OVERVIEW
Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education is a statewide partnership led by the Good Beginnings Alliance, the Hawai‘i State Department of Education and the University of Hawai‘i System that is working to strengthen the education pipeline from early childhood through higher education so that all students achieve career and college success. P-20 partners share a sense of urgency about the need to improve Hawaii’s educational outcomes in an increasingly global economy.
Click here for the P-20 Fact Sheet.
Click here for P-20 Executive Bios
GOAL
The goal of Hawai‘i P-20 is for 55% of Hawaii’s working age adults to have a 2- or 4-year college degree by the year 2025. Hawai‘i P-20 seeks to achieve this by:
- Having all children reading at grade level by third grade.
- Strengthening the rigor of the high school curriculum.
- Increasing student access and success in college.
- Facilitating program and policy development based upon research and data.
The Hawai‘i P-20 Council is a group of 31 leaders from education, business, labor, government, and community who share the vision and mission of Hawai‘i P-20. The Council provides support, information, and advice to the P-20 leadership and staff, and advocates for sound educational planning and policy.
PROGRAMS
Currently, Hawai‘i P-20 is comprised of these programs:
Supported by a generous grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Hawai‘i P-3 Initiative develops partnerships to promote a cohesive continuum of early learning experiences for children birth to 8, through better alignment and integration of programs in the P-20 educational pipeline. P-3 partners work at the school/community, district and state systems levels, to bolster children’s social-emotional and cognitive development toward the end goal of all children reading at grade level by third grade. Achievement of this early educational milestone lays a solid foundation for future success in career, college and citizenship. Hawai‘i P-20 works with P-3 community teams of early childhood and elementary programs working together to coordinate their work on improving children’s language and literacy, and help close the achievement gap.
College and Career Success encompasses strategies that increase student readiness for post-high school success. Hawai‘i participates in the following national efforts:
Hawai‘i is part of the American Diploma Project (ADP) network of 36 states. Hawai‘i is committed to raising high school standards, strengthening assessments and curriculum, and aligning high school requirements with the expectations of employers and colleges. Beginning with the high school graduating class of 2013, Hawai‘i students will have the option to earn the Board of Education Recognition Diploma that is aligned with ADP recommendations for a rigorous high school curriculum. In efforts to promote this revised diploma Hawaii P-20 is launching a multi-year community awareness and action campaign in the summer of 2009 to support college and career readiness for high school students. This campaign, named “Step Up,” encourages students to earn the newly revised Hawai‘i Board of Education’s Recognition Diploma.
GEAR UP Hawai‘i, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, is a federally funded program whose mission is to prepare more low-income students to enter and succeed in college. It works with community and corporate partners to improve the systems that affect the college-going rates of traditionally underrepresented populations, especially low-income students. GEAR UP encourages Hawaii’s teenagers to have high expectations, stay in school, study hard, and take classes that will prepare them for college.