Schools start setting higher goals

In the new school year that kicks off today, public school teachers will begin rolling out tougher standards for math and reading, requiring students to dive into more complex texts and critical thinking.

The new national "common core standards," which have been adopted by most states, will replace Hawaii learning goals this year for students in kindergarten through second grade.

Also moving to the common core are Algebra 2 classes and language arts benchmarks for 11th- and 12th-graders.

All Hawaii grades will move to the new standards by 2014.

"These are much higher-level expectations," said Steve Nakasato, principal at Mililani Ike Elementary. "It’s a good opportunity for our schools to really get into the depth (of the material)."

The higher standards, which officials hope will help boost student achievement, are among a host of education reforms the state is pushing as it faces a shrinking budget and rising federal proficiency expectations for schools under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Forty-four states, including Hawaii, and the District of Columbia have adopted the common core standards, which are designed to better prepare America’s students for rigorous college courses or a competitive career.

Hawaii teachers began undergoing training on the new standards this spring, and some spent the summer reworking their lesson plans and rethinking what instructional materials to use.

As teachers readied their classrooms last week for the return of students, several said they were still working on how they will revamp their lessons to meet the new standards.

A few expected this year’s kickoff to be a bit rocky.

Dayle Hoopai, a first-grade teacher at Nuuanu Elementary, said she is redoing all of her lesson plans and class materials to fit the new standards.

She had planned to go in over the weekend to finish last-minute work.

"Just to get used to the new language, to me it’s going to take us this year to go through it,"she said. "We are basically looking at what we have … and updating it."

Teachers also said it has been tough to redesign plans based on the new standards, even though they are working out of their existing textbooks.

The Department of Education is holding off on buying new textbooks for the common core standards and instead is asking teachers to use the materials they have and to pull from new sources.

"That’s the hardest part," said Jill Maeda, a first-grade teacher at Nuuanu Elementary, who put together a big three-ring binder of the common core standards to help her plan out lessons.

Maeda also worries about putting together new lesson plans in such a short time, especially since teachers will be furloughed on several days this school year that they would have used for preparation.

"They kind of expected us to do this without having time to figure it out," she said. "We have to familiarize ourselves to it."

To help teachers implement the new standards, the Department of Education mapped out the differences between Hawaii’s current learning benchmarks and the common core standards.

A good number are the same, but there are some big differences.

In language arts there is a greater focus on nonfiction texts and writing.

"Students really need to read like detectives and write like reporters," said Petra Schatz, a DOE language arts educational specialist. "We’ve also asked schools to take a stab at the written argument. The common core really emphasizes the importance of being able to take a position and provide evidence."

In math the common core standards stress fewer concepts but delve deeper into the remaining ones, requiring a better understanding of "bigger ideas," said Dewey Gottlieb, a DOE math educational specialist.

"We want kids to develop efficient strategies," he said. "Kids aren’t just doing memorization."

Principals said they’re trying to ease their schools into the common core with collaboration meetings, so teachers can talk through the new standards and brainstorm the best ways to approach them.

Kaiulani Elementary Principal Rodney Moriwake said teachers are anxious about the switch to the new standards.

"The unknown is oftentimes difficult," he said.

But, he added, "I don’t look at it as something unmanageable. It actually assists us as a state to be aligned with other states. We have the same set of standards and expectations."

In addition to holding collaboration meetings for teachers, several schools also plan to hold workshops for parents to explain the new standards.

Laura Ahn, principal at Kalihi Uka Elementary, said the school will hold parenting classes this year, and plans to link key topics — such as the importance of reading to children — to corresponding common core standards.

Ruth Silberstein, principal at Palolo Elementary, tried to ease into the new standards by incorporating some common core benchmarks into classrooms last year. She’s hopeful that will make the transition this year smoother.

Silberstein added that though the switch might be tough, it’s vital that Hawaii students are held to tougher learning goals.

"It’s a national movement. To keep up with the nation, we need to get our kids up to par," she said. "We cannot wait."