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For Some, a Paradise Lost

Hawai'i charter corps member A.J. Nagaraj can smell sea salt from his school's parking lot, but it's not all leis and lu'aus teaching in the Aloha State.

By A.J. Nagaraj (Hawai'i '06)

Situated near the pristine turquoise waters of the mighty Pacific, Wai'anae High School and our surrounding community do not, at first blush, evoke images of poverty, violence, homelessness, and an unrelenting crystal methamphetamine epidemic. Traversing the town's sole arterial road, Farrington Highway, you can glance to the west for a sweeping vista of towering waves crashing onto sun-soaked beaches; turning to the east reveals a breathtaking view of the island's major mountain range, the remnant of an ancient volcano. Yet Hawai'i's reputation as a world-class luxury vacation spot often obscures the gravity of the social ills that affect students in our poorest neighborhoods. Wai'anae High School, for example, perennially holds the distinction of being the lowest-performing high school in a state recently ranked 47th in the nation for student achievement standards. Clearly, there is trouble in paradise.

My journey began last July, when I departed the Houston institute and flew 4,000 miles to begin my teaching assignment on the Wai'anae coast, a low-income rural community on the island of O'ahu. Schools on the Coast face many of the same challenges as high-need schools on the mainland: recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers and administrators, and engendering a culture of high expectations among students. (They also hold some unique trials for transplanted teachers, such as picking up the local Pidgin dialect and attempting to integrate into what can often feel like an insular island community.) Yet, I believe many of Hawai'i's educational woes stem from a lack of accountability at the state administrative level.

Hawai'i is the only state in the nation that operates a single, centralized, statewide school district. The Hawai'i State Board of Education, comprising 13 elected officials, controls the state department of education's $2.2 billion budget and renders decisions on everything from allocation of financial resources to charter school authorizations. Though a dedicated board such as this might seem preferable to gubernatorial control, the reality is more complicated. Hawai'i ranks 50th in the nation in voter participation, and residents unfortunately have little, if any, familiarity or interaction with candidates running for the board. This lack of public engagement undermines parents' ability to hold the state's education officials accountable.

Some contend that transferring supervision of the department of education to the governor would promote greater accountability by focusing gubernatorial election campaigns on strategies for education reform. But no matter who is in charge, I believe Hawai'i's educational success hinges on implementing sound fiscal management strategies and encouraging education entrepreneurs to explore and nurture innovative approaches to K-12 education. Hawai'i ranks 14th in the nation for its education spending, which over the past 30 years has experienced an inflation-adjusted 160 percent increase despite a near-negligible 3 percent increase in student enrollment. Yet only about 50 cents per dollar spent on operations actually reaches the classroom, and the state's charter school law recently received a D from the Center for Education Reform.

In spite of the obstacles, I am confident that Hawai'i is destined to solve its education crisis. Some of this confidence stems from seeing the dedication and concern of my faculty colleagues and administrators. Mostly, though, I consider how often I am utterly floored by the tremendous work ethic and commitment of nearly all of my students.

The other day, a student who had missed two days of class took the initiative to visit campus to inquire about makeup assignments. I was surprised to see her, as she had been pregnant for nearly the entire semester and had delivered her baby a few days prior; after briefing her on what she had missed, I asked why she wasn't resting at home.

"Mr. Nagaraj, my baby is still sick in the hospital in Honolulu," she said. "But I wanted to make sure I didn't get behind in your class."