By Dennis Camire
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Education, the Native Hawaiian Education Council and local councils have failed to fulfill many of their responsibilities under a federal program to improve the education of Native Hawaiians, says a report released yesterday.
The Government Accountability Office report said little is known about the impact of the $30 million-a-year program on Native Hawaiian education.
Colin Kippen, executive director for the Native Hawaiian Education Council, which oversees the statewide program, said that overall, the report helps the program. That's because the federal Education Department has shown little interest in it.
"We really needed to bring some attention to this program," Kippen said. "I'm really pleased with the results of this report because it identifies the things that we can do to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of the program and how we can better manage it."
The report, requested by the council and Sens. Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel Akaka, both Hawai'i Democrats, said the federal Education Department hasn't evaluated the Native Hawaiian Education Act because of its relatively small cost to the federal government.
Akaka said he hoped the report's recommendations can help make the program better and more accountable "to improve educational opportunities for Native Hawaiian students."
The program, created in 1988, is designed to develop innovative and cultural-based educational curriculum for Native Hawaiian students, who as a group often score below national averages on standardized tests and who are over-represented in special education.
Under the program, more than 100 grants have been awarded to more than 30 Hawai'i organizations. Those grants have helped pay for early education, family-based education centers, reading and literacy programs in English and Hawaiian, and help for disabled and gifted students.
Inouye is proud of the program's accomplishments, said Mike Yuen, the senator's spokesman.
"He sought the audit because, at a time when competition for federal funds is tight, he wanted greater transparency to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used efficiently," Yuen said.
The report found that academic research, while showing educational improvements among Native Hawaiians, does not say whether the program contributed to the gains. Those gains include increases in preschool enrollment and in high school and college graduation rates.
"Some grantees have reported positive outcomes in education and other areas for Native Hawaiians served by (the program's) grants," the report said. "However, the extent to which (the program) has contributed to these outcomes has not been determined."
The report faults the Education Department for not creating a way to capture basic information on the program's activities.
"Our council has been critical of the fact that the performance measures used by the department are not well aligned with the purpose of the (program) and that it has not done a very good job of measuring success under this grant program," said Namaka Rawlins, chairwoman of the Native Hawaiian Education Council.
The Education Department has taken limited steps to improve management of the grants and plans to address remaining weaknesses, the report said.
The report also criticized the Native Hawaiian Education Council, saying it has not conducted an assessment, provided recommendations to target grant money or until recently provided annual reports to the Education Department, the report said.
But Kippen said the Education Department controlled the flow of information and the council was unable to get access.
"We've never received any data from them," he said. "We've been promised it in the future, and I think that is one of the positive things that is going to happen as a result of this report."
The report also faulted six island councils established to provide input, saying they may not have fulfilled their responsibilities to represent their communities' interests on the statewide council and help advance the goals of the education program.
The report noted the Maui council disbanded in 2006 in a dispute over the use of funds. The report also said the island councils, except Kaua'i, have not assessed and reported on community needs and priorities.
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