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Hawai'i

Schools

Hawai‘i is currently the only state in the union with a statewide unified school system. The achievement gap here is astounding. In 2007 two-thirds of Hawai‘i's schools failed to perform at federal minimum standards in math and reading, according to national standardized tests. Hawai‘i has the largest number of public schools in corrective action according to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards, and only 35 percent of the schools in the state have met Annual Yearly Progress.

In the Leeward district, which has many of the lowest performing schools in Hawai‘i, and the majority of Teach For America placements, only 7 percent of 10th graders were proficient in math, while 10 percent of the 10th graders were proficient in reading. Many of the public schools here face declining enrollment as parents move their children to private schools. Several of the Hawai‘i schools in which Teach For America places corps members are in the various stages of restructuring. These schools are on improvement plans and work with outside consulting companies to increase academic achievement.

At a Glance

Ethnic Breakdown-Student Population-Leeward and Central Districts
2%  African-American
6.4% Caucasian
0.8% Chinese
27.1% Filipino
8.0% Hawai'ian
2.3% Hispanic
0.4% Indo-Chinese
3.6% Japanese
0.5% Korean
0.4% Native American
10.8% Other
29.9% Part-Hawai'ian
1.3% Portuguese
6.7% Samoan

Ethnic Breakdown-Hawai'i
2%  African-American
0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
42% Asian
0.2% Asian Indian
24.9% Caucasian
4.3% Chinese
14.9% Filipino
0.2% Guamanian or Chamorro
16.2% Japanese
2.1% Korean
6.1% Native Hawai'in
8.5% Native Hawai'in and other Pacific Islander
3.6% Other Asian
2.8% Other Pacific Islander
0.7% Samoan
21% Two or more races
0.7% Vietnamese
0.2% White and Black or African American

Percentage of Students Qualifying for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch
62%

Placements
18% elementary teachers
63% secondary teachers
17% special education teachers
95% teach at a school with another corps member or alumnus
1-12 grade level placements general subject elementary specific subject secondary special education