HE'E News

HE'E was recently approached by early education advocates asking if we could write a letter to Governor Ige, urging him to appoint a Director to the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) and asking him to support a restoration to the Preschool Open Doors  (POD) program that serves approximately 1,300 keiki around the state. HE'E is currently supporting the early education bill and HB820/SB844, which establishes the Public Preschool Program administered by  EOEL, and SB64 which restores funding for the POD Program. Therefore, we will write a letter asking about the specific requests. Please see the draft letter here. We will likely send to the Governor next week. If you have any comments or questions, please contact cheri@heecoaliiton.org. 

Board of Education (BOE) Meetings

BOE Finance and Infrastructure Committee (FIC) Meeting, 11:00 am, and BOE General Business Meeting (GBM), 1:30 pm, Tuesday, March 17, 2015, Queen Liliuokalani Building, Room 404

The Hawaii BOE will be discussing proposed policy 304.2 on Family and Community Engagement at the FIC meeting and taking action on the proposed policy at the GBM.  The Coalition has already submitted written and oral testimony on this policy, asking the BOE to consider recommendations that the Coalition along with other family partnership stakeholders made while convening Senate and House Concurrent Resolution workgroups. over the past few years. Please see link to proposed policy here and copy of HE'E's written testimony  here. Please join us on Tuesday to support our testimony.

HE'E Meetings

HE'E Planning Meeting, Tuesday, April 14, 2015, 9:00-11:00am, The Learning Coalition, 841 Bishop Street (Validated Parking at Ali'i Place at 1099 Alakea Street). HE'E is pleased to welcome back David Moyer, Acting Director of the Data Governance and Analysis Branch of the Hawaii Department of Education, who will introduce HIDOE's strivehischools.org which is the Department's interactive data website. Last year, David met with HE'E members to receive input on items that parents and community members would be interested in seeing. Please join us to learn about the new interactive site. After David's presentation, we will also update members on the legislative session, in particular, status on the 2015 legislative budget. 

 HE'E Planning Meeting, Wednesday, May 13, 2015 4:00-6:00pm, The Learning Coalition, 841 Bishop Street (Validated Parking at Ali'i Place at 1099 Alakea Street). HE'E welcomes presentations by two teacher groups, Learning First, a teacher advocacy group who seeks to put teachers at the center of education policy making, and Hope Street Group, leading the Hawaii State Teacher Fellowship Program. Learning First will introduce their policy paper entitled "A Teacher Perspective on Attendance Policy," and give an update on their Professional Development Policy Fellowship. Hope Street Group Teacher Fellows will introduce their work which centers on gathering teacher voice to influence state policy, and generate solutions to the challenges associated with the implementation of education reform. Please join us for this unique opportunity to hear from our teachers!

HE'E Member News

More HE'E News

The Hawai'i Community Foundation is excited to share with you a new grant program through our Pillars of Peace Hawai'i (PoPH) program. As you may know, PoPH began with visits of global peace leaders to Hawai'i, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi. While the global peace leader visits will continue to be a part of PoPH, the primary goal of the program is to have a more direct and sustainable impact on our youth, to encourage compassionate behavior and acts of aloha, and to grow ethical leaders for Hawai'i's future. PoPH strives to reach student audiences with messages that reinforce positive behaviors and encourage healthy futures. This RFP, "Building Peace and Compassion Through Social and Emotional Learning Programs in Classrooms and Communities" seeks to involve teachers, parents, administrators and the collective community in programs that increase social emotional learning and compassionate and mindful behavior in Hawai'i's youth.

Eligible applicants include:

· A private or public school (including public charter school) in the State of Hawai'i.

· A non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with a primary or secondary school partner.

Preference will be given to

· Those serving students in grades 8 or younger.

· Applicants who have participated in the "Ceeds of Peace" or similar workshops to learn about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs; identify specific needs of their community group, school and/or classroom; and/or develop a clear action plan designed to address these unique characteristics.

The RFP and an addendum with some background information are attached for your information. They are also available on the HCF website under our Nonprofits Grant Opportunities page at http://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/nonprofits/grant-opportunities. Applications will only be accepted via HCF's online system. Organizations may begin accessing the online applications as of March 18, 2015. If you are a new user, we recommend that you request an account as early as possible (you don't have to wait until the application is available) to allow adequate time to complete the proposal before the submission deadline. Online applications must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. HST on April 15, 2015.

An informational webinar is scheduled for March 23, 2015. If you are interested in participating in this webinar, please contact Amy Chamberlain at (808) 566-5568 orachamberlain@hcf-hawaii.org<mailto:achamberlain@hcf-hawaii.org>.

If you have any questions about the RFP, please contact Robbie Ann Kane at (808) 566-5544 (rkane@hcf-hawaii.org<mailto:rkane@hcf-hawaii.org>) or Amy Chamberlain at (808) 566-5568 (achamberlain@hcf-hawaii.org<mailto:achamberlain@hcf-hawaii.org>). Neighbor islands may call HCF's toll-free number at 1-888-731-3863.

For more information on RFP please see flyer here. 

Project Laulima is hosting a FREE bully prevention and intervention workshop on Monday, March 30th 2015 from 5:30pm-8:00pm.  Space is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible, slots will be offered on a strictly first-come first-served basis.   

Presenter Dorothy Espelage, PH.D., a professor of educational psychology, comes to us from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Please see the attached flyer for Dorothy's full biography and additional workshop details and information.

Legislative News

Any bill status can be looked up on  http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/ 

To submit testimony, please see instructions on Capitol webpage here.  

We encourage members to attend and participate at hearings. If you have questions about the process, please contact cheri@heecoalition.org