With a packed agenda of meetings that begins today, Hawaii officials will try to convince federal reviewers that the state has made considerable progress on education reforms since December, when the state’s Race to the Top grant was put on "high-risk" status.
Through the course of the week, the U.S. Department of Education reviewers are scheduled to sit down with Hawaii’s congressional delegation, state Department of Education leaders, legislators, Board of Education members and union officials.
What the federal team gleans from the much-anticipated meetings could set the course for the state’s next steps in education reform. Depending on what they find, reviewers could recommend more sanctions or call for Hawaii’s "high-risk" status to be lifted.
Stephen Schatz, who heads up the DOE’s Office of Strategic Reform, said he’s confident that the state will be able to provide substantial evidence of progress.
"In every area of our Race (grant), we’re moving forward significantly," Schatz said. "A lot has been accomplished. A lot has changed. We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to demonstrate those changes through our conversation and evidence."
But challenges remain — and a labor dispute with teachers, which has stalled progress on key elements of the state’s plan, is poised to enter its 10th month.
A report released Monday from the Center on American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based education policy think tank, concluded that of the 12 Race to the Top winners named in two rounds of competitive grants, only two are "not meeting expectations": Hawaii and Florida.
Of Hawaii’s work the report said, "If desire is any indication, the state is headed in the right direction. But clearly there are still significant promises to keep — and challenges to address — in the months and years ahead."
Senate Education Chairwoman Jill Tokuda said she’s hopeful that the federal reviewers "see beyond the headlines" and are able to understand what has been accomplished since Hawaii was named an improbable Race winner in August 2010.
"It’s not all about Race to the Top. It is about making schools better for our students. I’m hoping that they see that," said Tokuda, who will meet the reviewers this week along with state Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee.
While it wasn’t the only reason the grant was put on "high-risk" status, the labor dispute with teachers has been considered among the greatest concerns federal officials have about the state’s ability to live up to its ambitious education pledges.
Teachers continue to work under the terms of a "last, best and final" offer unilaterally implemented in July when negotiations with the union fell apart.
In meetings this week with the U.S. DOE team, the state will have to acknowledge little progress on the labor front since teachers overwhelmingly rejected a proposal in voting Jan. 19.
The contract offer included several elements of Hawaii’s plan, including a transition to performance-based compensation and tenure rules.
Hawaii State Teachers Association President Wil Okabe said he plans to sit down with the reviewers this afternoon to ask them "what needs to be done" and to make clear the union has "shown some good-faith effort" toward seeing Race pledges become reality.
He said he hopes the sit-down opens a dialogue between the union and U.S. DOE.
All the meetings with the federal team are closed to the public, and the state Education Department declined to release its agenda for the reviewers. But officials did say that the team would meet with personnel in the "zones of school innovation" in Waianae and the Kau-Pahoa area of Hawaii island, along with school personnel elsewhere.
The visit by the federal team is the second time reviewers have been to Hawaii to analyze progress. The first was last June.
While the visits take place annually, Hawaii’s review this year has been prioritized because of its high-risk status. The reviews are part of a push by the Obama administration to hold states to the pledges they made to get the grants.
Liz Utrup, U.S. DOE assistant press secretary, said the trip is "part of the department’s ongoing effort to provide assistance, gauge progress and understand challenges. Our team on the ground is there to listen and learn."
She added that during the next several weeks, the team will follow up with more questions and requests for documents "to ensure we have a full understanding of where the state stands in meeting the commitments outlined in their plan."
Given the follow-up, state officials say it could be weeks until they know how the reviewers gauged Hawaii’s progress and whether the state’s "high-risk" status will be lifted.
