Some Native Hawaiians Are Forgotten at Kamehameha Schools
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;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ofÞcial will declares that native Hawaiian students Some native be considered Þrst for admission to Kamehameha Schools. The mission and statement of purpose of Hawaiians are Kamehameha Schools can be found on the ofÞcial joint-website of Kamehameha Schools & Bishop forgotten at Estate, KSBE.edu. The ofÞcial mission and statement of purpose declares: Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha SchoolsÕ mission is to fulÞll PauahiÕs desire to create educational opportunities in perpetuity to improve by M Fujii the capability and well-being of people of Hawaiian ancestry [. .]. Change is the law of life. And those who look Kamehameha Schools admits children only to the past or present are certain to miss the who show potential and who are able, in a future. timely and satisfactory manner, to meet all -John F. Kennedy, academic, physical and religious activity 35th President of the United States requirements, which together comprise the fundamental nature of a Kamehameha The Kamehameha Schools admissions policy is education. Kamehameha admits children an interesting topic of debate. While many recognize on the premise that they have the intent and Kamehameha Schools for its involvement in the ability to graduate from Kamehameha (5 & 9). case of John Doe v. Kamehameha Schools, there are How is ignoring the education of special needs other negative aspects of the admissions policy. For students improving Òthe capability and well- example, applicants from lightly-populated areas of being of people of Hawaiian ancestryÓ? And why HawaiÕi often cannot attend Kamehameha Schools should native Hawaiian students with disabilities because of the low admittance quota set for their be excluded from Òthe fundamental nature of a area. Also, there is the problem of applicants who Kamehameha educationÓ when Pauahi intended for are denied admission due to being diagnosed with all native Hawaiian children to be well-educated? psychological/physical disabilities. If Princess Was Kamehameha Schools not created to educate the Bernice Pauahi Bishop intended to improve the native Hawaiian youth who will be the leaders of health of native Hawaiians and hoped for all native tomorrow? If the goal of the princess was to take the Hawaiian generations to have the kind of education native Hawaiian children from each generation and offered at Kamehameha Schools, why are native teach them to become Ògood and industrious men Hawaiians from rural areas and disabled native and womenÓ (Bishop, par. 14), then how is it that the Hawaiians being excluded from an education at the Bishop trustees have forgotten about the 40% of native school she created? Hawaiians who are disabled? The admissions policy was created by the However, on the ÒQuestions and Answers About Bishop Estate trustees when Kamehameha Schools Admissions PoliciesÓ page of the Kamehameha was founded in 1887. Using the thirteenth article of Schools & Bishop Estate website, there is a quote the PrincessÕs will (posted on Kamehameha SchoolÕs from Princess PauahiÕs husband Charles Reed Bishop ofÞcial site, KSBE.Edu), the trustees devised the indicating that Kamehameha Schools encourages current policy that moves the children with native only the elite-potentials to apply. Charles Bishop Hawaiian blood to the top of the list of applicants. was appointed by Pauahi to become President of the The policy states that preference would also be given Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate Board of Trustees and to orphans and indigence children. Many people was also the therefore carried out much of his late who knew the princess say that Pauahi meant for wifeÕs orders. In a letter to Samuel Damon, Bishop all disadvantaged native Hawaiians to be properly wrote: educated, with the money from the trust fund she left [ . ] it was intended and expected that the behind. Hawaiians having aboriginal blood would The admission policy states that PauahiÕs have preference, provided that those of ���� suitable age, health, character and intellect many people. For the Kapalama campus, studentsÕ should apply in numbers sufÞcient to make grades, previous extracurricular activities, reading up a good school (par. 11). comprehension, general mathematics, and writing One can clearly see that Charles Reed uses the ability are examined. The admissions department phrase Òsuitable age, health, character and intellectÓ also requires that all applicants submit two teacher in this statement, which any person would take to references. Applicants are then ranked based on mean smart and non-disabled students. It seems that individual scores and greatest need of the student. Kamehameha School caters to the needs of the native Hawaiian student who has no special needs and who can achieve high academic achievements. Students who are accepted from rural areas face In 1975, Kamehameha Schools implemented additional problems because the school reserves a system that separates the state of HawaiÕi into seven its boarding facilities for neighbor island students different districts. The seven districts are: OÕahu, only. Students from the other side of the island of Moloka`i, Lana`i, Kaua`i, Ni`ihau, West Hawai`i, and HawaiÕi must commute from their homes everyday. Hana, MauÕi. For each district a quota is set, limiting The HawaiÕi Campus and Maui Campus both do not the number of applicants that can be admitted from currently offer boarding to its students. Because of that district. Each quota depends on the percentage the lack of boarding facilities available, students who of native Hawaiians who are residents in that district. live as far away as in Kohala, which is about 2 hours Kamehameha Schools works with the Department from Kamehameha Schools HawaiÕi Campus, must of Education to collect data on the number of native commute each day to school. Hawaiians in each district (KSBE.Edu, 17-18). Paulsen In 2006, the number of diagnosed disabilities was gave this example: if a district has a native Hawaiian at its all-time high. Back in 1887, when Kamehameha population of 30%, then 30% of the total number of Schools was founded, there were not as many applicants accepted to Kamehameha Schools will be disabilities as compared to the world today. However, from that district (Paulsen). This is not fair because today, in Hawaii alone there are 150,000 people in rural areas, the percentage of native Hawaiians who have disabilities. Of that count, an estimated will generally be lower than other areas. This results 65,000 are native Hawaiians. These people have all in a fewer number of students from rural areas being sorts of disabilities, ranging from mental to sensory accepted to Kamehameha Schools, in comparison with (visually-/hearing-impaired, deaf) to self-care heavily-populated areas such as Honolulu. Thus, it is (bathing, getting dressed, etc.) to physical disabilities much more difÞcult for applicants from rural areas to (University of California, 1). Unfortunately, the achieve admittance to Kamehameha Schools. number of disabled Hawaiians is only rising. As Ann Students must apply for admission to Pobutsky, Robert Hirokawa, and Florentina Reyes- Kamehameha Schools each year. All Kamehameha Salvail reveal in ÒEstimates of Disability Among students who have been accepted to Kamehameha Ethnic Groups in HawaiiÓ, a report for the Hawaii Schools in previous years are subject to this test as State Department of Health, native Hawaiians have well. In order to continue receiving an education at a higher disability rate than any other ethnic group this well-known school, students must be re-admitted in Hawaii (par. 1). The researchers of the document to Kamehameha Schools for their high school years. report: According to the admissions page of KSBE.Edu, [. .] Native Hawaiians [. .] have the worst Kamehameha Schools receives an average of 900 health in Hawaii compared to other ethnic groups [. applications for the ninth grade every year at the . .] Native Hawaiians have death rates 4 times higher Kapalama campus (KSBE.Edu, 9). For the 2007-2008 than all other ethnic groups combined, as well as high school year, at the Kapalama Campus on Oahu, there rates of chronic diseases and debilitating conditions is a total of 130 open spaces, whereas at the Maui such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease (18). Campus and the HawaiÕi Campus there are 24 and From this report, we can see that native 48 open spaces, respectively, for the 2007-2008 school Hawaiians have many health problems. Compared year. That gives each applicant a 1 in 7 chance of to Filipino, Caucasian, Japanese, and other ethnicities, being admitted to this prestigious school. native Hawaiians have a much higher death rate due Generally, the majority of applicants from rural to disabilities. areas do not achieve the same high marks as students Upon examining Kamehameha Schools, who hail from wealthy schools, such as Punahou it was discovered that although this elite private High School or Moanalua High School. In addition, school is ADA-approved, it has no special education the testing and interview is difÞcult and stressful to program. And for that matter, the school does not ���� accept students with special needs. The only time WORKS CITED Kamehameha School ofÞcials deal with students with special needs is when a student who has already been Bishop, Ke AliÕi Bernice Pauahi Paki. Will and accepted to the school becomes diagnosed with a Codicils. Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate. 10 disability. Even then, the school does not personally April 2007. <http://www.ksbe.edu/pauahi/will.php>. help improve the health of the students. The school works to enroll the student in Assets School, a private Montez, Diana. ÒQuestions and Answers about KS institution for special education students, or contracts Admissions Policies.Ó Kamehameha Schools out for professional third-party help. Paulsen Bishop Estate. 12 February 2007. <http://www.ksbe. explains, ÒGenerally, depending on the nature of the edu/admissions/policy.html>. diagnosis, the students can stay at the school. [The school] contracts out for psychiatric help.Ó KSBE.Edu.