The Hawaii State Department of Education honored 32 schools Friday for extraordinary achievements at the first Strive HI Awards ceremony.

The awards ranging from $12,500 to $100,000 recognize schools for significant academic progress for two consecutive years and represent a one-time grant to further improvement efforts.

The ceremony was held Friday morning at King Intermediate School, one of the high-achieving schools.  The Strive HI Awards were presented by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and Schools Deputy Superintendent Ronn Nozoe.

“We are proud to be able to financially recognize the hard work of the teachers, students and staff of these schools,” Matayoshi said. “The Strive HI Awards reflect that the department is not only focused on intervention in current priority schools, but also encourages other schools across the islands to keep striving high.”

The following schools earned the highest single awards of $100,000 for exiting “restructuring” -- a sanction under the No Child Left Behind law -- by meeting annual progress goals for two consecutive years:

• Hilo Intermediate School
• King Intermediate School
• Moanalua Middle School
• Halau Ku Mana Public Charter School (Oahu)
• Waters of Life Public Charter School (Hawaii Island)
  

Awards of $50,000 were given to two elementary schools exiting restructuring, Benjamin Parker and Nanakuli.

“I want to congratulate the principals, teachers, staff, and students at these Strive HI schools for leading the charge in transforming our public education system,” Gov. Abercrombie said.  "They are setting an excellent example by showing what can be achieved when everyone strives higher toward a common goal.”

The Strive HI Awards also celebrated schools that ranked in the top 5 percent in the state for reading or math growth, providing grants of $12,500 for each subject area – or $25,000 for schools reaching the mark in both subjects.  These high-performing schools are boosting student reading and/or math proficiency at the fastest pace among all Hawaii public schools.

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