Message from the President

Message from the President Dear Colleagues, It was wonderful to see and meet so many of you during institute week. One of the items I shared during institute was HSTA’s campaign to give our keiki the schools they deserve. One aspect of that campaign is to focus on the current conditions of our schools. DOE asks for $534 million for schools repairs, heat abatement Hawaii News Now 10/22/15 In Hawaii the average age of our schools is over 65 years old and Hawaii is last in the in the nation with regards to capital improvement money per student per year. Hawaii spends on average about $300 per pupil on capital improvement whereas the mainland averages $1,200 to $1,500. This neglect has caused our buildings to deteriorate and even led to the collapse of Farrington’s auditorium. This problem is systemic, and affects schools across our state. Recently I visited a local high school and saw pillars with metal rust sticking out, students whose weight room was so small that they had to lift weights outside, and classrooms with a variety of different chairs. If we wish to give our keiki the facilities that they need we first need to inform the public of our current conditions. To do this HSTA needs to know what is happening at your school. Could you send in pictures of the state of your buildings and the condition of your classrooms to info@hsta.org? We can use these pictures to highlight our keiki’s learning conditions and to bring change to our schools. Sincerely, Corey Rosenlee President Show support for education and our unity by wearing your red shirts on Tuesdays. Mahalo Webling Elementary School Teachers! Talking About Ethnicity and Inequality in Education  November 7, 2015 8:30 a.m. Check-In 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. University of Hawaii Campus Center  PLEASE RSVP HERE to receive information about $5.00 registration process. Share this opportunity with a colleague HERE>>>