Hawai'i Department of Education
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The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education is the most centralized and only statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, but in some manners can also be thought of as analogous to the state education agencies of other states. Established by Kamehameha III on October 15, 1840, it is the oldest school system west of the Mississippi River and only system established by a sovereign monarch. As the official state education agency, the HawaiʻState Department of Education oversees all 283 public schools and charter schools and over 13,000 teachers in the State of Hawaiʻi. It serves approximately 177,871 students annually. The HIDOE is currently headed by Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto.
The district is headquartered in the Queen Liliuokalani Building at 1390 Miller Street in Honolulu.[1][2]
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[edit] Structure
There is one individual school district that is directly controlled from Honolulu by the fourteen members of the Board of Education: Central District, Hawaiʻi District, Honolulu District, Kauaʻi District, Leeward District, Maui District, and Windward District. Thirteen members are directly elected by the voters of either Oʻahu or the Neighbor Islands to staggered four-year terms. The remaining member is a public high school student selected by the Hawaiʻi State Student Council who serves as a non-voting member.
The Board of Education is empowered by the State Constitution (Article X, Section 3[3] ) to formulate statewide education policy. The Board also has the power to appoint the Superintendent of Education as the chief executive officer of the system. The Superintendent reports to and can be terminated by the Board.
The State Department of Education currently carries suggested benchmarks for each educational grade and subject which are available on its website. However, a law creating a standard state public school curriculum, the first of its kind in Hawaii, did not pass during the 2006 legislative session.
[edit] Relevant debates
Probably the most current and controversial debate over Hawaiʻi school reform has to do with the structure of the State Department of Education: specifically, whether it should remain centralized or be broken into smaller districts. The main rationale usually given for the current centralized model is equity in distribution of resources: all schools are theoretically funded from the same pool of money on an equitable basis. (Most schools on the U.S. Mainland are organized into school districts funded from local property taxes; thus more affluent school districts theoretically receive more money and resources than less affluent areas.) Supporters of decentralization see it as a means of moving decision-making closer to the classroom, and thus achieving better student performance.
The debate divides roughly along party lines, with Republicans generally supporting decentralization and the Democrats supporting the centralized status quo. In 2002, Republican Governor Linda Lingle ran on a campaign to reorganize the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education into smaller school districts that were localed modeled after a system found in Canada. The Democrat-controlled Hawaiʻi State Legislature, however, voted not to enact this plan in 2003 and 2004.
In January 2004, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wanted to create a system similar to that of Hawaiʻi in his state but met fierce opposition from local school boards who did not want to lose control. Michigan also has discussed unifying their school districts and faced similar opposition.
[edit] Schools
[edit] Public High Schools
| City | Schools |
|---|---|
| Honolulu CDP | 8 |
| Greater Oʻahu | 15 |
| Niʻihau | 1 |
| Kauaʻi | 3 |
| Molokaʻi | 1 |
| Lānaʻi | 1 |
| Maui | 5 |
| Big Island | 11 |
[edit] Public Middle Schools
| City | Schools |
|---|---|
| Honolulu CDP | 13 |
| Greater Oʻahu | 17 |
| Niʻihau | 1 |
| Kauaʻi | 3 |
| Molokaʻi | 1 |
| Lānaʻi | 1 |
| Maui | 6 |
| Big Island | 18 |
[edit] Public Elementary Schools
| City | Schools |
|---|---|
| Honolulu CDP | 55 |
| Greater Oʻahu | 76 |
| Niʻihau | 1 |
| Kauaʻi | 13 |
| Molokaʻi | 4 |
| Lānaʻi | 1 |
| Maui | 17 |
| Big Island | 37 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Home Page. Hawai'i Department of Education. Retrieved August 31, 2008.
- ^ "BOE General Business Meeting Start: 2007-09-20 15:30." Charter School Administrative Service, State of Hawaii. Retrieved August 31, 2008.
- ^ "Hawai`i State Constitution - Article 10". Hawaii.gov. http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart10.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-06.
[edit] External links
- Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
- Native Hawaiian Education Council
- Hawaiʻi Official list of public school alumni sites in Hawaii
- List of requirements needed to become a teacher in Hawaii
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