Aloha HE'E Members and Participants,

Legislative News

Please see HE'E's legislative update as of March 1, 2013.  Please also see Allen Awaya's (from Senator Tokuda's office) most recent legislative update and hearing update.   

In addition to the bills listed in HE'E's update, it is likely that a Family-School Partnership Senate Concurrent Resolution will have a hearing in the weeks to come. Mahalo to members Ivalee Sinclair of the Coalition for Children with Special Needs and Susan Rocco from SPIN for writing the resolution and organizing the effort!  This is the third in the series of resolutions the Coalition has supported; SCR145 and SCR79 were the first two resolutions. We will provide updates as details become available. 

HE'E Satisfaction Survey

We would like to administer a satisfaction survey for our members and participants. We will be sending a separate e-mail inviting you to take the survey in the days ahead. The purpose of the survey is to get some feedback from members regarding Coalition activities, administration, policy and procedures. It gives you an opportunity to let us know how we are doing.  It should take less than ten minutes of your time. Please provide comments - your input is invaluable to us!  

Upcoming HE'E Meetings

Our next HE'E Planning Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, from 4:00-5:30pm at The Learning Coalition, 841 Bishop Street #301 (validated parking at Ali'i Place at 1099 Alakea Street). We will continue our legislative update as action items discussed at the last meeting. Please RSVP to cheri@heecoalition.org  Agenda will be distributed prior to meeting.

Our next HE'E Quarterly Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 3, from 4:30-6:30pm at The Japanese Cultural Center at 2454 S. Beretania Street.  We plan to have guest speakers Chad Miller from the The University of Hawaiʻi Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education and April Goodwin, Core to College Alignment Director at Hawai'i P-20 Partnerships for Education. Mr. Miller will speak about the Philosophy for Children (p4c), which has been implemented at both Kailua High School and Waikiki Elementary School. Ms. Goodwin will talk about P-20's campaign on College and Career Readiness in Hawaii.  Please save the date!  We will be sending out an invitation as we get closer to the date!

HE'E News

Honolulu Magazine reporter Tiffany Hill has asked for feedback for a second article she is writing concerning Special Education in our public schools. Her questions for the article are listed here. Please let me know at cheri@heecoalition.org if you would like to speak with Ms. Hill. We encourage input from Coalition members to express their views!  

Governor Abercrombie's Office is asking for assistance for nominations for appointment to Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.  They are looking for individuals who represent the following roles: 

Hawaii Island Secondary Teacher
Oahu Secondary Educational Officer
Oahu Elementary Educational Officer.

Please encourage individuals to apply and send nominations as appointments need to be vetted and made by April 1.   Here is the site for applications: http://governor.hawaii.gov/about/boards-and-commissions/  Here is the HTSB site: http://www.htsb.org/

Upcoming Member Events

Castle Complex Education Summit: Family-School Partnership Initiative Saturday, March, 9, 2013 from 8:30am-1:00pm

Castle Complex invites you to the upcoming Castle Complex Education Summit 2013 to launch the Family-School Partnership Initiative. This initiative is an effort to improve how families and schools work together for student success. We're looking for people with good ideas to work with our schools to create campuses that are friendly and can partner with them. It's being held at the Castle High School cafeteria on Saturday, March 9, 2013 from 8:30 am-1:00 pm. Please see flyer here.  

Special Parent Information Network (SPIN) Conference will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2013 from 8:30am to 3:30. Please see flyer here.  Register by March 8, 2013. For more information, please call SPIN at 586-8126 or email to spin@doh.hawaii.gov

Paipai O Ko'olau at Windward Community College

Paipai O Ko'olau is a project to increase college enrollment and graduation for the Ko'olaupoko and Ko'olauloa communities. Working with community partners to identify individuals who can benefit from college, Paipaio Ko'olau will provide scholarships and academic support to 50 students each year over the next four years, nurturing them from admission to graduation. The project is supported by a grant from the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. Please see informational flyer here. Please contact Sarah Inouye at 808-235-7326 for more information.

Smithsonian's Natural Museum of American History (NMAH) Let's Do History Tour, Thursday, March 14, 2013 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at the UH Manoa School of Architecture Auditorium, Room 205.  

The Hawaii Council for the Humanities in partnership with the Institute for Teacher Education at University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Education invite you to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH) "Let's Do History Tour" on Thursday, March 14, 2013, at the UH-Mānoa School of Architecture Auditorium, Room 205, 4:00pm to 7:00pm.  The Tour will bring Smithsonian Museum interpreters to Honolulu to share excittng teaching techniques and free K-12 resources for teachers, museum and learning center educators, and graduate students. Please RSVP by March 11 to shoshino@hihumanities.org or call 808-469-4551. Please see flyer here.