When HawaiiKidsCAN was launched, in 2017, founding executive director David Miyashiro said the nonprofit would help “build bridges and remove barriers” to promote a system that ensures every Hawaii child has access to an education that prepares him or her for a life of “choice, success and global and local leadership.”

To date, some of the bridges span efforts to update tech-focused curriculum in public schools. “Given the quickly evolving global and local economy, we have been incredibly excited to see the growing momentum for computer science in Hawaii, which has been one of our priority issues,” Miyashiro said.

Heading into the 2018 legislative session, HawaiiKidsCAN produced a report that found economic opportunities aplenty for students with computer science skills, but also noted a clear lack of equal access for female students and students in low-income communities.

The grassroots outfit then helped mobilize a push at the state Capitol — complete with high school student testimony — to increase funding and support for computer science education. (During the 2017-18 academic year, 21 of the state’s 45 public high schools offered on-campus computer science class.)

In response, legislators passed a bill, enacted as law last May, that provided $500,000 for teacher training in computer science and mandates every public high school to offer the subject by 2021. Also, the Hawaii Board of Education has adopted the national Computer Science Teachers Association’s K-12 Computer Science Standards, joining a growing national movement.

Miyashiro, whose family has four generations of roots in Hawaii, decided to take on education policy issues 10 years ago, spurred by frustration with former Gov. Linda Lingle’s move, in tandem with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, to shut down public schools for 17 “Furlough Fridays” to help the state make financial ends meet.

After leaving his job as special-education English teacher at Wahiawa Middle School, Miyashiro earned a master’s degree in education policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He went on to work in politics and government, including a stint as press secretary for Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono in Washington, D.C.

After moving back to Oahu in 2015, Miyashiro worked for the Teach For America-Hawaii office before starting HawaiiKidsCAN, which is part of 50CAN, a Washington, D.C.-based education advocacy group with chapters in several states.

Question: What do you see as challenging “barriers” to high-quality education here?

Answer: Some of the biggest barriers in our system have to do with communication. For teachers, students and parents, it can be very difficult to keep up with some of the changes happening at the policy level, as going to the Legislature or Board of Education often requires taking off work or school to commute downtown in the middle of the day.

… Also, we often hear from teachers that they aren’t hearing about opportunities such as trainings or events in time through official memos. Lastly, the authentic stories from students and educators don’t always get out to policymakers and communities, and exciting developments happening at schools aren’t often disseminated across the system in a way that enables other schools to get inspired and replicate programs.

… For example, how many community members or other schools know that James Campbell High School hosted its first hackathon this year, with students designing near-professional level software apps for organizations such as the FBI, the Local Joe coffee shop in Chinatown, and anti-human trafficking nonprofit UNITE Hawaii? This large communication barrier is a big reason we have prioritized building bridges … to build better understanding.

Q:Thoughts on the Legislature’s handling of education issues during the 2019 regular session?

A: I feel like this session was a bit of a mixed bag. … It was great to see Senate Bill 78 passed out of the Legislature with funding for the nearly 20 existing Pre-K charter school classrooms. On the other hand, some of our priority legislation pertaining to computer science and career readiness opportunities for students didn’t make it all the way to the end of session. Other issues like DOE budget transparency and greater general funding for schools were also contentious.

Q:How is HawaiiKidsCAN funded?

A:We have an annual budget about $450,000, which supports a small staff team. (In addition to Miyashiro’s post, the team includes an outreach manager as well as several part-time teacher and college student fellows and interns.)

Our budget also covers all of the events and organizing work we do throughout the year on Oahu and neighbor islands. We raise all of our budget ourselves, including support from … local partners such as the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, Hawaii Community Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation and Chamberlin Family Foundation. Also, in addition to funding from local companies … our work in computer science and innovation has helped to bring in support from national companies such as AT&T, IBM and Microsoft. And we get lots of support from small local donors making contributions from $10 and up.

Q:A few month ago, HawaiiKidsCAN released results of a commissioned poll that ranked improving public education among the top issues for state government to tackle. (Homelessness took the No. 1 spot, with education and traffic congestion/transportation tied as runner-up). Thoughts?

A: We were encouraged by the public’s support for education funding generally, and we were really surprised to see the overwhelming support for specific issues that could hint where our resources could be directed.

In particular, 81% of respondents felt special education teachers should get paid more than other teachers, which makes sense given our tremendous needs and shortages in this area. As a former special education teacher, I can certainly relate given all of the additional duties special education teachers have just in terms of paperwork and legal requirements alone. Also, 89% of respondents felt students should have hands-on work experience before they graduate, which supports the work we want to do around internships and industry certifications.

Q: There’s been controversy over state Department of Education funding. Some say DOE is woefully underfunded; others say the budget is fine, but better money implementation and accountability are needed. What do you think?

A: We are a state with a very high cost of living with many needs for our public funds, so the conversation around (education) funding should get more specific and more targeted. If we talk about teacher pay, we should look at supporting areas where we see the highest need, such as special education. If we talk about teacher housing, we should look at developing new teacher-only buildings, but also programs like the new Landed initiative to help teachers afford their own homes. Transparency of budgets is important, but ultimately we need to understand where we can focus our resources around the greatest needs.

Q:HawaiiKidsCAN and Teach For America-Hawaii recently co-hosted “Spark & Inspire,” an event in which teachers pitched “edupreneurial” ideas to schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto and others in format similar to the popular “Shark Tank” TV show. Your takeaway?

A: … This first-time event showcased locally-grounded education innovators by bringing these edupreneurs together with experts, policy makers, funders and decision-makers in order to access networks, resources and supports to cultivate their ideas. By providing a platform for innovative teachers where they could receive feedback and support … we sought to show that educators are capable of combating complacency and driving scalable change.

Q:What do you enjoy most about your HawaiiKidsCAN work?

A: I just love collaboration and partnerships. There’s nothing like sitting around in a room with friends thinking about big ideas and opportunities, and then finally seeing those ideas come to life some months later. This is what happened with the “Spark & Inspire” event, which was the culmination of lots of great work from many amazing people and partners. Hawaii is a special place, and it’s the sense of common values and collaborative spirit that will enable us to fix our toughest problems.