortunate to be standing here today because I 
     have never seen so much focus on public education in the news 
     media, on the fifth floor of this building and in these 
     legislative chambers. That attention is an opportunity for 
     all of us. It shows that the leaders in this state want the 
     best possible education for the boys and girls of these 
     islands. It shouts loud and clear that the opportunity for 
     change is upon us, and we must embrace it!
       In everything we do from this day forward as we go about 
     the business of ``reinventing'' our education system, we need 
     to focus not on school boards or superintendents or labor 
     unions, not on Republicans or Democrats, but on the 184,000 
     students in our charge. The question isn't who is right, but 
     what is right. I ask you to listen this morning with open 
     minds and open hearts, so that collectively we can make 
     informed decisions on what is best for our children.
       Yes, the system of education governance is important. But 
     it is a political decision, to be made by you. So I won't 
     spend any of my time debating that issue. I will tell you 
     that I believe education reform in Hawai`i is only going to 
     happen at the most basic level--at the school and in the 
     classroom. I am opposed to additional Boards of Education 
     that add more layers of bureaucracy between our state school 
     board and the schools. More school boards will not improve 
     student achievement. I will forever champion the most direct 
     and unfettered route from that state governing board to that 
     individual school and ultimately the child in the classroom.
       I couldn't agree more with Consultant William Ouchi's 
     conclusion from his book, ``Making Schools Work'', page 17, 
     which reads ``If you focus only on decentralization, you'll 
     get a decentralized district, but with low student 
     achievement.'' That is, obviously, not our goal!
       Differences over school board structure have received a lot 
     of media and community attention, but it's encouraging to me 
     that there is consensus on so many issues that will make more 
     of a difference in the classroom.
       Just look at areas where we already seem to be on the same 
     page:
       One: Empowering principals and school communities by 
     providing more lump-sum funding directly to the schools and 
     giving them the authority and the flexibility to decide how 
     school funds are spent.
       Two: Adopting the ``weighted student formula'' funding 
     plan. Hawai`i is known for equity in public education. Our 
     statewide funding system has provided that. Keiki in the 
     poorest communities are guaranteed the same level of 
     resources as those in wealthy neighborhoods. That's not true 
     in other states, where local property taxes finance 
     education. Hawai`i should be proud of having equalized 
     resources at the school level. But not all students are 
     created equal. Some have physical or psychological needs that 
     require special education. Others speak no English, come from 
     broken families or live with foster parents, and go home to 
     drugs and drug users. The ``Weighted Student Formula'' plan 
     allocates money based on the unique needs of each student. 
     That funding follows that student wherever he or she goes to 
     school, and equalizes opportunity at the student level. I 
     applaud everyone, from the Board, the Legislature, and the 
     Governor's CARE group, for their general agreement to adopt 
     this plan. It is the right thing to do, and I hope we do it 
     this year!
       Three: Giving principals more training in finance and 
     administration so that they can, in fact, become true CEO-
     educators on their own campuses. The Board of Education has 
     now made this a priority for DOE implementation.
       Four: Providing parents a choice to send their children to 
     any public school that has room for them. Along with that 
     choice comes the responsibility to get your child to and from 
     school safely. Therefore, I believe in the long run, most 
     parents will go to the quality schools with quality programs 
     in their neighborhoods precisely because they are in their 
     neighborhoods, easy to get to, and part of the fabric of 
     their community. A logical extension of that belief is that 
     parents will do what they can to make their own neighborhood 
     schools better.
       The new Board of Education, its leadership and members who 
     sit behind me on this dais, are to be commended for the many 
     hours of unselfish service they give to Hawaii's children. 
     They have indicated by their words and their actions that 
     they are committed to reinventing Hawaii's Public Education 
     System. This is an endeavor that must be undertaken jointly 
     by the Board, which sets policy, and by the Superintendent 
     and her team, who implement that policy. I am invigorated by 
     the leadership and courage I have seen coming from this 
     Board, and I look forward to working together in this 
     challenging and noble pursuit.
       So, the Board and the Department are calling for help as we 
     reinvent our schools.
       First: We must empower schools and principals in the way I 
     spoke of earlier, and accountability must go with the power. 
     That means requiring principals and teachers to make sure 
     that students meet standards. For example, by the end of 
     Grade 3, every student must read.
       Second: Parents must know how their child is doing. We will 
     give parents and children user-friendly feedback--report 
     cards that parents and students can understand easily. 
     Parents are responsible to get their kids to school ready to 
     learn, and students need to be responsible for their own 
     learning.
       Third: We will overhaul SCBM--School/Community-Based 
     Management. In its current form, it simply doesn't work the 
     way the framers of this policy had originally intended and 
     that was to improve student achievement. Therefore, as we 
     empower individual schools, we must arm School-Community 
     Councils with shared decision-making power, and give them 
     meaningful responsibilities over spending, and through 
     weighted student funding, insure student achievement. This 
     will mean training participants

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     to make these important choices and then trusting them to do 
     the right thing. A nameless worker in an office in Honolulu 
     should not be telling a principal in Honoka'a how to best 
     spend his or her school's budget. Therefore, I envision a 
     Board of Directors for each school, much like the models we 
     see in the business world, in churches, or at our private 
     schools. This Board would be made up of school and community 
     members, elected by the parents, staff, teachers, principals, 
     and even students in the older grades. They would have two 
     main responsibilities: develop their academic plan for 
     success which will get the educational results they desire 
     for their children and decide how best to spend their own 
     school's budgets! That, my friends, is local school 
     governance at the most basic and important level--every 
     school, with the parents, principals, teachers, staff and 
     students making their own decisions!
       Fourth: We expect quality, and we need to pay for 
     performance. Principals should be put on performance 
     contracts so we can reward the top performers with 
     incentives, pay raises, time off, paid training or 
     sabbaticals, and move non-performers to another line of work. 
     Our professionals need to know that hard work and success pay 
     off. We must do this while respecting collective bargaining 
     and in cooperation with our partners in organized labor.
       Fifth: As we empower principals, we need to have them on 
     the job for 12 months and pay them for it. CEOs in private 
     business don't work 10-month years. Every sector of our 
     society operates on a year-round basis. If business, 
     government, tourism, transportation, and utilities do it, 
     then principals, as CEOs of their schools, need to be on 
     the job year round. Teachers should be treated similarly 
     and have a financial incentive for professional 
     development. Teachers should be put on 11-month 
     contracts--10 months of teaching, plus an additional month 
     for 20 days of paid training.
       Sixth: In order to make these ideas work, we need a common 
     public school calendar. Our current calendar, which has long 
     summer breaks, reflects a different age when parents needed 
     their children free to harvest the crops and support the 
     family. But we're in the technology and information age now. 
     A common year-round school calendar would include more 
     frequent breaks and vacation time for families and much-
     needed opportunities to train teachers so that they may serve 
     your children better. And, it's more efficient.
       Seventh and most important: If we are to truly reinvent our 
     system and make deep structural changes, it is time to 
     unshackle the DOE from other state departments that have so 
     much control over the quality of life in our schools in the 
     following ways:
       In budgeting: Principals can never be sure how much 
     appropriated money will be released for their use and when it 
     comes, it comes too late. It's almost impossible to plan for 
     educational excellence that way. We envision a law that 
     requires that the Department of Budget and Finance release at 
     least 80% of a fiscal year's appropriation to the schools, 
     once that law is passed and signed by the governor, and early 
     enough for school councils to have the time to plan.
       In the area of hiring: If the State Department of Human 
     Resources Development doesn't have a specific job description 
     in its civil service system that meets our needs, we cannot 
     hire for that job, even if we have identified the need and 
     have the money to do so. That makes no sense whatsoever, and 
     it's wrong. We want the authority and resources to set up our 
     own employment system to meet the unique needs of education. 
     The State Judiciary can do it now. Why not the Department of 
     Education?
       With regard to construction and repairs: The current 
     process for school construction, repair and maintenance is 
     obsolete--just like the toilets, windows and doors in so many 
     public schools. The system, if you call something that 
     dysfunctional a ``system'', makes our kids wait too long for 
     decent basic facilities. We are at the mercy of the 
     Department of Accounting & General Services and Budget & 
     Finance for capital improvement projects and to repair 
     bathrooms. That's not right. Give us both the money and the 
     authority to do the capital projects, and the repair and 
     maintenance we know we need for better, safer and more 
     efficient campuses.
       Finally, a word about centralized services: The DOE spends 
     1.7 billion tax dollars each year and we need to be managed. 
     If teachers are to be free to teach, and principals free to 
     lead that teaching, a lot of support work has to be done by 
     somebody--bus routes, custodial service, school lunch 
     programs, textbook purchases, compliance with the law and 
     union contracts. Services like this do lend themselves to the 
     efficiency of centralization. Schools will always need a 
     central administration to take care of these necessities, or 
     else the educators on campus will have to take time away to 
     do it. Our pledge to you is that we will continue to 
     aggressively look for ways of managing our needs cost-
     effectively and responsibly.
       The CARE committee's report rightly stated: ``So long as 
     responsibility is diffused, no one can be held accountable.'' 
     That's true. Hold me accountable and expect results.
       But first, you must give me the tools and the space to do 
     the job. And you must give the Board the authority it needs 
     to do its job as well. While we need the help of the 
     Legislature and Governor Lingle and her Administration to 
     empower the schools so they can prepare our children for 
     success, we also need to be able to do the job without 
     interference or being told what our job is and how to do our 
     job. Don't tie our hands!
       Now let's talk about what these changes I've proposed could 
     mean for the future. I see greater involvement in our public 
     school system by every sector of our economy. Not every child 
     is suited for or wants to attend college. We could benefit 
     greatly from smaller schools within schools dedicated to 
     teaching our young people trades and professions they can 
     pursue after graduation. I invite our partners in 
     organized labor unions, with their fine apprenticeship 
     programs, to expand their role in preparing our youth at 
     the high school level. I invite our business and 
     professional communities to allow us to place more 
     students in their businesses, to be ``learning labs'' for 
     the future.
       The private school system in the state can help us, too. 
     Our gifted and talented teachers, the finest we have, would 
     love to have the opportunity to exchange ideas with some of 
     your finest minds. I know there are other partnerships toward 
     which we could work.
       We are already partnering in several ways with one of the 
     most valuable and influential educational organizations in 
     our state . . . The Kamehameha Schools. Our State Department 
     of Education is proud of our own Hawaiian Language Immersion 
     Program--the Kula Kaiapuni, along with the Aha Punana Leo and 
     the many Hawaiian Immersion Charter schools. These schools 
     are known around the world as the model for indigenous 
     education. A partnership between Kamehameha Schools, Aha 
     Punana Leo and the DOE in sustaining this program seems a 
     natural extension to improve this important and unique aspect 
     of life in Hawai`i.
       And think for a moment. In every one of the instances I 
     just mentioned, when you partner with the Department of 
     Education, you free up resources and funding that can go to 
     those who are truly the most needy in our system which allows 
     for the flexibility for us to do our job. I ask you as you 
     leave here to think about how you can support your 
     neighborhood public school.
       I said at the beginning of my remarks that public education 
     is the concern of all of us; that one person cannot find all 
     the solutions to all our problems. Therefore I ask every one 
     of you here today, and every one of you listening from your 
     homes or your places of work, to link arms with us, to help 
     us along the road of change to our destiny of a free, first-
     class public education for every child of Hawai`i. I am 
     announcing today that on March 27, 2004, less than two months 
     from now, the Board of Education and the Superintendent will 
     convene the first-ever statewide Education Summit to be held 
     here in Honolulu. It will consist of representatives from 
     every walk of life, from business and labor, from public and 
     private sectors, from the early education/pre-school 
     community, the University System and from our distinguished 
     private schools. I invite representatives from the Hawaiian 
     Community to join us in this effort. I invite teachers, 
     parents, principals, students, graduates, members of our 
     military community, whose children attend our public schools. 
     We will come together, we will come with our own ideas and we 
     will come prepared to listen to others' ideas. And we--we 
     will collectively decide what we need to do to reinvent our 
     public school system.
       Let me conclude by saying the initiatives I've proposed 
     here, and the ones that will come out of the Education Summit 
     in March, will require new thinking, courage, a willingness 
     to take risk, and it will require change in the entire 
     government system, not just the Department of Education. I 
     challenge you to stand with me, to take the risk, to embrace 
     the change that is coming our way, and above all, to live up 
     to our obligation to the young people of our islands. We CAN 
     do it . . . and WE WILL!
       Thank you and aloha.

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