Main fundraiser photo

Save Hanalei School's 6th Grade Teacher Team

Tax deductible
Save our 6th Grade Teaching Team!
Help us save a 6th Grade teaching position!   We are losing one of our 6th grade positions next year due to budget constraints. We have been able to secure a match contribution of $32,500 for this position, but we need to raise $35,000 by June 1st to secure this position for next year.  Please help us out!  
 
This campaign goes beyond simply saving one of our teacher's positions and supporting smaller class sizes---it’s also about supporting a successful team teaching approach that creates more equitable and high quality teaching for ALL of Hanalei School’s 6th grade students.  This coming year, our two sixth grade teachers were planning to departmentalize teaching in Science/Math and English Language Arts/Social Studies.  With this teaching model, students get the best of both teachers, with staff teaching to their strengths and passions.  It’s a win-win for students and teachers.  
 
Benefits of Departmentalized Teaching:  
Hanalei School is one of only two elementary schools on the island that goes through 6th grade.  The rest of the island's 6th graders start middle school, where they learn from multiple content-specialized teachers.  Our students miss out on this opportunity.  With departmentalized teaching, Mrs. Paulette Adams would take on teaching Science and Math for all 6th graders and Ms. Ricardo would teach English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies to both classes.  Being taught by more than one teacher, Hanalei School 6th graders would get more of a middle school experience, which would make their transition into 7th grade easier.  In addition, departmentalizing these subjects would allow both teachers to go deeper into their specific content areas, rather than being spread thin managing curricula in all subject areas.  These two teachers have the skills and passion to teach these subjects.  Mrs. Adams has an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with a focus in Biochemistry, and a Masters in Secondary Science Education.  She has taught and developed a middle school science curriculum at Pu‘ukumu school, and designed and trained Hanalei School teachers in our school’s hands-on science curriculum.  She is also highly qualified in secondary math education.  Ms. Ricardo has a Masters of Education in Teaching and is also a PhD Candidate in Social Psychology.  She has worked in schools in Hawaii and on the mainland where she has designed and instructed creative learning activities for reading comprehension and language arts that focused on developing critical thinking behaviors.  She also redesigned middle school Language Arts, History and Religion units into a trans-disciplinary curriculum incorporating differentiated instructional strategies and alternative performance-based assessments. These two amazing teachers make up a power team that we definitely want to save!
 
What we need:
It has been a tough few years for Hanalei School students, staff and families--from the April 2018 Flood, to the pandemic and now the recent landslide which has forced students and staff to deal with the struggle of just getting to and from school.  Our teachers have been defying the odds and continue to put their hearts and souls into making Hanalei School a great place for our students.   As a community, we want to give back and raise the money we know we can to save a teaching position and support innovative and effective teaching.  Our goal is to raise $35,000 by June 1st.   But, if we can exceed that goal, that would be even better!  Anything we raise beyond $35,000 will go to straight to the Hanalei School PTA to support future staffing needs and other critical areas for the school.  So please, make a donation today --- we can do this together!  

Mahalo nui loa,
Hanalei School PTA & the 5th grade parent fundraising team:

Melanie Parker
Jen Luck
Kerrin Murphy
Angie Bresnahan
Ben Welborn
Courtney Welborn
Lorrie Meyercord
Neil Dana

 Hanalei School PTSA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and your donation is tax deductible
Donate

Donations 

  • Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay
    • $1,000 (Offline)
    • 3 yrs
  • Mark Eljenholm
    • $100 
    • 3 yrs
  • Hannah Meloche
    • $250 
    • 3 yrs
  • Jill Woodman
    • $1,000 
    • 3 yrs
  • Meredith Meyercord
    • $2,000 
    • 3 yrs
Donate

Organizer

Melanie Parker
Organizer
Princeville, HI
Hanalei School PTSA
 
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily.

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about.

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the  GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.