Nuuanu School was founded in September, 1960. The school is unique in design with multi-unit one-story redwood buildings. Nuuanu School is nestled in Nuuanu Valley amid the rising cliffs of the Koolau Mountains and commands a view of Honolulu Harbor to the south and the summit of the Pali to the north. The physical setting makes the school appealing, safe and wholesome - the perfect environment for learning. Within the 380 students in Kindergarten through grade six that the school services, various ethnic groups are represented in the population - Asian, Pacific Islander, White and Others, Black and Hispanic. In general, the community is comprised of middle income families with both parents working. Families in the community reside in single dwelling homes, extended family residences, rentals or townhouses with more than fifty percent of our children resid ing out of our district.
Some of the factors which make Nuuanu a popular choice include: a strong and established academic core program; convenient location for parents working in the metropolitan Honolulu area; grandparents of our children who reside in the district and provide before and after school care; the availability of a before school and after school care program at the school site; and language schools and YMCA programs at nearby locations.
School traditions include a strong and established partnership with the parent organization, Aikane 0 Nuuanu, Welcome Back to School first day activities; all school Christmas Sharing; Family Night festivities: and our biannual May Day/Field Day activities.
We have been supported by a non-profit organization, Aikane 0 Nuuanu, Inc., founded in 1975 and made up of parents, community and faculty members. The goal of our parent organization is to offer support to the school by providing funds and volunteer assistance to enhance the quality of education at Nuuanu School. Moreover, since 1975, this organization has sponsored the before school care program, the after school care program and the summer school program. The State Department of Education initiated the Afterschool Plus (A+) program in February, 1990, and Aikane 0 Nuuanu has continued to supplement and enhance the A+ care program. The support given by Aikane 0 Nuuanu and the positive working relationship fostered by the principal, teaching and school staff makes Nuuanu School a successful year-round school model.
The high expectations that the school places in the area of basic skills have been recognized in many ways. In the 1983-84 school year, Nuuanu School received the Sustained High Achievement Award from the Honolulu District. A National Award for Excellence in Education was granted to the school in 1985-86. Honolulu District honored Nuuanu School in the 1986-87 school year with an award for Sustained Superior Achievement. Nuuanu School was a Honolulu District recipient in the 1991-92 Elementary School Recognition Program and commended as one of six elementary school finalists in the Hawaii State Recognition Program sponsored by Frito-Lay of Hawaii, Inc.
Nuuanu School continues to maintain its reputation of providing quality instruction for our students in a nurturing and caring environment. Our teachers continue to work on curriculum align ment projects matched with the National Goals 2000 and Hawaii State Goals, Hawaii State Com mission on Performance Standards and the Essential Content and recently completed a grading criteria project. Our faculty received inservicing on effective teaching and learning strategies and in the 1994-95 school year, Nuuanu School was selected as a Success Compact literacy school. Faculty training on the Success Compact process will continue into the next three years. In the 1995-96 school year, Nuuanu School along with the nine schools of Roosevelt Complex will initiate a collaborative undertaking of inquiry based learning as they pursue a Honolulu Harbors project study. This study is a Goals 2000 federally funded project and will involve Roosevelt Complex schools and other schools abroad to share learning with each other via telecommunications.
An Apple Computer, Inc. Partners In Education (PIE) grant followed in 1996 in partnership with our University of Hawaii that enabled our students to pursue an interdisciplinary study, "Malama I Ka Wai", on the importance of water as a valuable natural resource.
In 1999-2002, Technology & Learning Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, USA Today/Advertiser and the Disney Learning Program recognized the school's exemplary educational technology program. Kelvin Chun was honored with the Disney American Teacher Award (1999), Honolulu District Teacher of the year/ USA Today All Teacher Team (2000), and the National Ed Tech Leaders of the Year (2002).
In 2001, Mrs. Gerry Kajitani (6th grade teacher) was recognized for the "Presidential Awards for Excellence in Elementary Science Teaching."
Linda Kato unites keiki and Kuakini kupuna thru the Kuakini inter-generational program and is recognized with the "Everyday Hero" award in 2003.
In 2004, the school's curriculum program was recognized by the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) which diseminates models of the most innovative practices in our nation's K-12 schools.
Mrs. Cindy Guzzardo (2nd grade teacher) class won a contest sponsored by American Savings Bank in May, 2005. The 2nd graders participated in this contest that asked students how they would spend one million dollars to help their community.
The Hawaii Distinguished Schools Program honored Nu`uanu School in 2006 for making significant progress in closing the achievement gap or whose students achieve at the highest levels. Nu`uanu School was one of three selected schools from Hawaii nominated to the "No Child Left Behind" Blue Ribbon Schools Program, and its students consistently perform in the top 10 percent on state test in their grade level category (grade 5) in reading and mathematics.
Nuuanu School's School/Community Based Management (SCBM) proposal was accepted by the Board of Education in November, 1993. During the 1994-95 school year, the Hawaii School Lead ership Academy (LEAD) trained our SCBM Council on various teaming skills and group collabora tion processes -- Facilitative Leadership (FL), Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and Total Quality Management (TQM) as applied to the learning environment. The Nuuanu SCBM Council supports the Success Compact literacy improvement process and will be sponsoring parent work shops supporting literacy in the home environment. In addition, our SCBM Council in joint effort with Aikane 0 Nuuanu is working with the school in developing our Technology for Learning Plan preparing our children to be technologically literate for the 21st century. Our rich school background and improvement efforts, reflect an era of progressive and positive changes in the teaching and learn ing environment of our children in preparation for America 2000.