Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) announced that Kalani High School and Maui High School have been selected to receive a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) Program. The two schools have joined a consortium of eight other high schools in Hawaii, termed Model High Schools, comprised of Kauai High School, Lahainaluna High School, Waiakea High School, Campbell High School, Kaimuki High School, Roosevelt High School, Waianae High School, and Waipahu High School, as participants in Hawaii's Plan To Redesign High Schools pilot projects.

"Kalani and Maui High Schools, which have higher than state average numbers of special education and Section 504 students, have successfully completed the planning phase of the SLC program," Akaka noted. "This grant will allow both schools to build upon the successes of the Model High Schools SLC programs."

The SLC Program is a competitive federal grant program that allows large high schools to plan, implement, or expand smaller learning communities within their schools. Grantees may use their funds to: (1) study the feasibility of creating SLCs; (2) research, develop, and implement strategies for creating SLCs; (3) provide professional development for school staff in the teaching methods that would be used in the smaller learning community; and (4) develop and implement strategies to include parents, business representatives, community-based organizations, and other community members in the activities of the SLCs.