Campbell High School

Growth and Change in the New School Year

 

Aloha Saber parents, guardians and friends. Welcome back to another new and exciting year!

 

     Thank you all for supporting Vice Principal Jamie Dela Cruz as Acting Principal while I served as the Campbell/ Kapolei Acting Complex Area Superintendent. The experience was a valuable learning opportunity for me. Mr. Dela Cruz has done an exemplary job in my absence.

    

     With the new year comes growth and change. Our JCHS family is larger than ever, with new faces in the faculty due to the addition of seven new positions, and an enrollment that has increased to 2,700 students. With the additions, we’ve also reorganized, with former Counselor Warren Izumigawa now serving as an additional Registrar, and former Health Occupations teacher Julie Ramos and former Special Education teacher, Dean of Students and Data Analyst Noel Kabasawa both transitioning to the position of College and Career Dean of Students. In addition, Alisa Bender, former 10th grade Academy Coordinator, will now be the 11th and 12th grade Dean of Students. Alisa was also recently named Leeward Teacher of the Year!

 

     Summer was productive for many of our Sabers. We had approximately 400 students enrolled in summer school to accelerate, remediate, or complete credit make-up, thanks to Summer School Director Noel Kabasawa. Our efforts to help JCHS students succeed continue beyond summer through during- and afterschool tutoring, Twilight school, credit recovery courses, Credit Club, Saturday School, Running Start and on-campus Leeward Community College courses, Guided Study, and our Extended Learning Program, held throughout the year. Please also encourage your students to take advantage of the various resources we have available online, such as the NovaNET credit recovery programs and SAT/ACT Test Prep. Our focus for this coming year will be to continue helping our students thrive in the classroom and beyond. We have been implementing the Johns Hopkins Talent Development model with our Ninth and 10th graders, a comprehensive reform model to address issues with attendance, discipline, achievement scores and dropout rates that includes organizational and management changes to establish a positive school climate.

 

     Congrats to our hardworking 2009 Senior class that graduated 14 valedictorians and collectively amassed $13 million in scholarship awards. You will find a list of student college acceptances and scholarship award information in this edition of Saber Paws. I am so proud of our students, whose hard work has paid off with acceptances to prestigious schools such as Stanford University, Brown University, UCLA, USC, and more.

With the school year once again gearing up, we will need all of your help in collecting Free and Reduced Lunch Applications. We just barely made the 35 percent eligibility rate, and with a 100 percent return, we can ensure our school will have the federal funding to use for various school programs that benefit all students at JCHS. I am counting on all of you to bring in those applications.

   

     Lastly, I regret to inform you that I will be retiring as your Principal effective Aug. 1, 2010. I have accepted a principal position at E.J. King High School in Sasebo, Japan, and look forward to living closer to my sister there. It was a very difficult decision for me to move, since the students, faculty and staff at James Campbell High School have truly been my second family throughout the years. I will miss working with all of you. Vice Principal Jamie Dela Cruz will continue on as Acting Principal until further notice.

 

     Thank you in advance for your commitment and professionalism to high rigor and standards. We have a lot to be proud of at James Campbell High School because of your continuous commitment, loyalty and trust. Best wishes for another outstanding year. Although I will not be here physically, my heart will always be here with you.

 

Mahalo nui loa,

Dr. Gail Awakuni, Ph. D.

Principal