A pioneering dual-credit partnership between and Radford High School celebrated its fifth anniversary in May with a milestone achievement: 20 students earned Kapiʻolani CC鈥檚 —16 seniors and four juniors—one of the largest graduating cohorts in the program鈥檚 history.

The ASC in Sustainability introduces students to core sustainability concepts through coursework in environmental science, Pacific Islands studies and service-learning.

High school students who complete the ASC in Sustainability graduate with 14 college credits. The experience encourages students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world issues affecting Hawaiʻi鈥檚 communities and ecosystems.

“I feel as though I could use what I’ve learned from this program in college as a future architecture major at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补,” said Radford High School graduate Avalynn Cresencia. “This career has much to do with the environment and sustainable materials and practices.”

Hands-on fieldwork

Over the past five years, more than 70 Radford High School juniors and seniors have enrolled in the program. The curriculum blends academic theory with hands-on practice, including fieldwork through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where students engage in ecological data collection to support native species conservation at the Honouliuli Wetland.

“This program has had a lasting influence—students aren鈥檛 just learning about sustainability, they鈥檙e actively contributing to it,” said Professor Wendy Kuntz, coordinator of the ASC in Sustainability. “This Radford High School cohort is the latest success in a five-year partnership that has grown into a model for sustainability education.”

Research, community engagement

The program also extends learning beyond the classroom through research and community engagement. Students complete a capstone project and present their work at Kapiʻolani CC鈥檚 Student Undergraduate Research Fair, tackling topics such as beach litter, fast fashion and mental wellness through cultural connection.

College and Career Counselor Malia Kau, who coordinates the program at Radford, said, “Our partnership with Kapiʻolani Community College has been invaluable for our students. They鈥檙e developing essential skills that will support their success beyond high school.”

Eight seniors will earn associate鈥檚 degrees from Honolulu Community College on May 12 before they receive their high school diplomas, thanks to the University of Hawaiʻi and the dual-credit programs that have served more than 27,114 local high school students since 2013.

The programs—Early College and Running Start—allow high school students to take free college classes and receive both high school and college credit (dual credit) for successful completion of 100-level and above courses. High school students taking Early College courses can take their classes in a variety of ways—face-to-face on the high school campus, online or hybrid. Running Start allows students to take a college course at a 东精影业 campus as part of their high school coursework. Over the 2021–22 school year, more than 50 public high schools across the state partnered with 东精影业 to offer more than 500 Early College classes.

Honolulu CC started offering two Early College classes to 46 Farrington students in 2014. By 2022, there were nine Early College courses and enrollment had quadrupled to 184 students.

Among these motivated Farrington students are soon-to-be Honolulu CC graduates Leilani Joy Dela Cruz, Rachelle Anne Sales Manuel, Kuʻuleihoku McConnell, Cardenas Pintor, Norine Quach, Cadyn Ramos, Rachael Ahfook Tamapolu and Kailee Umaga-Silva.

Pride and opportunities

“Opportunities were everywhere!” said Dela Cruz, who aspires to own a business. “So many of my professors were so kind and helped me adjust to college life, alongside my various classmates. Everyone has been such a pleasure to talk to in class, and there’s so many ways to get involved in college. In the fall, I started going to my home campus to study, and there were so many events that made me want to continue going.”

“Having my pride all the way up—that’s how it feels like,” said Tamapolu. “I’m walking my high school campus, knowing I’m going to get an associate’s degree.”

She said her long-term goal in life is to buy her mother a house.

According to Vice Principal Hartwell Lee Loy, Farrington High School serves students from five neighboring housing projects. He encourages students to utilize these free opportunities to earn college credits, especially because it can save families a lot of money.

Lee Loy and others involved in the partnership emphasize that any number of dual-credit classes will help students and their families, whether or not they end up leading to early college degrees. However, from 2014 to 2021, more than 80 students have earned associate鈥檚 degrees while still in high school.

“Early College/Running Start is a great program, especially for low-income, first-generation students, where people might think that they can鈥檛 do it, they don鈥檛 have the skills to do it,” said Regan Honda, a college and career counselor at Farrington. “We have great students. They鈥檙e very motivated. They want to achieve. So that鈥檚 why they take part in this program.”

• Related Early College 东精影业 News stories:
  Early College initiative boosts Pacific Islander students, July 12, 2021
  Early College is a growing success, August 7, 2018
  Waipahu student earns Leeward CC degree before high school graduation, December 18, 2017

Preparing for the future

“The journey and the experience was rough mentally, but it gave me preparation for the future,” said Umaga-Silva, who wants to someday go into cybersecurity for the military or the FBI.

Honolulu CC Academic Counselor Jean Maslowski said what the eight students are accomplishing is “tremendous” and encourages all public high school students to check with their counselors to learn more about Early College and Running Start.

“Anyone can succeed in college, they just need to be given a chance,” Maslowski said, “It can give them the opportunity—when they learn more, they will earn more—and set a good example for younger siblings and possibly even parents in the household to say, ‘I did it. You can do it, too.’”

Ramos, an aspiring chef and restaurateur, added that his family is going to be proud of him when they see him holding his associate鈥檚 degree.

He said, “What I would want future students to know is to never waste opportunities that are given to you.”

—By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch

Leeward Community College Early College student, Reyan E. Lee, was recently recognized with a scholarship by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK). She has been named one of 50, 2021 Coca-Cola Academic Team Gold Scholars in the nation and will receive a $1,500 scholarship

Lee is one of many who will earn associate鈥檚 degrees from Leeward CC this spring. Her degree is an associate in science in . Early College provides students with the opportunity to take college courses at their high school campus and earn dual credit from both high school and college for courses completed. Student participation in dual-credit programs, such as Early College, grew more than threefold from the Class of 2011 to the Class of 2017 from 5% to 17%.

“The University of Hawaiʻi congratulates Reyan and all the Early College graduates who have put in the hard work to earn their college degrees while still in high school,” said 东精影业 Vice President for Community Colleges Erika Lacro. “These students have a jumpstart on college success, while saving their families two-years or more of college tuition.”

PTK is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them grow as scholars and leaders.The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation partners with PTK and sponsors the Coca-Cola Academic Team program by recognizing 50 Gold, 50 Silver and 50 Bronze Scholars with nearly $200,000 in scholarships annually. Each scholar also receives a commemorative medallion.

“We鈥檙e all so proud of Reyan for her many accolades,” said Waipahu High School Principal Keith Hayashi. “She鈥檚 one of 18 Waipahu High Olympians and the first in the state earning her associate’s degree in natural science, engineering; a 2021 United States Presidential Scholar Candidate and Presidential Scholar Candidate in CTE; a national merit finalist; and now a PTK Coca-Cola Academic Gold Team Scholar. As an active member of Waipahu High School鈥檚 PTK Chapter, Beta Chi Omega, Reyan proudly represents Waipahu High School, Leeward Community College and the state of Hawaiʻi.”

Students are nominated for the academic team by their college administrators. Selection is based on academic achievement, leadership and engagement in college and community service.

“We thank the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation for recognizing these student leaders and for investing in their futures,” Lynn Tincher-Ladner, president and CEO of PTK said in a release. “Scholarships like these are integral to the success of these students in reaching their educational and career goals.”

PTK is made up of more than 3.5 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 nations, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation鈥檚 colleges.

Three high school seniors at (LHES) have earned associate鈥檚 degrees in liberal arts from the . By the time they completed the fall 2020 semester, Amaya Hoʻopiʻi-Baptista, Ryllah Rodrigues and Tower Vergara had each earned 60 or more college credits toward their degrees.

The three students enrolled in the Dual Enrollment Program (known as Dual Credit) in the ninth grade. This allowed them to simultaneously earn college and high school credits. They took three to four college-level classes per semester and one to two summer courses over four years through this program. Instructors at 东精影业 Maui College and LHES are extremely proud of their accomplishments, especially because the students earned their associate’s degrees well before graduating from high school, saving their families thousands of dollars in tuition.

Future plans

Hoʻopiʻi-Baptista said she hopes to attend a university on the west coast to study psychology. Rodrigues has her sights either on the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 or a university in Washington, and wants to major in elementary education. Vergara would like to attend school in Boston or on the west coast to study business and marketing.

The newly-minted college graduates expressed gratitude to 东精影业 Maui College, P奴lama , The LHES Foundation and for the scholarship opportunities these organizations provided them. They also thanked their parents for their love, support and faith, and for believing in their ability to accomplish what they had set out to do.

Contributed by Natalie Ropa

The sounds of whirring, grating and tapping from drilling, sawing and chiseling fill the air in the “classroom” at . In the converted workshop, the young faces of high school students focus intently on transforming blocks of wood into papa kuʻi ʻai (poi pounding boards) or ihe (spears). Another day, they might be carving a piece of Corian (a plastic, repurposed substitute for animal bone) into a Hawaiian makau (fish hook).

These students are learning at the same time, through what鈥檚 known as a dual-credit program. Twenty-four students from Castle High School and seven from Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau Hawaiian immersion school participated in the wood carving class over the summer.

“It鈥檚 really fun. I think it鈥檚 probably my favorite class of all the classes I鈥檝e taken,” said Castle High junior Haley Texeira. “I learned a lot of Hawaiian words and Hawaiian implements.”

Cultural context

Making sure that the students connect the craft with Hawaiian culture and nature is important to Hawaiian Studies lecturer Jordan Souza, who helped to start the Hawaiian carving classes at Windward CC about 10 years ago.

Souza said, “The indigenous people that once were here had a connection to the land, and the things they made, the implements, are connected to the environment. They don鈥檛 exist without each other. So to care about one, you have to care about everything.”

The HWST 135 : K膩lai Lāʻau: Hawaiian Woodwork and Wood Carving three-credit course has surged in popularity and enrollment. Through the summer class, dual-credit high school students planned and created carving projects of cultural relevance and gained deeper insights into Hawaiian cultural use of wood, bone, stone, shell and plant fiber.

Texeira said, “The most important thing I learned was how to properly identify woods or how to properly harvest ti leaf. So it鈥檚 a lot about learning about the plants and woods that we used, not just how to carve them.”

Incorporating math and science

Besides Hawaiian culture and language, the hands-on course incorporated college-level math, science and research. Often, the students don鈥檛 realize they are doing math and science. They may be asked to figure out how many ihe (spears) they can carve out of a piece of wood, or they may be drawn into a discussion of the feeding habits of benthic and pelagic fish to figure out the best kind of makau (fishhook) to carve in order to catch them.

“We want to make sure that we鈥檙e capturing their interest,” explained Windward CC lecturer Edward Fuentes Jr. “We sneak in a research paper and we sneak in, 鈥�OK, you have to extrapolate this information and you have to calculate this.鈥�”

Former students have gone on to teach traditional Hawaiian carving, both by returning to Windward CC and by striking out on their own, over the decade.

“The important thing is to keep practices alive,” said Souza. “If we don驶t keep practices alive, it becomes reserved for just a few. Then it will eventually disappear and die.”

Windward CC鈥檚 Hawaiian carving lecturers are also hoping to expand their academic offerings to meet growing demand.

Fuentes said, “Carvers are going to carve, and we鈥檙e here to help nurture those traditions, help develop those traditions, and to give a place so that people in our community can carve and learn.”

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—By Kelli Trifonovitch

awarded $100 scholarships to 287 recent Hawaiʻi public high school graduates who participated in 东精影业 dual credit programs.

The scholarship seeks to increase the college-going rate of high school graduates who have earned dual credits, and it encourages early registration for those who already have made plans to attend a 东精影业 community college.

“University of Hawaiʻi Early College and Dual Credit programs have provided opportunities for high school students to earn college credits before they enter college,” said Lara Sugimoto, dean of students at Honolulu CC. “We are excited to provide scholarships for books and supplies for these students, removing some of the financial strain so that they have the best chance of continued success as they pursue their academic goals in college.”

The $100 scholarship will go toward books and supplies. To receive the scholarship, eligible students needed to be enrolled at a 东精影业 community college campus and registered for at least six credits for fall 2018.

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Scholarships awarded to dual credit graduates.

• Hawaiʻi CC—48
• Honolulu CC—29
• Kapiʻolani CC—50
• Kauaʻi CC—24
• Leeward CC—57
• 东精影业 Maui College—44
• Windward CC—35

The (CSS) at the and Hawaiʻi Community College have collaborated for a new online dual-enrollment opportunity called the .

Designed for Hawaiʻi CC students interested in obtaining a social sciences degree from 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补, the partnership allows qualifying students to take online courses that articulate to various CSS bachelor’s degree programs.

“The Aloha Pathway is part of the college’s ongoing effort to engage local students and increase opportunities for success throughout their educational career,” said CSS Dean . “Our goal is to provide expanded options and curriculum choices for students by providing a wide range of academic opportunities to Hawaiʻi Island students and simplifying the barriers to course articulation and transfer between our programs.”

Added Hawaiʻi CC Chancellor Rachel Solemsaas, “This college has been a stepping stone for many students on their way to earning bachelor’s degrees. The Aloha Pathway program gives our students excellent options for completing their bachelor’s degrees online with 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 and creates a more seamless process to help them reach their higher education goals.”

The online nature of the Aloha Pathway program allows Hawaiʻi CC students to conveniently learn at their own pace through flexible course offerings. Students can currently earn the following degrees through the Aloha Pathway: bachelor’s degree in , or ; a minor in , , or ; or a certificate in , , , or .

—By Lisa Shirota

The invited to be one of only 44 postsecondary institutions nationwide to participate in an experiment that—for the first time—allows high school students taking college-credit courses to access . Leeward CC is the only higher education institution in the State of Hawaiʻi selected for the project. Pell grants are for qualifying low-income individuals and do not have to be repaid.

The federal project seeks to expand college access through dual enrollment programs, such as Early College, in which students enroll in college courses while enrolled in high school. Dual enrollment is a promising approach to improve academic outcomes for students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.

“Dual enrollment programs are powerful ways to introduce rigorous coursework to students and show these students that they are smart enough, talented enough and prepared enough to tackle higher education. Dual enrollment programs are game changers for all students—especially those who are first-generation or from low-income families,” said . “Through this experiment, we hope to learn how the availability of Pell Grants affects student participation and success in dual enrollment programs.”

Leeward’s dual enrollment a program huge success

Leeward CC is a leader in dual enrollment programs, coordinating , , Running Start and Early Admit options. These programs have grown dramatically, totaling more that 500 high school participants in spring 2016. Leeward’s Early College program alone, where college courses are offered at the high school campuses, has witnessed more than 1000 percent increase in less than four years, with 41 students enrolled in fall 2012 and 460 in spring 2016.

The participation in the federal Pell Grant experiment will enable an additional 30 students per year from the partnering high schools—Waipahu, Campbell and Waiʻanae high schools to participate in Leeward’s Early College program. With the expansion of the Early College partnership, students will be able to choose and pursue formal programs of study and then access the courses relevant to those degree programs.

Leeward CC Chancellor credits the college’s counselors, division chairs, support staff, Early College teaching faculty and deans for the success of the program.

“Over the past four years, Leeward has provided successful early college courses to several of our area high schools. In particular, we’ve had an incredible synergy working with Waipahu High School and Principal Keith Hayashi and Mark Silliman. Several of the Waipahu High School students are already members of our PTK national honor society. I look forward to the first Waipahu High School Olympians who started in their freshman year and who will be completing their AA degree at the same time they receive their high school diploma in 2018.”

“This is a well-deserved recognition of the Leeward Community College faculty, staff and leadership pulling together to help students achieve their goals and dreams through higher education,” said University of Hawaiʻi President . “Early College has proven to be a successful strategy in Hawaiʻi and around the country and Pell Grant eligibility may be a critical tool in helping us scale it up for those in greatest need.

Dual enrollment a gamechanger

Earning a college degree is an increasingly important step towards entering the middle class. Yet less than 10 percent of children born in the bottom quartile of household incomes attain a bachelor’s degree by age 25, compared to over 50 percent in the top quartile. Many high school students—especially those from low-income backgrounds—lack access to the rigorous coursework and support services that help prepare them for success in college.

While dual enrollment models have shown promising academic outcomes for students, cost can be a barrier. Through this experiment, an estimated 10,000 high school students will have the opportunity to access approximately $20 million in Federal Pell Grants to take dual enrollment courses provided by colleges and high schools throughout the nation.

“We are incredibly proud that Leeward was selected by the U.S. Department of Education as one of just 44 innovative institutions across the country that will pioneer this gamechanger for our nation,” said Lassner.

Read the for more information.

—By Kathleen Cabral