King Kamehameha Elementary needs more elbow room

Where: 611 Front St., Lahaina, Maui district

Grade span: Preschool through fifth grade

Enrollment: 700-plus students, over capacity. Three additional portables are being added to the campus because of a shortage of space.

"We are maxed out on space," said King Kamehameha III School Principal Lindsay Ball. "We have very little green space left on campus. Our fourth- and fifth-graders have to leave campus for recess to play down the street in a park without any playground equipment."

Race/ethnicity enrollment: 22 percent white; 17 percent Hispanic; 15 percent Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian; 13 percent Filipino; 2 percent Japanese; 2 percent Samoan; 29 percent, other.

Free and reduced-price lunch eligible: One-third of the student body qualifies.

Special-education students: 10 percent

Computers: 199 on campus

Principal: Lindsay Ball, seven years at King Kamehameha III School

School nickname: Na Ali'i

School colors: Green and white

What are you most proud of? "The academic progress our students are making," Ball said. "As a school, our overall Hawai'i State Assessment scores have met the state benchmarks. Not long ago we were a Hawai'i Distinguished School." Ball added, "I'm proud of the way our students behave on campus and in the community."

What is your biggest challenge? "The ever-growing population of English Language Learners students and the lack of physical space on campus to service students," Ball said.

Special events: Afterschool tutor program for reading in third and fifth grades and an afterschool tutor program in math for fourth grade. Lahainaluna High School honor students tutor students in math on Tuesdays after school on their campus. Annual fall PTA Fun Walk. And a 50-year-old time capsule was opened and will be resealed in December.

History: King Kamehameha III Elementary is one of two public elementary schools on Maui's west-side. The 6-acre campus is on land along the Lahaina Harbor on Front Street. King Kamehameha I resided at the site of King Kamehameha III School, which is now considered sacred Hawaiian burial grounds. "Our school is embraced by our community; there is a strong sense of community and culture here," Ball said.

Well-known alumnus: Adm. Robert Kihune

Testing: Here's how King Kamehameha III Elementary students fared on the most recently released standardized tests.

2006 Stanford Achievement Test: Listed is the combined percentage of pupils scoring average and above average, compared with the national combined average of 77 percent. Third-grade reading, 80 percent; math, 86 percent. Fourth-grade reading, 77 percent; math, 88 percent. Fifth-grade reading, 79 percent; math, 84 percent.

2006 Hawai'i State Assessment test: Listed is the combined percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards. Third-grade reading, 40 percent (state average: 50.2 percent); math, 24 percent (state average: 30 percent). Fourth-grade reading, 61 percent (58.1 percent); math, 28 percent (32.5 percent). Fifth-grade reading, 35 percent (43.5 percent); math, 25 percent (24 percent).

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Dobelle to head college in Massachusetts

Former University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle was selected Wednesday as the new president of Westfield State College in Massachusetts.

Dobelle, who resigned as president of the UH system in 2004, was one of three finalists seeking the top job at the 5,000-student liberal arts college in Westfield, Mass.

The college's board of trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to offer the post to Dobelle, according to a news release. The choice is subject to approval of the state Board of Higher Education, the release said.

The UH Board of Regents originally fired Dobelle "for cause" in June 2004, although the cause was never specified. The firing was rescinded after he and the university reached a $1.8 million settlement in return for his resignation.

Dobelle resigned as president on Aug. 14, 2004, and all parties agreed there was no fault on either side.

Under the agreement, the university agreed to pay Dobelle $125,000 a year for two years as a nontenured faculty researcher. He was required to file a research project as a nontenured faculty member of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He filed a 400-page research project last year.

The university has finished paying Dobelle for those years, UH officials have said.

He currently serves as president of the New England Board of Higher Education, a consortium that serves public and independent colleges, universities and graduate schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Westfield State College was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann. It is one of nine state colleges in Massachusetts.

Maureen H. Powers, former dean of students at Stanford University, and Michael Gargano Jr., vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, were also finalists for the job, according to the college.

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Lawmakers recognize University of Hawaii on 100th anniversary

WASHINGTON — The House has approved a resolution honoring the University of Hawai'i for its 100 years of public higher education.

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, sponsor of the resolution, said the university's 10 campuses offer more than 620 programs featuring everything from culinary arts to tropical agriculture.

Speaking on the House floor Tuesday before the resolution passed on a voice vote, Hirono, D-Hawai'i, said the school is the only place in the nation where students can earn a master's degree in indigenous language studies, and has top programs for environmental law, Eastern philosophy, international business and second language studies.

"As we come to the end of the 100th year in the university's history, congratulations to all involved," she said. "Here's to the next 100 successful years."

Hirono, among the university's quarter-million alumni, said her years at the school in the 1960s were "a time of awakening and questioning for me."

"Attending the University of Hawai'i made a profound difference in my life," she said. "In fact, all four members of Hawai'i's current congressional delegation have degrees from the University of Hawai'i."

The widespread dispersal of former students to every state and at least 80 countries "brings aloha spirit to the world at large," Hirono said.

The university's football team is the only undefeated college team in the country this year and bound for the Sugar Bowl, Hirono said.

"But they are just one of the (university's) sports teams we cheer for across the Islands — from volleyball to basketball, our athletes draw about 700,000 fans to games every year," she said.

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Ni'ihau school first in state to be solar-powered

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Ni'ihau's only school has become the state's first solar-powered educational institution.

Ni'ihau Island School, with an enrollment of about 30 students, only had generators in the past. That made it hard to keep fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, fish and poultry on hand.

Most meals consumed by staff and students were prepared from dry and canned goods.

Computers were not always available and only battery- or generator-operated electronic teaching aids could be used.

Since it installed a 10.4-kilowatt photovoltaic system with battery storage, however, it's been able to use a refrigerator and high-technology products.

The total cost for the entire system was $207,000.

Most of the money, about $150,000, was provided by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for rural communities.

The county and the state Department of Education also contributed funds.

Ni'ihau Ranch provided services, including the construction of a concrete battery building and the building of a stone wall that serves as a windbreak for the solar cells.

"When partnerships are formed for the benefit of others, a lot can be accomplished," Mayor Bryan Baptiste said.

"We're very pleased that Ni'ihau Island School is now equipped with a power system that will help improve the health and nutrition of the students and staff and upgrade educational opportunities for the students," Baptiste said.

The ranch has long wanted to make the entire island energy self-sufficient, Bruce Robinson, co-owner of the company and the island, has said.

"A special thanks goes to the Ni'ihau parents and students who put so much effort into this project, along with all the other contributors," Robinson said.

Kaua'i County will retain ownership of the system for approximately 10 years, and the DOE will be responsible for maintaining the system.

The privately owned island off the west coast of Kaua'i has only about 160 residents.

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Students taking their music to Disneyland

One year ago, 'Aina Haina Elementary had just started its chorus program with a small class of 30 fourth- and fifth-graders. Today, the group has more than doubled in size and is preparing a 30-minute repertoire for a spring concert in Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

"I'm a little nervous," said Kiralee Ramos, a fourth-grader who has been singing with the chorus since it started. "We're going to be singing in front of a lot of people."

While members of the chorus traveled to the Neighbor Islands in the past year, this will be their first out-of-state performance.

Thirty-five third-, fourth- and fifth-graders from the 70-person chorus will share a taste of Hawai'i with audiences at Disneyland at noon March 19, as they sing and dance hula at the Carnation Plaza Gardens stage.

The performance is part of the Disney Magic Music Days program, where talented student performing arts groups from around the world are selected to train with Disneyland staff and perform at different Disneyland venues.

On the morning of their concert, the 'Aina Haina chorus members will participate in a Disney Magic Music performance workshop where they'll receive tips about their songs and dance moves.

The choir's concert will include some Disney tunes, as well as local classics such as "The Days of My Youth" and "One Paddle, Two Paddle."

After submitting several audition tapes to the Disney Magic Music Days program, the chorus was notified in November that it had been selected.

The students were elated by the news, said chorus teacher Scott Takata.

"I'm really excited for the rides and to spend time with my friends," said fourth-grader Shari-Lynn Hayashi.

Even though the chorus will have three days to explore Disneyland with their chaperones, Takata said the trip is not just a vacation but a learning opportunity.

"We want to address the whole of the child, not just the musical part," he said. "Even if they go, they have to keep up their grades and homework."

Part of the effort has been fundraising to pay for uniforms (required by the Disneyland program) and help keep down travel expenses. Designer Mamo Howell has agreed to make the group's aloha attire for the performance.

So far, students have sold baked goods and Shaka Gear sandals and have collected money from recycling bottles and cans. Some students whose parents are hair stylists even sold coupons for hair cuts.

More fundraising events are tentatively scheduled to take place after school starts again in January, Takata said.

"We want them to learn that they have to work to earn things," he said. "They learn how to present themselves and make a sales pitch — even if it's just to Auntie and Uncle."

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