"Dedicated to education, but not precious about it"

That's how education leader, Dr. Paul Kelley, described his impression of Rep. Roy Takumi, Chairman of the Hawaii House Committee on Education.  They attended a conference together and ended up being at the same round table discussion on education and school hours.

Rep. Takumi was challenging the notion that schools require a certain number of hours of classtime, or "seat time" as some prefer to say, without any regard for the achievement of success.  If students achieve the academic goal in 30 hours instead of a standard 300 hours, "shouldn't we be focusing on the success and not trying to make students achieve in a certain way?" said Takumi.

After listening to the speaker and understanding his direction, Dr. Kelley was surprised to find out that the person behind the name tag was not an educator, but a politician.

Dr. Paul Kelley

Dr. Paul Kelley, according to his bio, is one of the U.K.'s best known education innovators.  Read more of Kelley's "Making Minds" blog post on Rep. Takumi.

Serving the Public as a Life-Long Mission

Professor Susan Chandler with Rep. Takumi

Serving the public is a concept and practice that our legislators live day in and day out. For some, a springboard for launching or strengthening a career in public service means obtaining a Master's of Public Administration degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Public Adminstration Program (PUBA). Benefits of the program, which began in 1984, include not only a relevant curriculum and opportunities to interact with public leaders, but also lasting friendship and career connections with peers. Some notable graduates of PUBA include former Honolulu Fire Department Chief Attilio Leonardi and OHA Trustee Haunani Apoliona, as well as the legislature's own Rep. Roy Takumi (D-36).

PUBA held its alumni and awards event on Thursday, April 21, at UH Manoa's Andrews Amphitheatre. The program awarded its first-ever distinguished alumnus award to Rep. Takumi. Professor David Nixon, Acting Director of PUBA, says Rep. Takumi has "made such a difference in the community."

On being the recipient of the PUBA award, Rep. Takumi jokes, "Did I draw the short straw?"  But humor aside, Rep. Takumi is no stranger to accomplishment, having been awarded the prestigious Flemming Fellowship in 1997, given to emerging political leaders in the country. In 2001, Rep. Takumi received the Eleanor Roosevelt Fellowship for his work in connecting local and global issues. He is the first legislator from Hawaii to receive both of these nationally-recognized awards. Rep. Takumi has been recognized as a leader in education reform and received the Legislator of the Year award in 2004 from the Friends of the Library and the Friend of Education award from the University of Hawaii’s College of Education in 2005.

For more information about UH-Manoa's Public Administration Program, please visit puba.hawaii.edu or call 956-8260.

Photos courtesy of Rep. Tom Brower. 

Undocumented and unafraid

Meet Isabel Castillo. She is 27, a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University, and a proud holder of a bachelor's degree in social work.

She is also undocumented and unafraid.

Isabel came to the United States from Mexico with her parents when she was 6 years old. She started first grade in Virginia and has lived there for 21 years. To Isabel, America is her home country.

(L-R) Reps. Johanson, Nishimoto, Takumi

I met Isabel Wednesday during a meeting she and five of her fellow activists from the National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA) had with Representatives Roy Takumi, Scott Nishimoto, Ty Cullen, Henry Aquino, and Aaron Johanson. NIYA is an undocumented youth-led organization focused on achieving equality for all immigrant youth, regardless of their legal status.

“I grew up watching 'Barney' and eating pizza,” she said, while sharing her life story and struggles with being an undocumented student. Isabel never realized the implications of being undocumented until she got to high school and started looking at applying to colleges and considering funding options.

Without the ability to prove residency in her home state, Isabel was ineligible for in-state tuition, waivers, or other financial resources, essentially denying her access to higher education.

Twelve states currently allow undocumented student residents to pay in-state tuition and access to financial aid and other benefits, within the limits of federal law.

Like Virginia, Hawaii is not one of them.

Undocumented students who have grown up here and call Hawaii home face the barrier of prohibitive financial expenses, not to mention fears of deportation and the inability of securing gainful employment.

This week Isabel and other NIYA youth activists led a Youth Empowerment Summit at the University of Hawaii where they met with 50 Hawaii youth who share Isabel's background.

Rep. Roy Takumi

We heard about a young man named Raul, a junior from Lahaina, Maui. After emigrating from Mexico with his family at 11 years old, Raul has since called Maui home. In 2009, his father was deported, and Raul is afraid that he will also be deported. He wants to go to college in the U.S., but recently found out that the school he was considering does not accept undocumented students. “It was really hard for me, but I’m trying my best,” he said in a video NIYA shared with us.

Then there’s Sam, a 21-year-old Ewa Beach resident who came to Hawaii from Tonga with his family when he was very young. At age 18, his family started the process to become legal citizens. Unfortunately, before his legal status was finalized, Sam turned 21 and aged out of the process, meaning he could no longer be processed with his family and would have to reapply for legal status as an individual, which could take years. Sam is currently going through court proceedings to deal with his immigration status.

At the Legislature this session, lawmakers introduced a measure to address these education issues that create financial barriers for young residents who have called Hawaii home for many years.

Rep. Takumi, chair of the Education Committee, and Rep. Nishimoto, chair of the Higher Education Committee, introduced HB1674, which aligns with the proposed federal legislation known as the Dream Act.

HB1674 would extend eligibility for state financial aid and resident tuition to local undocumented students of the University of Hawaii who meet certain specified criteria.

Although the measure passed the Higher Education Committee, it was deferred in the House Finance Committee last week.

Despite this setback, the young students from NIYA were eager to applaud and thank Reps. Takumi and Nishimoto for their efforts in changing policy to give young undocumented residents a chance to continue in academics.

For now, like Isabel in Virginia, these students must make do with what is available to them, most options being forgoing higher education or returning to a country they do not know. In Isabel's case, after a stint working as a waitress, she was accepted into a private university that took undocumented students. With the help of community resources, she was able to secure grants from Latino organizations to pay for half of her tuition. However, it is still difficult for her to find employment, but with America's broken immigration system, she says, her social work degree is put to good use advocating on behalf of other undocumented youth who are not as lucky as she was.

At the end of the meeting, Rep. Nishimoto gave his final remarks and expressed to the members of NIYA something that I'm sure resonated with everyone in the room. "Thank you for putting a face to this bill," he said.

Letter to Congress on Correcting No Child Left Behind

Rep. Roy Takumi

The National Conference of State Legislature’s (NCSL) Education Committee recently sent a letter, dated February 13, 2012, to Congress about proposed legislation that would make changes to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Hawaii State House Representative Roy Takumi is co-chair of this committee, and he and co-chair Idaho Senator John Goedde submitted the letter on behalf of NCSL.

In 2002, Congress amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and reauthorized it as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB); today, Congress is considering legislation that again reauthorizes the statute.

Major provisions of these bills essentially limit the federal government’s role in education policy while giving states more power in accountability decisions.

In the letter to Congress, while applauding the House Education and Workforce Committee for advancing the process of reauthorization, the state lawmakers also noted that the bills do not contain all recommendations for amending NCLB that was made by NCSL.

A major provision in one of the bills that NCSL would oppose is the mandated teacher evaluations by the federal government. “Such a mandate is unnecessary as states are already developing evaluation systems on their own,” Takumi and Goedde say in the letter. "Half of the states passed legislation on teacher evaluation within the past two years, and more will consider these reforms this year. However, these changes are very complex and expensive, and even those states with funding and data systems in place are struggling to implement this reform with accuracy and integrity."

You can read the full letter here.

Rep. Roy Takumi on Race to the Top Program

NAFTA Update

Rep. Roy Takumi is featured in the July/August issue of Capitol Ideas, the magazine published by the Council of State Governments.

Trade Deals Get More Attention Due to NAFTA

The way Hawaii Rep. Roy Takumi sees it, states didn’t pay close attention to the impact free trade agreements would have on state policies in the 1990s, when Congress passed the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA.

They’re paying attention now.

“As (free trade agreements) started to proliferate, legislators, including myself, became more aware of how these trade agreements went beyond international trade and encroached into what (were) matters that states and only states historically dealt with,” Takumi said. That includes procurement, investment and service policies.

As Congress considers additional trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, state policymakers are taking action and making their concerns known. That includes what they perceive as lost jobs.

But Takumi and others say it goes well beyond that.

“In every (free trade agreement), there may be sections that are benefits and others that are not,” he said. “Or it could be beneficial/negative to some states and not to others.”

Read the full story here.

Board Certified

A U.S.program that has been around since 1987 has been getting more attention from policymakers who are "recognizing its promise and potential for addressing challenges in today's classrooms," according to an article from the National Conference of State Legislatures. It is another tool that lawmakers are using to reform schools while facing education budget cuts.

In 30 states and the District of Columbia, lawmakers are supporting the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification for teachers by offering assistance with application fees and other incentives.

Representative Roy Takumi, chair of the House Committee on Education, was quoted saying: “Reforming education requires a multi-faceted approach that includes school leadership, community involvement, safe campuses, rigorous curricula and common core standards. It also requires highly effective classroom teachers, and national board certification is one way to achieve this goal.”

The 2010 State incentives for Hawaii teachers seeking certification including fee support ($2500 plus $65 processing charge) and a salary increase of $5000 per year during which they are board certified. Hawaii currently has 268 board certified teachers. Oklahoma showed an 18.3 percent increase in the total of NBCTs certified last year.

Read the entire article here.

Rep Takumi Urges "No" Vote on Trade Agreement

In today's Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

The pending U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement is not a good deal for Hawaii or the United States. As state legislatures across the country struggle to rebuild our economies after the global financial crisis, and balance state budgets, we urgently need forward-thinking policies that will create American jobs.

Unfortunately, the Korea trade deal, like the 1990s job-killing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), does little to help us out of our current situation.

Even the U.S. International Trade Commission, the government agency tasked with forecasting trade agreement economic outcomes, says the Korea deal will actually increase the U.S. global trade deficit. A study by the Economic Policy Institute concluded it would cost 159,000 American jobs in the deal's first seven years.

I began serving in the state House 19 years ago, shortly before NAFTA was implemented. Since NAFTA and a batch of NAFTA-style deals with other countries, we've suffered an exploding trade deficit, the loss of more than five million manufacturing jobs, and stagnation of real median wages for American workers at 1970s levels. Meanwhile, we have been flooded with unsafe imported food and goods, and foreign investors have used NAFTA to challenge important state environmental laws before foreign tribunals.

After these damaging outcomes, implementing another NAFTA-style deal is unimaginable. And, this would be the most economically significant — and jobs-threatening — deal of its kind since NAFTA. Plus, this deal even includes limits on financial regulation. It does not include any of the important trade reforms President Barack Obama promised and that small business, farm, labor and consumer groups have long demanded.

The Korea deal is supported by the large banks that wrecked our economy and by our country's chronic job-offshoring multinational corporations. They are trying to sell the deal here with the same rosy promises to Hawaii's agricultural producers made before NAFTA. Once again, they are pointing to cuts in Korean tariffs and promising this will translate into more exports.

The reality is that even with zero Korean tariffs, most of Hawaii's agricultural products cannot come close to the low prices for which these products are sold to Korea by others. For example, Indian banana and papaya farmers sell their crop at one-fourth to one-third the price local farmers require. Peruvian farmers sell guava at $173 per metric ton; our price is $346. Farmers in Thailand, the largest pineapple producer, sell their pineapples at $120 per metric ton compared to $458 locally. How do we compete in this market?

Also keep in mind that any new tariff cuts in this deal could easily be erased if Korea again devalues its currency, as it has a history of doing, after implementation of the deal. Contrary to the demands of U.S. farm organizations, the trade deal with Korea does not include provisions to prevent or counter currency manipulation.

Like NAFTA, the Korea deal has the potential to undermine our environmental regulations, public health standards and economic development policies. There are more than 2,000 corporate affiliates in the U.S. and Korea that would be empowered under this deal to directly challenge domestic laws in foreign tribunals and seek taxpayer money as "compensation" for what they claim are lost expected future profits.

Multinational corporations have repeatedly exercised these rights under NAFTA. This is one reason why groups ranging from the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures to Korean Americans for Fair Trade have been critical of this style of trade deal. The Hawaii Legislature also recognizes this problem. In 2007, we enacted bipartisan legislation requiring greater state legislative oversight of Hawaii's commitments in international trade agreements in an attempt to minimize risks to state laws. Despite our best efforts, threats to state governance continue to loom large under the Korea trade deal.

I urge our congressional delegation not to be distracted by the false promises of this trade deal and vote it down — and instead shift focus toward implementing policies that will stimulate real job growth in Hawaii and the rest of our country.

It’s Really About Values

Rep. Roy Takumi's editorial on Civil Beat: It’s Really About Values

Rep Takumi to Co-Chair NCSL Education Committee

Rep. Roy Takumi, currently Chair of the State House Committee on Education, was recently appointed to serve as Co-chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Education Committee for 2010-2011.

"You will be leading your committee during a period of great challenge for state legislators -- a time when legislatures strive to innovate on dozens of policy fronts and a time of significant challenges for states in the federal system," said NCSL President, Senator Richard Moore of Massachusetts. "The NCSL standing committees constitute the focal point for the organization's invaluable assistance to legislatures on state issues and its formidable and successful representation of state interests in Washington, D.C.

The Education Committee is one of 12 standing committees of the NCSL. The standing committees are responsible for developing policies that guide NCSL's activities on Capitol Hill and within the administration. The policies stress three themes: opposition to unfunded federal mandates, prevention of unneccessary preemption of state laws and protection of state revenue sources.

Rep Takumi on Mike Buck Show

Turn your radio on to the Mike Buck Show on KHVH Talk Radio tomorrow afternoon, drive time. Rep. Roy Takumi will be on at 5 p.m. Thursday to talk about education and related issues, including education bills at the legislature. KHVH can be found at 830 on the AM dial.

Rep Takumi on Common Core Standards

Rep. Roy Takumi, Chair of the House Education Committee, is at the forefront of the debate on Common Core Standards for our nation's public schools. In a recent article from the National Conference on State Legislatures, Takumi advocates for the adoption of standards. His position:

Hawaii Representative Roy Takumi points to the initiative’s decision to adopt core standards for K-12 mathematics as a step toward that goal. “There is not a whole lot of variation, in my opinion, between algebra one students. Yet we pride ourselves to a fault that the Mississippi version of the standards embedded in algebra one are more than they might have in Minnesota. That would be a laughable argument in South Korea or Japan or Chile.”

“Hawaii is not competing against Mississippi, and Michigan is not competing against Texas. To use a sports metaphor, these are all just inter-squad scrimmages. The real game is against Finland and South Korea.”

Takumi's position is part of a story in the current issue of State Legislatures magazine. Read the full story here.

Not everyone agrees that core standards are the right direction for public education in America or that the international competition argument is persuasive. There is also the fear that the core standards will take away control over curriculum currently planned by the states.

Takumi also doesn’t like the idea of the standards becoming a Washington-imposed set of requirements. “There is always the potential of the feds taking over anything, but I remain hopeful because, again, the people who have until now been behind this, such as the governors, are grounded in the states.

“States obviously should have the right to determine the educational destiny of their children,” he says. “But I would ask my colleagues and state legislators, again, to realize that we are one nation. We are competing against other nations. We are not competing against other states. That kind of thinking is a trap.”

Rep. Takumi says U.S. needs common set of academic standards

Representative Roy Takumi, chair of the House Education Committee, expounds on the need for a common set of academic standards in the U.S. educational system. The article was printed in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

Common set of academic standards needed

If you were to develop an educational system from scratch, more than likely one of the key components would be a common set of academic standards so that every student and teacher would know what is expected to be learned and taught. Unfortunately, in the U.S. this is not the case. We have a hodgepodge of varying standards among states that differ widely in focus, rigor and coherence. For example, the journal Education Next used 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress data to empirically evaluate each state's proficiency standards. Only five states, including Hawaii, received an "A" rating for their standards.

Given that we are a highly mobile society and that globalization is an increasing trend, it's critical that as a nation we adopt a common set of high academic standards that are shared across states to ensure that all of America's students have the tools they need to succeed.

Talk about having common standards is nothing new.

In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for "national standards" in education. More than 50 years later, we are finally on the verge of taking action. Spearheaded by a number of organizations, including the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association, the Common Core State Standard Initiative (CCSSI) establishes a single, clear set of K-12 mathematics and English language arts standards. Forty-eight states, including Hawaii, have signed on to share and voluntarily adopt the standards.

Why is this effort so important? Simply put, the U.S. is losing its competitive and educational edge.

Fifteen years ago, the U.S. led the world in college graduation rates; by 2006, it had dropped to 14th. While we have stagnated and fallen behind, countries such as Singapore, China, Finland and Brazil have aggressively moved to create knowledge-fueled innovation economies by investing in quality education.

Over the past 25 years, South Korea went from less than a quarter of its citizens finishing high school to more than 95 percent today. In 2003, Germany launched an ambitious education initiative including starting 10,000 all-day schools and investing an additional $4.6 billion in education. This is the equivalent of the U.S. investing more than $15 billion compared to the $4.35 billion available for the much-ballyhooed Race to the Top competitive grants.

But it's not even the name-brand countries that are surpassing the U.S. On international benchmark tests such as the Programme for International Student Assessment, countries such as the Slovak Republic, Hungary and Iceland outperform our students.

Recently, our state Board of Education officially adopted CCSSI, and as more states do so, we will have consistent high-quality academic benchmarks for all students, regardless of where they live. It's about time. After all, it shouldn't matter if a student enters first grade in one state and graduates in another.

That said, it's important to keep in mind H.L. Mencken's observation, "For every complex problem there is one solution which is simple, neat and wrong." It would be a mistake to conclude that common core standards will magically improve student achievement. It is just one component of a broader system that must also include assessments that measure performance, curriculum materials that are coherent and aligned, and professional development for teachers and principals. Fortunately, this can be done in a far more efficient and effective manner when states work together.

By doing so, our students, no matter where they live, stand a far better chance to achieve their hopes and dreams. Isn't this what schools should be all about?

State Rep. Roy Takumi (D-Pearl City) chairs the House Education Committee.

CSG to visit Hawaii for Common Core State Standards Initiative

Video: Lisa Fretzin, High School English Teacher, Illinois

WHAT: Staff members from the Council of State Governments (CSG) are coming to Hawaii to provide information on the Common Core State Standards Initiative; Hawaii is one of 48 states that agreed to join in this initiative. The meeting, a policy roundtable, will focus on what the common core state standards will mean for Hawaii from both an academic and a fiscal perspective. The event is made possible through the educational support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

WHEN: Friday, June 18, 2010 - 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Hawaii State Capitol, Room 329

WHO: Leaders from the business, union, community and educational sectors have been invited to attend. The discussion will center around what happens in Hawaii before and after the adoption of the common core standards.

MISSION STATEMENT:
The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

FOR INFORMATION:

Common Core State Standards Initiative website here.

It's not Cup o' Noodles

The Department of Education has had its fair share of media coverage recently; in some respect, overshadowing its counterpart - charter schools - and their struggle with funding, test scores and accountability.

However, a recent article in the Hawaii Business Magazine, which features three charter schools, explains the challenges, shortfalls and successes of charter schools on our islands.

Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee, also shared his vision for the future of charter schools:

"System change is not ‘Cup o’ Noodles,’ where you put in hot water and boom! But we’re getting there and we’re going to get there. Charters have to be nurtured and encouraged. Once they get to be mature and you don’t see results, then revoke...

“The whole point of charters was they were meant to be experiments, to have flexibility and autonomy and freedom from red tape. The feeling was that was hampering achievement of the school...

“We need to promulgate rules not just to revoke but to issue and review. One of my goals was to put some accountability into it. We want the good schools to succeed and to stop those schools that aren’t succeeding, to give someone else a chance. On average nationally, about 10 percent of charters are revoked annually. Then new charters spring up. It makes sense. These are experiments and some succeed and some don’t...

“The Board of Education is close to finalizing rules for revoking charters and in the next few months everyone will know what the rights are and what they’ll be held accountable to. If this is finally getting done, then by all means we should lift the cap. The Legislature would be very interested in lifting the cap. And we should have multiple authorizers."

The article mentions SB2589, which would allow charter schools to use vacant DOE facilities. The measure passed final reading on 4/28/2010. The cost of rent is one of the challenges of start-up charter schools.

Read the full article here.

Rep Roy Takumi guest on Island Connections

Tune in to Island Connections on 'Olelo Channel 55 tonight at 8 p.m. to watch Representative Roy Takumi discuss education issues with host Ibrahim Aoude. The series is a live broadcast from the UH Ethnic Studies Department.

Race to the Top good for education reform, says Takumi

Representative Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Committee on Education, comments on how Race to the Top has energized state education reform agendas in an article by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The article discusses the position of state leaders across the nation on the federal competition and its ground rules. Some believe that the application process will help create effective school reform, while others believe many states will be disappointed in the end after investing so much time and resources to apply for the funds and not receiving a penny.


This is what Takumi had to say:

"Race to the Top has forced states to be a bit more introspective, and that's a good thing. It was helpful for Hawaii to go through this process in a thoughtful way, and it seems to have changed thinking on some issues--like how to go about reconstituting low-performing schools..."

"The way we looked at it is that we want to use our application as a blueprint for reform in our state. The money definitely has the potential to accelerate what we want to accomplish. But if we don't get, we still have our blueprint and then we'll have to focus on to what degree we can implement it."

The U.S. Department of Education awarded Delaware ($100 million) and Tennessee ($500 million)on March 29, first round of Race to the Top. Applications for the second round are due June 1, 2010.

Read full article at the NCSL website.

Teacher Furloughs = March Madness

Following is Rep. Roy Takumi's op-ed which appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser today:

"Call it the political equivalent of March Madness. How else can we explain our inability to come up with a solution that ends furlough Fridays and gets our children back to school?

It's baffling why the Board of Education, the Department of Education and the Hawaii State Teachers Association on one hand and the governor on the other believes that it is better to talk at each other through press conferences rather than talking with each other face-to-face.

I was told by the governor's senior policy adviser, and since confirmed by the governor, that there would be no resolution to furloughs unless, and only if, the Legislature passes out the administration's bill calling for the abolishment of the BOE and putting the school superintendent in the governor's cabinet.

Think for a moment of how silly this appears. Forget about the fact that no governor has ever tied a collective bargaining agreement to the passage of an unrelated bill.

Indeed, not even Gov. Lingle has ever done this in her previous seven years. In essence, what the governor is saying is that even if all the parties to the contract were to agree to her proposal to end furloughs, she still wouldn't sign off unless the Legislature passes out her bill. Oh, my.
On the other hand, the proposal by the BOE, DOE and HSTA is puzzling as well.

The assertion that there will be dire consequences in the classroom unless every single DOE employee returns to work seems more about protecting jobs than it is about the welfare of our students.

Surely there is a way to decide whether every clerk-typist, administration services assistant, resource teacher, school renewal specialist, or personnel management specialist is critical to the daily operation of our schools.

But there is hope.

Although it's taken far longer than it should, the governor has moved from her original proposal of 36 furlough days to being willing to tap $62 million from special funds to pay for school-based employees. The union has agreed to exchange six planning days for classroom days.
The Legislature has also tried to do its part.

We cannot intervene in the collective bargaining process and our role is limited to funding whatever proposal is agreed upon.

But we have taken the unprecedented step of earmarking funds ranging from $50 million (HB 2200) to $62 million (SB 2124) prior to an agreement by the relevant parties.

Officials from the teachers union have indicated that the negotiations are over.

They put forth a good faith effort and this is their final and best offer.

I can understand the frustration. I do appreciate the time and energy it took to come this far.
But I would remind the union, and all of us, that one of the key lessons we teach our children is a timeless one. And that is that they should never give up no matter the odds, that reaching your goals only comes about through perseverance , dedication and commitment.

If we keep this lesson in mind, I'm confident this ongoing madness will end.

If we don't, we have only ourselves to blame."

Principals of the Year

Rep. Roy Takumi (far left), Rep. Lyla Berg (far right) and other House members congratulated Francine Honda as the 2009 Hawaii High School Principal of the Year, Tom Kurashige as the 2009 Hawaii Middle/ Elementary School Principal of the Year, and Ewa Beach Elementary School, Momilani Elementary School, and Royal Elementary School as the 2010 Hawaii Blue Ribbon Schools.

Video of Rep. Takumi at education lecture series

Representative Roy Takumi, the chairman of the House Committee on Education, was a panelist during the Shiro Amioka lecture series in February where he responded to a presentation critiquing the Hawaii school system.

Watch what he had to say here (turn volume up, the audio is soft):