LAHAINA – Welcome back to school! Last year, we released our students at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesdays in order to provide planning time for our teachers. It proved to be quite successful, and our unofficial HSA scores reflect significant growth. We have not received the final HSA results yet.

In addition, the amount of student misconduct was cut in half compared to the number reported the year before, per Jay Petrakis, vice principal. Is there a connection? It may be too early to tell, but we will continue to monitor the changes taking place at LIS to see if the data reflects continuous improvement in student achievement and student behavior due to the pursuit of a unified system within our school. We will continue to release our students at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesdays.

Three teachers departed from LIS at the end of last school year. Deborah Kramer returned home to support her family during a crisis in which she lost a loved one. Jun Wu transferred to Iao School in order to be closer to home, and Laura Braman retired.

Joining us this year are Liza Bohn, who will teach Grades 7/8 Math; Danielle Elder, who will teach Grade 7 Math; and Loren Lindborg, who will teach Grade 7 English/Language Arts and Reading. Best wishes to those who are no longer with us. Best wishes and a fond aloha to them all. Welcome to our new LIS teachers!

Thank you to the parents who attended LIS’ Sixth Grade Parent Orientation Night on July 31. It is so important to become familiar with the policies in place at LIS. Although we are all part of the Hawaii Department of Education, expectations differ dependent upon the age level of our students. Thank you for participating.

On Aug. 14, we will hold our annual LIS Open House. Dinner will be served from 5:30 p.m. in the school dining room. You will be able to visit your children’s classes and meet their teachers briefly.

On Aug. 21, we will hold our annual School Discipline Plan hearing to finalize the plan for the year. Please join us at 5 p.m. in the school library.

Finally, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, the Lahainaluna Complex will observe our first complex-wide professional development day for teachers. There will be no school for students. All teachers will be trained on the new Charlotte Danielson classroom observation procedure, which is part of the

Educator Effectiveness System (EES). New to all of Hawaii’s teachers, it’s part of the “Race To The Top” (RTTT) plan submitted and approved by the federal government.

This year is expected to be packed with changes within the DOE. I will keep you informed as the year progresses. Again, welcome back to a new, exciting school year, everyone. IMUA!