 Welcome back to Think Tech. I'm Jay Fidel. This is Military in Hawaii. We like to study the military in Hawaii. We want to see the interface between the military and the community in general. So we look at some of the officers who have retired. We look at some of the officers running big installations that hire a lot of local people. And today we're looking at transition centers. This is very interesting. It's also an interface on the DOE level where kids meet kids and teachers meet kids that have come from out of town with military families and transition means coming and going to DOE, which is very important. And we have for this discussion Sherry Okahara and Kim Sanders. Sherry is a transition center person and Kim Sanders is a principal, but they work together on transition centers. Welcome to the show you guys. Thank you for having us. So I just want to ask you one question before we begin our picture show. Ready? Why do we care about transition centers? Why is it important? Why is it important to the community in Hawaii? Why is it important to the military community that lives and works here? I'll take any answer. Well transition centers are so important to our children. For them to feel like they belong right away when they first come to a new place. They're stressed as it is with a move. And so to go into a new school and not know anyone, it's a little frightening. So it's nice to have a place where they know they can go and make friends and right away belong. Yeah, what would you add to that, Sherry? I would say that transition centers have been able to help all students, including our local transient English language learners are housing insecure. And of course our military dependents. You mean homeless? Yes. Oh, very important. Gee, what an important function that is. Now you guys are the transition center facilities are funded by a federal grad. Can you talk about that, Sherry? Well, I wanted to start with some of the history of how transition centers came about in Hawaii. Currently about 11,000 or about 7% of our student population here in Hawaii are military dependents. These students face unique transition challenges in a unique cultural setting. In 1998, a plan to form a task force to determine how the military could facilitate quality education in Hawaii public schools was initiated. The Joint Venture Education Forum or JVF was established in 1999 to develop an equally committed and involved partnership in pursuit of a quality education for all of Hawaii's children. JVF received with the help of Senator Daniel Inoi received earmarks through those years. In 2010 through JVF the DODA appropriated funds to Hawaii Department of Education Schools to start transition centers. And so we credit schools, Radford and Lelehua High Schools, both highly military impacted schools serving mainly Army, Air Force and Navy families for developing these wonderful transition centers and programs. They have shared their best practices with other schools that in turn have started their own such as Ewa Makai, which Principal Sanders is a is principal of. So how many are there all together in Hawaii? There's quite a bit. Actually, I don't have that number, but I can tell you for the grant in 2017 in partnership with community partners, the Hawaii DEU, we committed $250,000 annually for four years using federal impact aid funds for transition center creation, improvements, technology, furnishings and special events to date 50 public schools from all across four counties have benefited from this effort, which we named the Takai Transition Center Network in honor of the late Congressman K. Mark Takai, who was a staunch advocate for Hawaii's students and supporter of military dependence throughout his career. Totally appropriate. Mark Takai appeared in our shows a number of times. So, Kim, can we talk about what happens in a transition center? What happens, you know, on all sides of the transaction? So last year, we started our first transition center here in Ewa Makai, and it was a little bit different than it is now because of the pandemic. But what we did was right away as a student comes in, we welcome them with a lay. The students take them around to their classes. They have lunch with them. They make sure right away they pull them in and that they have a, you know, they feel special here. It was really interesting because the students have started to develop exactly what it looks like. So we have about, we originally had about 65 students that wanted to be what we call ambassadors, where they're the ambassadors to our school, welcoming these new students. What a lovely idea. What a lovely idea. It touches me that you set it up that way. Yes. And now we have about 35 that are definitely in it and, you know, want to be there at the full force of it. And they've decided that they wanted to have workshops. They started different things. They have games during lunch. So again, just pulling those in, we have lunch bunch where they have they have games and activities. So everybody feels like they're important and that they belong. So is this just for welcoming or is this go, you know, at least in concept through the entire term? What, how long does it last? So it lasts the whole year. We check in with them all year long. This year's been a little bit different because we are at distance learning, but our students were still creative. Our coordinator is Lolita Ayala, and she has been amazing. Like today was a time at 1115. We had what we call a lunch bunch. We invited some of the new students. I got a chance to talk with them, find out their hobbies, what they like. And then again, our students are welcoming them through virtual Google classrooms or Google Meets and just making sure that they're feeling good about Hawaii. They're learning a little bit more about Hawaii from the students that are already here. You know, I'm looking at Lewis Carroll and the you know, the Ghost of Christmas past. What was it like without the transition centers? What problems emerged and how had the transition centers solved those problems, Kim? I think, and again, having been a military child myself and been in those positions, I did. I worried about who was I going to eat lunch with? Was I going to be sitting by myself? What was going to happen? Was I going to be able to find my glasses? So and seeing it through my children's eyes also, every time we moved, I felt that it was something that was super important here at our school to make sure that as soon as they come, they have friends right away and they feel like like they're part of the school and they get involved faster because we know that when students are involved in schools, they do better academically. So again, right away, I think that was what was important for me to be able to do. It was interesting because this last year, I decided to shadow a student that was new just to see what it was like. So I dressed as a student. The kids got a pretty good kick out of it, me coming to their classes with this student. But it was you couldn't have done that for us today. Sorry. So it was really great because, again, I got to see how our children interacted with a new student, and it was marvelous. It was so nice to see that it has evolved into something where we do look at the social emotional learning of our children and how important it is in every school. Is it perfect or are there wrinkles? There are sometimes few wrinkles because, again, there are some shy students that, you know, back off, you know, at first, but then once they realize how genuine our students are, they come around and they and they want to be involved in it. What a lovely idea. By the way, I said Louis Carroll, I was wrong with. It was Charles Dickens wrote the Ghost of Christmas. A Christmas story, I think that was it. Anyway, OK, so let's do a let's do a picture show, Cherry. In fact, you can both join and describe the pictures. We have a few of them and I want to sort of give people the flavor of how you operate these rooms and how the social engagement works in these rooms among the people who are involved. So let's start the picture show now. The principal centers, do you want to take this one? Yes. So this is this is our students. These are the ambassadors that started the transition center. And this was our dedication last year. And we were so lucky because Sammy Takai, Mark Takai's wife had shown up and and actually cut the ribbon for us for our dedication for the Art Takai Center, which was really it just heartfelt by all of us. So there's a picture of our CAS, CAS Tajima and and also our coordinator who works with the students throughout the year. But they the students at this one, it was really great because they set up little stations for everyone that came to see what they do. And they have de-stress stations where they they talk about de-stressing, you know, especially in middle school, some of our students stress over their grades and things like that. And they had one center on on all about Hawaii and they talked about Musa B and how to make it, things like that that were really great. OK, the next one. This is a map of the schools that have benefited from the Takai transition center network. So about, I said, about 50 schools have benefited so far from the grant funding throughout all four counties. OK. And we wanted to recognize some of our community partners that have assisted with the transition center efforts. One of them is Hawaii Business Roundtable with the K-Mark Takai Foundation and other generous sponsors as listed on on that flyer from this year's Transition Center's Best Practices Conference. We're able to bring together school staff and especially our students because it's important to hear from our student ambassadors and leaders of the student voice. So they've come together and the Hawaii Business Roundtable with their generous efforts have put on a one day transition center's Best Practices Conference, where we're able to provide a sense of school community support. They find resources and just for the students and transition center coordinators who sometimes also play the role of the parent center networking group. And so they're able to share their activities and best practices at this conference valuable. And what started with that was school started to ask Radford High School, Lelehua High School and their transition centers and student ambassadors about their units of instruction. How are you doing your lunch bunch? How are you welcoming your students? So it was a way of saying these are our students that we're catering this program and the center around. However, what about folks that are catering to our housing insecure or English language learners? So we wanted to be able to just say not just military dependents need help with transition. All students need. OK. What's this? This one is more fortunate to have had different schools throughout our transition center's Best Practices Conference present. So some of this one lists Kailua Intermediate, Lehu Elementary and Hickam Elementary schools that have presented in years past. We've also had Kapolei Middle, Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary, Kala Hill High School, Solomon Elementary and Eva Makai in the second year. So we're just trying to gather from all different high school, middle and elementary levels and different student populations and how they help them. OK, here's another one. This is a great picture. This is our Pearl Harbor Kai students with our superintendent, Dr. Christina Kishimoto and our deputy, Phyllis Unibusami. So at these transition centers, the schools that I have already presented in the previous years, they're allowed to have resource tables and so they can go around even though they're not presenting that year, they're still able to share their activities and best practices during that networking time. So this was the first one and we had it at the Hawai'i Okinawan Center and it was such a big event that Mr. Gary Kai and Hawai'i Business Roundtable said, oh, we'll promote you to the Pumaikai Ballrooms so that we could have actual group sessions divided. So it was we were pleasantly surprised with the amount of folks that attended the first one. So that was with the group of students with Mr. Gary Kai. This is great because this is at Kala Hill High School. We want to make sure that each of our complexes are sharing. So, for example, this is that Kailua Kala Hill complex and they were able to open their transition center and we have supporters like Mr. James Sunday from Radford High School, who was able to share their program and they were able to come in that day. We also have pitcher Ms. Kaui Lucas of Hawai'i Three R's and CAS complex area superintendent LaNell Hibbs in that picture and other community supporters. This one is great because the Takai family actually was able to attend this. They're calling it the Ohana Transition Center at Lehua Elementary and Congressman Takai had ties to that community. That's where he was raised and where his children also attended school. So we wanted to feature that one. These are our principals and students that were participating in the student panel. That year we had Radford, Pearl Harbor Kai and Lehua administrators and students sharing their experiences during that panel. It was moderated by Teresa Sanchez, also a wonderful supporter of this effort. And this was at Hickam Elementary on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam. We're not only supported by different community organizations and businesses but the senior military folks. And we were really grateful that they took time out of their day to come and listen to the students and explain their center. So this was at the Hickam Elementary Transition Center opening. This was at the conference as well. We have complex area superintendent Robert Davis and Deputy Huni Basami with the ambassadors from Radford and Lehua. Okay, I think that's it, right? So let me ask you, how long have you been doing this, Cherry? It sounds like it's quite a while already, huh? I became the Hawaii DUE military liaison in 2004 after having worked in the Hawaii P-20 partnerships for education with the college and career readiness. I had a short stint with the Department of Transportation in all divisions. But I actually started my career at the Hawaii State Legislature, working for former Senator Norman Sakamoto. And we were education and military affairs for some years. So I have quite a background and I actually did attend some joint venture education forums during my time there. Yeah, and you reminded me that you and I met at that time. I really liked him, by the way. I thought he was very, very good. Yeah. He was wonderful. And I also wanted to comment that during that time we did create the Hawaii Medal of Honor with Congressman Sakai honoring those those families. So how much participation comes from the military on this? We know we have the military kids and you know, at least one of those photographs were military officers involved or personnel, I should say. But how much engagement do you have between the transition centers and, you know, the commands of the various bases? They've been supportive in the sense of different transition center openings. But I feel that the principals have allowed senior military folks or even military families to come and see these transition centers. And I'm not sure principal Sanders, if any of the folks have been able to visit your school, but at the Joint Venture Education Forum meetings, we've discussed this effort and they're they're full in support because transition is a quality of life issue for them as well. Yeah, let me let me turn to you, Kim. And you know, we're in COVID. I don't want to remind you of anything unpleasant, but that changes schools. It changes kids. It changes parents. It changes certainly the teachers and the administrators and all that. So how has COVID changed this program? How you mentioned before that now you were doing more online with Zoom and various other remote systems, but how has it changed the program? So that was it was a challenge. So one of the things that my coordinator suggested, and I thought was brilliant idea, was to actually bring the families in and we do an orientation. So she spends about an hour with them, masks on six feet distance, but we give a chance for the student to see the school because, you know, otherwise it's just they see the outside and they don't know what it feels like to be inside the school. So we do give them a chance to come into the school with our coordinator. They go through a lot of the paperwork and things that are happening at our school. And then we get a chance for the students to actually meet again virtually through a Google group they have. But we've had also coffee mornings with the parents because we want the parents to be involved also and start getting involved in the school with their child and also feel like this is their home too. And then some of the things that the students are doing they sent me a whole little list. They've been working on some murals that when they do come back, they're going to be painting on the walls that are welcome murals, which again, I love student work in our schools. And then they also have again the something that they do for the students that are leaving too. Because again, when students are leaving, it's also very heart wrenching when we have to say goodbye. So they designed and I can show you real quick, they designed these little posters that they send to the students and they just when they get to their new place, wherever they move to, they get a postcard from our students saying, how are you doing? You know, we miss you and just we keep that love going. You know, so it's a pen pal relationship on into the years, which is a real gift for everybody involved. Yeah. So it's just kind of program, you know, available in schools on the mainland. Is this a national program we have here? And if so, is it being done the same way elsewhere? You know, I'll let Cherry tell you about that because she probably has more details on that. You know, we've been fortunate to present our transition center efforts at our Military Impacted Schools Association and our National Association of Federally Impacted Schools. You know, this effort can be replicated throughout the nation as well as other schools. And so we've also was able to share it with our Department of Defense Education Activity Executive Director and the Pacific Director that visited with Dr. Kishimoto through the years. So they each time they've come, they've wanted to visit a transition center. So it's a program that I believe other schools throughout the country can learn from. Oh, fabulous. That's really valuable that we can export our best practices that way. You know, I was going to ask you also about about the difference. I don't mean divisive difference, but the difference between kids in the military or kids who come from military rotations, you know, because every two years or so, the average military person is rotated. And when that happens, a kid goes with him and then you have kids who actually, although it's stressful, I'm sure, but it's also pretty valuable. Travel is broadening, isn't it? And these kids have been around even at very young ages. And I'm thinking that when they come to a school where the kids have not necessarily been around, there is an exchange going on. On the one hand, the local kids are saying, gee, that's terrific that he's been all over or she's been all over the world. And the kids who've been all over the world, they probably have a thrill by telling the local kids about their travels, you know. So it's a it's a it's a positive exchange. Isn't it? Can you tell me about that, Kim? Yes, you know, that you hit it right. Exactly right. There's different ones from different places and it is it's nice because we do have them share where they're from, because we want them to be proud of where they came from. And now we want them to be proud of where they're at. But our students is kind of interesting. One of the things that's been happening is the students that have been the ones that are moving are the ones that tend to want to be our ambassadors. They're the ones that want to give back to the students that that help them transition into our school, which I think is called paying forward in the nonprofit world, paying forward. Yeah, but also they bring a lot to us. So we've had students from other countries too. Many of our English learners that come in, they actually want to be part of the group and it's helped them with their English for one thing. But also we've had them as our speakers and actually some of our ambassadors that have been presenting at some of these transition centers meetings. And it's it's really helped them to feel good about themselves when they're talking about how they transitioned and how people help them. And now they're helping back. So yeah, it's been it's been awesome. You must get a lot of gratification out of this psychic benefit. And I would imagine the same thing with the teachers who were involved because you see them, you know, this interaction and you see the you know, the best things coming out of these kids. You know, it's a it's an improvement in their life. It's a special quality, special nutrient they're getting in the process of this transition. Can you talk about that? Yeah, it just I feel like it empowers them to feel again, like they that they that they're helping someone else. And I think that's what we all want to do. We all want to to help someone and makes make make someone's life better. So again, those service projects, those type of things, especially in middle school for our children to to see how important it is to take care of each other, take care of our community. It's it's giant. Yeah, sounds like it. One other thing I wanted to cover, you know, you mentioned earlier, cherry, that part part of the benefit, the group benefited in this is the ones who are who are not who don't have homes. And you have them in the schools and thus you have them in the transition centers as well. How does that work? Of course, I could imagine how it works mechanically. But how does that work socially? How does that work when they engage with the other kids and the other kids coming, going, what have you shoulder to shoulder? How does it work between the homeless kids and the other and the student body in general? I think Principal Sanders mentioned the sense of belonging, you know, you want to be part of the school community, you want to be part of your grade level activities as well as the bigger community. These students who come to our transition centers find a safe place to come, meet friends, have lunch, talk story with an adult or just sit down, like they just want to have a safe place because something happened in the playground or outside. We want all our students to feel that they can go to a transition center, no matter what families that they're coming from. So our housing insecure, I wanted to provide an example here on Oahu central middle and Waianae high schools requested to use their funds to purchase washer and dryers for their housing insecure students. So that was wonderful that they're using that to cater towards that population. That's great. A couple of other things before we go. And that is, you know, a lot people in the community have anxiety about COVID about catching COVID about having kids catch COVID and bring it home and all that. What what are you seeing in that regard, Kim? What are you seeing what how people expressing themselves on that point to you? I suppose the kids have thoughts about that, but also their parents and your and your teachers as well. We're trying to stay as positive as we can and do as much as we can in innovative ways. So we've done welcoming videos where our students, we do have a few come on. We rotate some students on to the campus for learning. I think most of our families understand that we're trying to be safe and and I think they're with us on that as far as it's very important to take care of our community. Our teachers have been fabulous. They have been so good about developing programs and working with our students on Google classrooms that they haven't really missed a beat as far as having the students on. And I think they're really building those relationships with the students, even though they can't be close by. They have time to where they're they're talking to the students and finding out how they're doing. But we are putting a lot of safety measures in place and getting ready to hopefully have them back on campus because we do miss them a lot. It's not the same. No, I'm sure. So, Cherry, you know, if if if I were the legislature, sometimes I think I'll wake up one morning and be the legislature and maybe the governor too. It wouldn't be constitutional, but I could get some stuff done. I promise you that. What would you ask me to do to improve this program? What more? What additional support? What additional money would you ask me for? What additional connections would you ask me to provide? I think additional funding from either state government funding is definitely welcome. However, with the, you know, budget restraints on both federal and state, we need to be creative and asking our business and community as well as our military partners of how we can assist all students in transitioning, but helping all students, you know, get back to normal. And so this program of the transition center efforts with our schools, we definitely want people to know more about it, but also that it can be replicated throughout the state. I have other examples from Kauai as well as on the Big Island of how they're using their transition centers to reach different populations. And so I believe if we ask our state and federal legislators to support the effort, that would be wonderful. Reminds me of a show we did with KHA High School in Kona, up Malka, Kona. And the principle there, I think his name was Murakami, was a really wonderful man. Mr. Will Murakami. Yeah. He was concerned that the parents of some of the Pacific Islanders didn't have to balance that checkbooks or shop in the store. And so he would create classes for the kids on these subjects, but then he would invite the parents too. And they would all come in and learn about the fundamentals of living in Kona. And I thought that was really a wonderful idea. So what you're doing really is extendable, extensible to other functions. It's not only transitioning with military goods, it's transitioning in general. It's a welcome wagon kind of thing where it pays off in so many great rewards. OK, we're about done, Kim. I'm going to give you the last word. So what message you want to leave with our viewers today, Kim Sanders? Just keep supporting our transition centers and our children are really resilient. They're doing really well. And I'm so proud of them, especially in the middle levels. But I know that a lot of our complex, Campbell, Kapolei, are all starting transition centers, actually down the road. Campbell High School is starting one this year. So they see the value in it. So again, keep supporting us and then other schools that are out there. This is a great chance for you to start something for our children, for all children to feel welcomed and belonging in Hawaii. Yeah, our most important resource. So, you know, you should feel this. You should feel this, Kim and Cherry, that we're there with you. We're there in the room. Thank you so much. Kim Sanders, Cherry Okahara. Appreciate your coming on. Aloha.