Monday message 06.19.2023

Aloha mai kākou to the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School learning community, and we hope this message finds you all in good happiness and health during the summer break.

We greatly appreciate your support of our unique charter school, which has grown from a dream to a reality in the last five years. During that time, we were fortunate to be recognized in 2022-2023 as the fastest-improving charter school in Hawai’i (there are 37 charter schools in our state), and one key area that drives this data is test results. As promised, we will disclose the results from the latest State of Hawai’i SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) assessments that we wrote in April and May.

Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School had another impressive set of results in 2023, as verified that we were above both the state of Hawai’i and the complex area of Kaua’i in 16 out of 18 categories. In almost every case, our unique charter school was DOUBLE DIGIT results above our colleagues in both the island of Kaua’i and the state of Hawai’i. We are incredibly proud of our exceptional learners and congratulate them on this outstanding success.

We also wish to recognize that none of this incredible success story would be possible without the efforts of so many individuals to support our students. Our diligent Assessment Coordinator, Ms. Malissa, has spearheaded the work in our school to create a cultural value that writing assessments can be fun. The dedicated staff and knowledgeable teachers have deeply supported learning at our school and infused the state standards into project-based learning activities. Let’s not forget the essential role that the ohana plays in creating the value that education is vital to success in life. Mahalo nui loa to you all for your work in helping our students to be their best.

Here is the breakdown of the results from the 2023 SBAC assessments for our school:

Language Arts

• Grade Three Language Arts
+11% higher than the state;
+20% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

• Grade Four Language Arts
+18% higher than the state;
+24% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

• Grade Five Language Arts
+16% higher than the state;
+19% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

• Grade Six Language Arts
+39% higher than the state;
+42% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

Math

• GradeThree Math
+5% higher than the state;
+10% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

• Grade Four Math
-6% LOWER THAN THE STATE;
+4% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

• Grade Five Math
-5% LOWER THAN THE STATE;
+1% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

• Grade Six Math
+35% higher than the state;
+42% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

Science

• Grade Five Science
+17% higher than the state;
+20% higher than the complex area of Kaua’i

Going forward into our bright future, we have closed the gap in our Math results at the complex area of Kaua’i, but in the theme of continuous improvement, we still have much work ahead in those results at the state of Hawai’i level. These two deficiencies are identified in CAPITAL LETTERS ABOVE and will form part of our preparations for the upcoming school year.

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful summer break, and I look forward to seeing you in August. Malama pono.