Piha Me Ka Pono uses a community school model to address the physical, mental and emotional health needs of students, their families, and staff at the Kohala School Complex.
Piha Me Ka Pono is an extension of the former Kohala School Complex education project, Pili A Paʻa, to address deficits in reading, math, and science. Piha Me Ka Pono implements the Community School strategy to help students to succeed by addressing the social-emotional and health needs of the family and community at large.
The Community School Model collaborates with the Kohala School Complex and recognizes that so many of the students are coming to school with excess “baggage,” e.g. hunger, trauma from homelessness or divorce. Unless that “baggage” is addressed, no matter how strong the instruction is, the students will have difficulty learning. The Community School model uses a holistic approach on how to care for the students and addresses that baggage by bringing in resources and support not just for the school complex but for the whole community. This will strengthen the community’s physical, mental and emotional health so they are better able to adjust to the hardships they are facing.
A PIDF survey revealed that a number of students experienced bullying, suicidal thoughts, depression, and more. Research finds that students with poor mental and physical health have a higher probability of school failure, grade retention, and dropout. Kohala is a rural community with few extracurricular activities for students to engage in.
Schools alone cannot solely impact student achievement. In order to fully prepare students for future roles, strong relationships must be built and sustained within the community. That’s why Piha Me Ka Pono works collaboratively with the schools to implement the four pillars of Community Schools as an overarching strategy to remove the barriers of learning through a strong community-based approach.
Program Components
The Four Pillars
The community school model uses the four pillars, a strength-based approach between home and school, to recognize that school improvement is a partnership based on relationships of mutual trust.
Expanded Learning Time
Integrated Student, Family, and Staff Supports
Active Family and Community Engagement
Collaborative leadership
Expanded Learning Time
Intended for students focusing on enrichment and intervention.
Integrated Student, Family, and Staff Supports
A committed network of community partnerships available to support parents and students.
Active Family and Community Engagement
Securing parents as true partners through a coordinated system of meaningful services to better support their child’s success and for them to pursue self-improvement opportunities.
Collaborative leadership
Practices to build a culture of professional learning, collective trust, and shared responsibility.
Over $120,000 will enable the youth of the Honokaʻa and greater Windward Oʻahu region to benefit from services such as career pathway development and mental health.
Tūtū and Me keiki from Hawaiʻi Island’s Waimea and Honokaʻa sites celebrated their end of the year accomplishments with an in-person Lā ʻOhana (family day)! Four PIDF programs participated in the fun: Pili a Paʻa, Project Pilina, Tūtū and Me ʻOhana Support, and Hoʻopalekana Ola.
PIDF received a $10,000 grant from Hawaiian Electric to continue the Resilience Hub in Kohala, a project under the Pili a Pa‘a program that provides a safe space for keiki who are doing distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic and whose caregivers are unable to supervise them.
