STATE OF HAWAII
BOARD OF EDUCATION
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

MINUTES

Thursday, October 21, 2021
*The Board did not meet at a physical location. As part of the response to the threat of COVID-19, Governor David Ige issued an Emergency Proclamation dated October 1, 2021, suspending Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92, Public Agency Meetings and Records, to the extent necessary to enable boards as defined in Section 92-2, to conduct meetings without any board members or members of the public physically present in the same location, among other things.

PRESENT:
Kili Namauʻu, Chairperson
Bill Arakaki, Vice Chairperson
Kaimana Barcarse
Lyla Berg
Lynn Fallin
Catherine Payne

EXCUSED:
Shanty Asher
Kenneth Uemura

ALSO PRESENT:
Kyla Musso, Student Representative
Keith Hayashi, Interim Superintendent, Department of Education
Cara Tanimura, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of Strategy, Innovation, and Performance, Department of Education
Ken Kakesako, Acting Director, Policy, Innovation, Performance, and Evaluation Branch, Department of Education
Phyllis Unebasami, Deputy Superintendent, Department of Education
Heidi Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Student Support Services, Department of Education
Teri Ushijima, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design, Department of Education
Alison Kunishige, Executive Director
Kenyon Tam, Board Analyst
Regina Pascua, Executive Secretary
Lady Garrett, Secretary


I. Call to Order

Committee Chairperson Kili Namauʻu called the Student Achievement Committee (“Committee”) meeting to order at 8:37 a.m.


II. Approval of Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2021

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu called for public testimony on this agenda item. No one provided oral testimony at this time.

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu asked Committee members to review the minutes of the Committee’s September 16, 2021 meeting.

Committee Vice Chairperson Bill Arakaki moved to approve the Committee’s meeting minutes of September 16, 2021. Committee Member Lynn Fallin seconded.

Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki pointed out a typographical error on page 10 so that his statement reads, “He asked about the kinds of support available for employee well-being.”

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu asked if there were any objections to the motion. No Committee member raised objections, and the motion carried through unanimous consent from all members present (Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki, Committee Members Barcarse, Berg, Fallin, and Payne).

ACTION: Motion to approve the Student Achievement Committee meeting minutes of September 16, 2021 (Arakaki/Fallin). The motion carried through unanimous consent from all members present.


III. Recommendation for Action

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu called for public testimony on this agenda item. No one provided oral testimony at this time.

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu called on Keith Hayashi, Interim Superintendent, to present the Department of Education’s (“Department”) recommendation on the multi-year school calendar for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years. Hayashi asked Cara Tanimura, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of Strategy, Innovation, and Performance, to present the recommendation.

Tanimura stated that the official school calendars have a significant impact on families and communities and in order to assist the community the Department is proposing a multi-year school calendar. She explained that the Department provided both the Hawaii State Teachers Association (“HSTA”) and Hawaii Government Employees’ Association (“HGEA”) with drafts of the proposed school calendars and both unions did not provide comments. Tanimura also stated that the school calendars align with the University of Hawaii (“UH”) calendar, which allows students, teachers and administrators an opportunity to pursue higher education opportunities.

Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki moved to approve the proposed school calendars for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years as outlined in Hayashi’s memorandum dated October 21, 2021. Committee Member Kaimana Barcarse seconded.

Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki noted aligning the calendar aligning with UH is a great asset for students.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u asked if the Department considered alternatives to this calendar in terms of changing the calendar to address learning loss that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Tanimura introduced Ken Kakesako, Branch Director of Policy, Innovation, Planning and Evaluation (“PIPE”), to provide further information relating to the alternatives considered by the Department. Kakesako explained that the Department designed the school calendar based on statutory requirements and while the Department understands the extent of learning loss, the statutory requirements have not changed.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u asked if the Department discussed the potential for extended school days. Kakesako replied that the Board did not approve the Department’s waiver request and that the proposed school calendar is for future school years, when the Department hopes that COVID-19 will be under control.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u asked if there are opportunities to find additional programs for students and stated that the Department needs to think of ways to help students. Tanimura stated that the Department is able to provide additional opportunities during and after school to support students.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u called for a roll call vote on the motion. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki, Committee Members Barcarse, Berg, Fallin, and Payne).

ACTION: Motion to approve the proposed school calendars for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years as outlined in Hayashi’s memorandum dated October 21, 2021 (Arakaki/Barcarse). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.


IV. Discussion Items

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu called for public testimony on this agenda item.

David Miyashiro, HawaiiKidsCAN, testified that the data shows that COVID-19 has resulted in learning loss and urged the Board to demand additional details on interventions, what families can expect to receive, and the implications for students because it is unclear how the Department will be responsive to the needs of students.

Cheri Nakamura, HEʻE Coalition, expressed appreciation for the first quarter universal screener results framework to address the student population, noted that she would like to hear the root cause of why the majority of students are not on grade level, and wanted to know what the Department’s short and long-term goals are.

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu called on Hayashi to present on student academic status for the 2021-2022 school year. Hayashi introduced Phyllis Unebasami, Deputy Superintendent, to provide the presentation.

Unebasami stated that the presentation provided preliminary information on the screener data, but that it still needs to do an analysis of the universal screener data. She stated that universal screening is a core component of the Hawaii Multi-Tiered System of Support (“HMTSS”). Unebasami explained that one school did not use screener data and outlined information on the student proficiency summary, school and complex area supports for academics, and data relating to English language arts (“ELA”) and math.

Committee Member Fallin stated that looking at the preliminary results of the universal screener, 42.5% of students are one or more grade levels below and 32.5% of students are two or more grade levels below. She asked what criteria the Department uses to systematically determine what tier the student is in and what triggers the movement of students between tiers. Unebasami explained that schools look at academics and behavior to identify students that need additional supports. She stated that students that did not needs support previously need more supports during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unebasami also stated that the Department will provide more definitive and accurate information on how schools use the tiers and how schools will expand to address students’ growing needs.

Committee Member Fallin expressed concern that the data does not represent the true need based on how this is tiered and how challenging the pandemic has been for Hawaii’s on students. Unebasami replied that the data will not only provide information on good instruction in the classroom, but other things students are involved in. She added that the universal screener estimates from multi-tier levels of support are estimates.

Unebasami introduced Heidi Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent of the Office of Student Support Services to explain the process of student movement between tiers.

Armstrong stated that students are identified by practices and interventions and placed in a tier. She explained that if core instruction students require interventions, then schools place them in the tier 2 level, which is customized by each school. Armstrong stated that some examples of what is offered to students in this tier include tutoring, pre-teaching, additional time, and for students with special needs there is a language and literacy initiative to use reading and instruction practices to develop proficient readers or interventions.

Armstrong stated that across the nation, if students are not showing progress, then the school will determine student needs and look at what interventions the school can offer. She stated that HMTSS provides the framework for this analysis.

Committee Member Fallin emphasized that given the universal screener process it would be helpful to look at the broad picture for Hawaii. She suggested that the Department use another shape instead of the pyramid that the Department has used to depict the three tiers because it is not reflective of the current state in Hawaii where there are equal numbers of students in each tier. She urged the Department to look at specific standards and expectations for each student so that when schools make decisions, there is clarity system-wide on how a student can access a higher tier. Committee Member Fallin also stated that there should be system-wide clarity on how to use data to move students between tiers.

Armstrong stated that as schools begin using the HMTSS framework and identify students, there will be more students in tier 2 or 3 and students will be moved between tiers based on their needs. Committee Member Fallin expressed appreciation for Armstrong’s example but noted that it is not clear that this will be done universally and noted that, at the state level there needs to be clarity on how the schools should be using data.

Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki noted that universal screeners vary across a statewide system. He asked about any effective strategies or fundamentals that the Department can share statewide so schools can see the different strategies available.

Unebasami stated that when she visited schools and looked at instruction in the classrooms, schools focused on how things were working before the COVID-19 pandemic and identified explicit instruction to look at what is in the classroom and opportunities that students have lost. She explained that schools focused on how to increase instructional momentum for students, on the types of learning, data walls to allow for constant conversations on specific needs of students, and instructional strategies. Unebasami stated that there are foundational efforts to understand how students learn to read versus reading to learn and that every school is engaged in this work.

Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki noted that schools with new administrators need additional support and he asked what support is available for new administrators. Unebasami replied that the Department is looking at various supports for new administrators to address those challenges.

Committee Vice Chairperson Arakaki asked if there any outside entities can provide resources and supports for schools that can impact the system statewide. Unebasami replied that national and local foundations, like the Wallace Foundation and Kanu Hawaii, work with the Department to work on sustainability and to see how education can become involved in project based learning to promote public awareness and increase opportunities for students.

Committee Member Lyla Berg encouraged the Department to expand its vocabulary and expressed appreciation for the explanation on the tiers and use of data. She expressed concerns that schools list student names in tiers and encouraged the Department to integrate things that go beyond success and evaluate how schools measure “proficiency” of every child. Committee Member Berg stated that because the stated is emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the perfect time to look at school design and talk about the success of students. She suggested that the Department look to the Board Policy from 2015, entitled “NĀ HOPENA A‘O (HĀ)” as a reference to articulate what the Department is doing and to communicate with the public.

Unebasami expressed her commitment to the work and noted the importance of the HĀ framework in the Department’s work to create a learning environment. Committee Member Berg asked the Department to integrate the concepts of the HĀ framework and detail how the Department is working on these systems.

Committee Member Catherine Payne asked about the schools that did not use universal screeners and whether it is an option for schools to not use universal screener data. She noted that schools statewide should use universal screeners.

Unebasami explained that the Department did not have data for five schools at the time had to submit the materials for the meeting. She further explained that four schools have data but these schools have been using their own screener and that Ni‘ihau school does not use any screeners and does not plan to participate. Unebasami stated that all other schools use a universal screener.

Board Member Bruce Voss, ex officio stated that the numbers are sobering and alarming because the numbers are worse than the proficiency numbers in the Strive HI data. He asked how the Department analyzes universal screener data and Strive HI data on student proficiency.

Unebasami explained that the universal screener data might improve because the Department has not done an analysis. She also stated that the iReady and STAR assessments are correlated to Hawaii Common Core Standards, which are predictive of what students will do in Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (“SBAC”) testing, which is used for many Strive HI metrics. Unebasami clarified that the state office collects universal screener data three times during the school year, whereas SBAC testing is done at the end of the school year. She stated that as a result, the Department will look at the universal screener data as a starting point.

Board Member Bruce Voss, ex officio stated that if the Department considers this data indicative of how the SBAC testing data will look, then the ELA numbers are alarming and these students could be lost. He asked if schools will have the opportunity to apply for immediate help for programs to help students.

Unebasami replied that the work has started at the complex areas to work with schools to address academic needs, attendance, and social emotional learning (“SEL”). She stated that schools can request funds for resources to build capacity in complex areas and determine which intensive services are necessary.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u asked when will a complete analysis be provided to the Board. Tanimura replied that the Department is prepared to provide an update in November to the Board.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u asked whether any universal screening was done last school year. Unebasami replied that some universal screeners were used last school year, but this school year the state office mandated universal screeners from the beginning of this school year.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u asked whether the data presented to the committee included the data from school year 2019-2020. Tanimura replied that the Department is looking at the analysis and will bring something to the committee in November.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u asked if Kula Kaiapuni (Hawaiian immersion schools) are using the same screening programs. Unebasami replied that the Department will report on the screener tools used by Kula Kaiapuni.

Committee Chairperson Namau‘u noted that the state office pushes a lot of responsibility on the schools and encouraged the Department to think strategically about how it can help students statewide. She stated that the Department needs a strategic action plan for all schools because schools are looking for guidance and direction to help students with a lot of need. Committee Chairperson Namau‘u stated that the Department needs to look at this as a whole and not expect the schools to make this happen with the help of complex area superintendents.

Unebasami stated that the tri-level system will look at needs of students identified by schools and will look into universal programs and services across schools so that schools do not have such a heavy lift. She stated that the Department does not disagree with Committee Chairperson Namau‘u.

Board Student Representative Kyla Musso referred to slide eight and noted that the math pathway will undergo redesign. She asked the Department to provide examples for what college and career ready in the classroom will look like. Teri Ushijima, Assistant Superintendent of the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Design (“OCID”) shared that the Department is in the initial stages of planning for future math pathways. She explained that the current universal progression is Algebra I, II, and Geometry but some schools in other states began looking at other courses students want to pursue such as business, financial literacy, or spatial geometry.

Board Student Representative Musso noted that financial literacy is very important and expressed appreciation for the Department exploring other options for students.


V. Late Public Testimony on Board Agenda Items

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu called for public testimony from any individuals who did not have an opportunity to testify on earlier agenda items. No one provided oral testimony at this time.

Committee members received written testimony before the meeting. The following is a listing of the people who submitted written testimony before the meeting.


Name
Organization
Agenda Item
Warren HydeIV. A. Presentation on student academic status for the 2021-2022 school year: elementary, middle, and high school quarterly grades; English language arts and math universal screener data for elementary and middle schools; and on-track high school graduation
David MiyashiroHawaiiKidsCANIV. A. Presentation on student academic status for the 2021-2022 school year: elementary, middle, and high school quarterly grades; English language arts and math universal screener data for elementary and middle schools; and on-track high school graduation
Cheri NakamuraHE‘E CoalitionIV. A. Presentation on student academic status for the 2021-2022 school year: elementary, middle, and high school quarterly grades; English language arts and math universal screener data for elementary and middle schools; and on-track high school graduation


VI. Adjournment

Committee Chairperson Namauʻu adjourned the meeting at 9:57 a.m.