Thousands of textbooks that are becoming outdated as Hawaii public schools transition to new academic standards are being shipped overseas to needy children and schools in the Philippines, thanks to a West Oahu Rotary club.
"We’re basically trying to become the catch-all for all of the books being disposed of because of the Common Core rollout here," said Jim Handsel, a member of the Rotary Club of Kapolei-Sunset. "These likely would’ve just ended up at the landfill or HPOWER," the city’s waste-to-energy plant.
Schools have started teaching to higher academic benchmarks known as the Common Core, a sweeping set of nationally crafted standards for language arts and math. The standards, adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia, lay out what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade, with the aim of better preparing them for college and careers.
The Department of Education says it typically donates outdated textbooks and books to make room for new inventory, usually sending materials abroad if a need exists, said Joanna Dunn, with the DOE’s School Library Services branch.
"One challenge is finding organizations in need," she said. "With the new Common Core coming in, a lot of schools are going through the process of eliminating books and bringing new ones. It’s a win-win for both sides."
In addition to textbooks, the club has been accepting any reading materials suited to students in kindergarten through high school.
Handsel said his 13-member Rotary club shipped an initial batch of about 800 books last month to underfunded schools and libraries in the Surigao del Norte province, which has a population about one-third the size of Hawaii. Another 7,000 books have been packed for shipment.
Handsel said he met Surigao del Norte Gov. Sol Matugas on a trip to the Philippines last year.
"She asked if there was any way our club could help get books to kids where schools and libraries are underfunded. Kids are hamstrung because they don’t get the education they’d get if they were living in metropolitan areas," he said.
What started as a simple idea grew into a much larger project as schools, public libraries and other organizations have donated to the cause.
"It’s almost overwhelming," Handsel said.
The Friends of the Library of Hawaii has provided books from its so-called discard program, said Executive Director Byrde Cestare.
She said those include donated books that don’t make the cut for the organization’s annual book sale but are still usable.
"Our first and foremost concern is Hawaii and raising money for the public libraries here, but beyond that we’re willing to share and help," Cestare said.
