Full-Service Community Schools in Hawaiʻi

In Hawaiʻi, community schools are innovative, thriving hubs of learning in which partnerships and collaboration create aʻo mai, aʻo aku, reciprocal relationships between learners and place, content and context, and schools and communities. ​
  • Community schools intentionally connect schools, ʻāina, indigenous and contemporary knowledge and ensure that learners belong to a thriving community. 
  • Systems of support form the foundation for community schools that are rooted in organizing resources towards the success of learners, families, and communities. 
  • Hawaiʻi-based community schools reflect who we are, how we live, and what we aspire to become. 

Impact Goals

The intended outcomes of Community Schools in Hawaiʻi are: 
  • Thriving learners, educators, families, ʻāina, and communities are supported by nurturing networks that promote reciprocity. 
  • Innovative, thriving hubs of learning that incubate and connect indigenous wisdom and contemporary knowledge to create and meet local and global opportunities. 

What Do the Four Pillars of Community Schools Look Like in Action?

1. Collaborative Leadership and Practices
Parents, students, teachers, principals, and community partners build a culture of professional learning, collective trust, and shared responsibility using strategies such as site-based leadership teams and teacher learning communities.
2. Expanded and Enriched Learning
After-school, weekend, and summer programs provide academic instruction and individualized support. Enrichment activities emphasize real-world learning and community problem solving.
Infographic of the four pillars of community schools
Click to view the Learning Policy Institute's infographic.
3. Integrated Student Supports
Mental and physical health services support student success. A dedicated staff member coordinates support programs to address out-of-school learning barriers for students and families. 

​4. Active Family and Community Engagement
​Schools function as neighborhood hubs. There are educational opportunities for adults, and family members can share their stories and serve as equal partners in promoting student success. Schools promote interaction among families, administration, and teachers helps families to be more involved in the decisions about their children’s education.

The Conversation in Hawai‘i

Community Schools in Hawai‘i

Partners in Development Foundation Piha Me Ka Pono in Kohala

"As a Community School Coordinator, I focus on building relationships and trust throughout the community. Families see that we are different from traditional schools and know that I’m in the community to help them. As a Coordinator, I also strategically coordinate resources and partnerships to support our students and their families. Our focus during COVID has been to support our students’ learning, so I pulled together resources to set up a Resilience Hub. The Resilience Hub provides child care for teachers and families, so teachers can focus on teaching, and families can go back to work without worrying about leaving their children home alone. The Hub provides a safe space for children to do their distance learning with adult support as well as participate in enrichment activities." - Ross Pagat
​Ross Pagat 
​PIDF Community School Manager at Kohala Elementary, Middle and High Schools

Waipahu Elementary School

James Suster
Vice Principal, ​Waipahu Elementary School
"As a school, we started tackling chronic absenteeism with phone calls and home visits. The more we went into the community and talked to families, the more we learned about our students’ needs and recognized the importance of truly understanding the issues facing the community we serve. We then began partnering with community organizations and community members to create toiletry and clothing closets for students. Without even knowing it, we were becoming a community school, and we have seen a difference in our school. Throughout the pandemic, we continued our home visits to make sure each student had a device and internet access to do their distance learning, and parents were equipped to support their children." - Vice Principal James Suster

Check out our OST Community Meeting on Full-Service Community Schools

Up against great challenges to address learning loss, students' trauma, and SEL needs, we looked at how schools can lean on community partners and engage families to address the whole child.

We heard from two school leaders, Waipahu Elementary Vice Principal James Suster, and Kohala Elementary, Middle and High Schools' Community School Manager Ross Pagat, on how they're implementing community schools and the impact it's had on their students.

Resources

Hawai‘i Afterschool Alliance
University of Hawai‘i
1776 University Avenue, ​WA1-102
Honolulu, HI 96822
808-956-6515