Ewa Makai finds new is good

There’s something to be said about being in your comfort zone. At least, that’s what Edward Oshiro has discovered in the year that he’s been principal at Hawaii’s newest public school.

In particular, he said, the students and teachers of Ewa Makai Middle School really like the air conditioning: Whoever thought Hawaii could survive on tradewinds alone has never tried to teach in a classroom where the thermometer reads 85 degrees and up.

"It’s an optimal learning situation, having temperatures about 75 degrees," he said. "If you brought that concept of tradewinds to the schools, OK, open the windows and work in that environment. And when you have internal offices and you don’t have a window to open, it’s really hot."

State education officials feel pretty proud of Ewa Makai, which is not only new and shiny but also energy-efficient, the first to receive what’s called a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. There are "green" activities, including recycling bins in each classroom, to go along with it.

Custodians pedal tricycles around the all-enclosed school, and just seeing them has persuaded a lot of students that bike-riding is cool, after all, Oshiro said.

"We went from a sparsely populated bicycle rack to 200-300 bikes," he said.

But what students really respond to, he said, is current technology, from the projection screens teachers can manipulate, iPad-fashion, to the iPads themselves that are used even in P.E. classes.

"That motivates the students to learn," Oshiro added. "I think all these things we have at Ewa Makai enhance the learning."