The Senate and House committees on education will be holding a joint informational briefing to receive an overview of the ongoing efforts to support upcoming changes to Hawaii's kindergarten entry age.
The briefing will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Conference Room 414.
"We are all working hard to make sure our families impacted by this age change have the information and support necessary to make the transition as smooth as possible," said Senator Jill Tokuda, chair of the Senate Committee on Education. "Ensuring that our late born children are taken care of, and having our public and private providers ready to step up to meet their needs will not happen overnight. This has been a multi-agency effort, and I applaud the willingness of all of our early learning stakeholders to be involved in the process."
The following individuals have been invited to participate:
• GG Weisenfeld, Director, Executive Office on Early Learning
• Kathryn Matayoshi, Superintendent, Department of Education
• Pankaj Bhanot, Division Administrator, Department of Human Services, Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division
• Kim Guieb-Kang, Operations Specialist, Hawai‘i P-3 Initiative
• Katherine Murphy, Executive Director, Hawai‘i Association for the Education of Young Children
Kindergarten enrollment transformations will initiate in the 2014-15 school year. As required by Act 178, Session Laws of 2012, a child must be five years old on or before July 31 of the school year to enter kindergarten. Previously, the State of Hawai‘i allowed children to enter kindergarten if they turned five on or before December 31. This change in date aligns Hawai‘i with the vast majority of states.
This informational briefing will be broadcasted by Capitol TV on ‘Olelo channel 53 and live streamed at www.olelo.org.
For more information on the kindergarten entry age change, please see: www.earlylearning.hawaii.gov.
For more information on this briefing, please click here to view the briefing notice.
View the media release.
In light of National GEAR UP Week, the Senate and House Committees on Education will be holding an informational briefing to receive an overview of the federally-funded program GEAR UP Hawaii (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs).
The briefing will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2013, at the Waipahu High School Library at 9:30 a.m.
"With National GEAR UP Week underway, this is the ideal time for us to go out and do an informational briefing at a school that has been recognized nationally for both its students and early college success," said Senator Jill Tokuda, chair of the Senate Committee on Education. "We need to ensure that our middle and high school students have equal access, and are aware and take advantage of every opportunity available to them in order to thrive in both college and career."
Funded through the U.S. Department of Education, GEAR UP Hawaii seeks to significantly increase the number of low-income middle and high school students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Run under the Hawaii P-20 Partnership for Education, the program is comprised of several public, nonprofit, and private sector partners. GEAR UP Hawaii serves over 16,000 public school students in grades 7 to 12 through the first year in college across the State of Hawaii each year.
Representatives from the following have been invited to present:
• Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education
• GEAR UP Hawaii
• Hawaii State Department of Education
• GEAR UP Nanakuli-Waianae - UH West Oahu
• GEAR UP Waipahu - UH Manoa
• Principal, Waipahu High School
There are three programs in Hawaii: the Statewide GEAR UP Hawaii, GEAR UP Partnership between UH West Oahu and Nanakuli-Waianae Intermediate and High Schools, and GEAR UP Partnership between UH Manoa and Waipahu Intermediate and High Schools.
Waipahu High School GEAR UP and Early College students will be in attendance. For more information please click here to view the briefing notice.
View the media advisory.