1485 Linapuni Street, Suite 105 Honolulu, HI 96819 Web site: http://www.hawaiipirc.org Hours: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday

Director: Ms. Christina Simmons Phone: 808-841-6177 Fax: 808-841-1779 Evaluator: Charles Giuli Evaluator affiliation: Director of Evaluation, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL)

State PIRC Board:

Parents And Children Together (PACT), the fiscal agent for the grant, serves as the Board of Directors of the HPIRC Program.

Special Advisory Committees:

The HPIRC Advisory Council is currently being convened. It will include Sharon Nakagawa, the State Title I Director, and Joy Bounds, State PTSA President, along with other partners, educational personnel, and parent representatives.

Purposes and Goals
To increase parental involvement in their children’s education to improve academic achievement and to strengthen school-family-community partnerships in meeting children’s educational needs.

Parental Engagement Model
Objectives and strategies have been developed to meet the unique needs of Hawaii’s diverse islands and cultures. HPIRC has adopted the National Network of Partnership Schools’ (NNPS) framework for parent involvement as the basis of its work, since it has also been adopted by the Hawaii State DOE (HDOE).

Early Childhood Model
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)

Major Activities
The HIPPY and Kindergarten Transition Programs address early childhood needs for school readiness. Activities offer direct services to underperforming Title I schools (e.g., parent workshops, parenting classes) and technical assistance to the HDOE, district and school level personnel on policy and training issues.

How the Work Plan Meets the Needs of Parents
HPIRC leverages Family Center resources with those of the HDOE, schools, parent groups, and other partners, to meet the culturally diverse needs of Hawaii’s families. HPIRC seeks to meet five objectives: (1) increasing parents’ ability to help their children learn at home; (2) increasing parents’ understanding of their rights and responsibilities under NCLB and opportunities for supplemental services and public school choice; (3) increasing parents’ ability to facilitate their children’s educational transitions; (4) increasing parents’ ability to participate in decision-making about their children’s education; and (5) increasing educators’ understanding and ability to work effectively with parents. Outcomes include shaping parental involvement policy and practice statewide and at local schools, and assisting parents in improving their children’s academic achievement. HPIRC is able to meet family needs beyond the scope of this program (e.g., housing, employment) by accessing Family Center resources.

Alignment of Work to Statewide PIRC Efforts
HPIRC helps shape parent involvement policy and practice statewide, thus impacting parents, and therefore student achievement, statewide. HPIRC partners with the HDOE on activities such as creating easy-to-understand materials for parents, including materials developed on state accountability, highly qualified teacher notification, supplemental educational services, and public school choice. The breadth and depth of outreach promotes equitable access to NCLB resources and opportunities for all parents.

HPIRC provides training and technical assistance to schools and districts as part of the HDOE training team. Parent involvement is incorporated into school improvement efforts, based on NNPS best practices.

HPIRC maintains its statewide outreach through connectivity across the state. HPIRC’s website and parent involvers’ e-newsletter provide information and referral, resources, and links to HPIRC sites, state and national websites, and other organizations that provide research and access to information on family involvement. This element is important in a state of islands where lack of physical access can be a barrier to receiving equitable services.

Unique Characteristics
HPIRC is a partnership of not-for-profit Family Centers, the HDOE, and target schools located on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai, and Molokai. School communities are composed of diverse ethnic, cultural and language groups, posing challenges to serving all, and especially those most in need. Hawaii’s geography is unique in that it is an island state, with schools located across seven islands. Schools on the less populated neighbor islands (other than Oahu) face challenges due to their geographic isolation.