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| Ka`u Learning Academy charter school plans to open in fall of 2015 at Discovery Harbour golf course clubhouse, where it serves dinners on Fridays and Saturdays to raise funds for the nonprofit enterprise. Photo from bigislandgilligans.com |
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| Ka`u Learning Academy founder Kathryn Tydlacka |
FOUNDERS OF KA`U LEARNING ACADEMY “have the potential to provide insights to the (public school) system as a whole,” Charter School Commission Executive Director Tom Hutton told Erin Miller, of West Hawai`i Today.
Hutton highlighted KLA’s planned work with the Marshallese students, “a population the state has really struggled to serve academically.”
KLA Board member Joe Iacuzzo told Miller that Founding Executive Director Kathyrn Tydlacka “was personally able to make great connections with the Marshallese and Native Hawaiian children” when she taught at Na`alehu Elementary School.
KLA plans to create personalized education plans for each student. Tydlacka told Miller, “Those plans will help teachers ‘go in and fill the gaps from the past.’”
The charter school’s website at kaulearningacademy.com explains Tydlacka’s approach to education. Students will
be assessed monthly and quarterly for progress in reaching certain academic benchmarks, and teachers will be given time to analyze data from those benchmarks and the school plan.
Having a school work with students in this way, “is going to make a world of difference” for Ka`u, Iacuzzo told Miller. “It’s going to change their lives.”
According to Miller, the school has a two-year lease for the former Discovery Harbour golf course clubhouse, and founders hope to have a permanent campus built on five acres in Discovery Harbour by the end of the lease. They plan to open for this fall semester.
See westhawaiitoday.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
KLA Board member Joe Iacuzzo told Miller that Founding Executive Director Kathyrn Tydlacka “was personally able to make great connections with the Marshallese and Native Hawaiian children” when she taught at Na`alehu Elementary School.
KLA plans to create personalized education plans for each student. Tydlacka told Miller, “Those plans will help teachers ‘go in and fill the gaps from the past.’”
The charter school’s website at kaulearningacademy.com explains Tydlacka’s approach to education. Students will
be assessed monthly and quarterly for progress in reaching certain academic benchmarks, and teachers will be given time to analyze data from those benchmarks and the school plan.
Having a school work with students in this way, “is going to make a world of difference” for Ka`u, Iacuzzo told Miller. “It’s going to change their lives.”
According to Miller, the school has a two-year lease for the former Discovery Harbour golf course clubhouse, and founders hope to have a permanent campus built on five acres in Discovery Harbour by the end of the lease. They plan to open for this fall semester.
See westhawaiitoday.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| Image from recruiting video on youtube by Perez Sports Associates, LLC |
CHARLES CLAY, A CHILD OF VOLCANO who grew up appreciating nature and became a Warrior at University of Hawai`i in Manoa, landed in Green Bay, Wisconsin yesterday with hopes of becoming a Green Bay Packer. Clay spent his first 13 years in the forests of Volcano, played high school football at Hilo High and college football at Southern Methodist University in Texas and UH-Manoa. His father Charles Clay, is a builder. His mom, Jenna Clay, an artist and member of Volcano Art Center’s Board of Directors, said last night that her son is totally into nature and also football. The Packers called him, and he flew to Wisconsin, where he was given a number and a helmet yesterday to compete for the position of safety during Green Bay’s rookie mini-camp. This weekend, he graduates from UH with a degree in environmental science.
Clay is 5’11” tall and weighs 205 pounds.
See his recruiting video at youtube.com/watch?v=iDo5F3TAYVo.
KA`U FARMERS UNION UNITED meets tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Ka`u Coffeehouse & Guesthouse next to the 76 gas station in Na`alehu. For more information, email Malian Lahey at malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.
KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK presents People and Lands of Kahuku Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This guided, 2.5-mile, moderately difficult hike over rugged terrain focus on the area’s human history. 985-6011
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| Mark Inman |
A SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA former president, Mark Inman, gave a talk at Ka`u Coffee College last Sunday. Inman, a trader at Olam Specialty Coffee in Healdsburg, California, emphasized the importance of agricultural innovation and investment in quality. If Hawai`i has the desire to move beyond “Coffee for Tourists” or coffee that is just earmarked for the traditional Japanese market, farmers and marketers need to invest in growing and processing that leads to higher cup quality, said Inman. In addition, Hawai`i needs to invest in marketing and branding of its various growing regions. Ka`u, for example, has as much going for it as Kona, yet few are aware of this, Inman stated.
He later described Ka`u as a coffee region on the brink of real discovery – outstanding climate, incredible soil conditions and real care in growing by the farmers he met. Ka`u is the region in Hawai`i where serious coffee drinkers will buy specialty coffee, said Inman.
Inman said he believes that business can be environmentally and socially progressive while remaining profitable. For over twenty years, Inman has been a leader in the specialty coffee industry for sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, green entrepreneurship and social justice.
Inman said he believes that business can be environmentally and socially progressive while remaining profitable. For over twenty years, Inman has been a leader in the specialty coffee industry for sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, green entrepreneurship and social justice.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| Graph from Hawai`i Department of Labor & Industrial Relations |
HAWAI`I’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR APRIL is the lowest since August 2008, according to the state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations. The 4.4 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down from 4.5 percent in March.
The national unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in April, down from 6.7 percent in March.
The DLIR report is available at labor.hawaii.gov.
The DLIR report is available at labor.hawaii.gov.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE HAS FILED NOMINATION papers and entered the gubernatorial race. “Since beginning my term in the depths of the recession and amid a severe budget crisis, my administration and I have worked tirelessly to build a stronger economy and brighter future for Hawai`i,” Abercrombie said. “We turned state finances around, improved our economy, created jobs and reduced the state’s unemployment rate to among the lowest in the country. We are now laying the foundation for a more hopeful future by investing in our infrastructure, providing increased access to preschool, improving education and preserving our environment. We have much more to do.
“I’m energized to meet these challenges. I believe that leadership means working to solve problems and doing what’s right for the people of Hawai`i by honoring the right values and having the right priorities.”
GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE HAS FILED NOMINATION papers and entered the gubernatorial race. “Since beginning my term in the depths of the recession and amid a severe budget crisis, my administration and I have worked tirelessly to build a stronger economy and brighter future for Hawai`i,” Abercrombie said. “We turned state finances around, improved our economy, created jobs and reduced the state’s unemployment rate to among the lowest in the country. We are now laying the foundation for a more hopeful future by investing in our infrastructure, providing increased access to preschool, improving education and preserving our environment. We have much more to do.
“I’m energized to meet these challenges. I believe that leadership means working to solve problems and doing what’s right for the people of Hawai`i by honoring the right values and having the right priorities.”
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| Sen. Mazie Hirono with members of Hawai`i Air National Guard. Photo from Office of Sen. Hirono |
SEN. MAZIE HIRONO HAS INTRODUCED the National Guard Leadership Act, legislation to provide the Chief of the National Guard Bureau with greater input into the selection of senior leadership for the Army National Guard and Air National Guard.
“The citizen soldiers of the National Guard do an outstanding job protecting our families both abroad and at home. From counterterrorism missions to providing relief following natural disasters like Hurricane Iniki, it has been a privilege to see firsthand what the Hawai`i National Guard and Air National Guard accomplish for our communities,” said Hirono. “Given the importance of the National Guard, especially as our nation rebalances to the Asia-Pacific region, I have introduced the National Guard Leadership Act to help the Chief of the National Guard Bureau have a stronger role in the selection of his or her leadership team. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of the National Guard deserves consistent input into who occupies critical leadership positions within the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.”
Currently, the NGB’s internal recommendation process is fluid and not governed by law or regulation. As a result, input of the chief of the NGB may or may not be sought. This legislation ensures that the Chief of the NGB plays a larger role in determining who leads the men and women of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard.
Currently, the NGB’s internal recommendation process is fluid and not governed by law or regulation. As a result, input of the chief of the NGB may or may not be sought. This legislation ensures that the Chief of the NGB plays a larger role in determining who leads the men and women of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard.
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HAWAI`I ISLAND POLICE ARE INFORMING THE PUBLIC that the national Click It or Ticket campaign begins Monday and runs through June 1. During this period, police will increase islandwide enforcement of seat belt and child restraint laws.
Under a law that went into effect on last May, the driver now is responsible for all other occupants of the vehicle. If the driver is stopped and any passenger is not using a seat belt, car seat or booster seat — whether in the front seat or back seat — the driver will be the one cited.
National statistics have shown that the use of seat belts is the single most effective step drivers and passengers can take to protect themselves in a traffic crash.
National statistics have shown that the use of seat belts is the single most effective step drivers and passengers can take to protect themselves in a traffic crash.
KUMU HULA BOBO PALACAT and Hula Halau Na Pua Ha`aheo`o Ku`ualoha present a hula kahiko informance tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform near Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.
KA`U FARMERS UNION UNITED meets tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Ka`u Coffeehouse & Guesthouse next to the 76 gas station in Na`alehu. For more information, email Malian Lahey at malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.
KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK presents People and Lands of Kahuku Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This guided, 2.5-mile, moderately difficult hike over rugged terrain focus on the area’s human history. 985-6011
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.