Laupahoehoe school to open with new staff

By COLIN M. STEWART

Tribune-Herald Staff Writer

When the students at Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School arrive for their first day of class on Aug. 1, they should plan on seeing a lot of new faces at the head of the class.

While this will be the first year in operation for the charter school, it will be as a conversion of the existing building at Laupahoehoe High and Elementary School. The facilities and many of the students will remain the same, but only one of that school’s original teachers has so far agreed to return to work at the new charter school, said spokesman Steven Strauss.

The school received a total of 200 applications for various positions, he said, and has extended offers to a total of 21 teachers, only one of whom declined.

“We will have teachers from Hawaii, some from the mainland, and two from Alaska,” Strauss said. “Some with charter school experience, and quite a few with master’s degrees in education or a related field.”

In addition, he said, the school has extended offers for employment to custodial staff, office staff, service workers, and others.

The school plans on offering all of the sports offered previously, and several coaches from last year will be returning.

“Right now, we’re actively searching for a girls’ volleyball and boys’ basketball coach, among others,” Strauss added.

Meanwhile, the school has announced its selection of David Rizor as its new principal, or director of operations.

The former director of Volcano School of Arts and Sciences, Rizor will begin at Laupahoehoe on July 1, the same day that the charter school officially takes possession of the school’s facilities from the state Department of Education, and one month from the first day of classes.

Rizor responded to a number of questions via email this week, calling the launch of the new school an “exciting chapter for the Hamakua Coast and for education on the Big Island.”

As someone with prior experience at charter schools, Rizor said he intends for his primary focus to fall on the students.

“Charter schools are only successful if they provide educational opportunities that students and parents want, and that provide both positive academic and social-emotional results. This creates a great philosophical base that centers decisions on the needs of students. Because of this student-centered philosophy, charter schools are typically very nimble and responsive to student needs,” he said.

As for his philosophy on smoothing over the hurt feelings left in the community over the events of the last few years as the school prepared for the conversion to charter, the new director said he will be quick to respond to parents and community members’ questions.

“Any change of this magnitude comes with concerns and fears,” he said. “Our school will be very transparent and willing to address those concerns and fears. However, I plan to put my energy into looking toward the future and creating a great school.”

Rizor holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wyoming.

When it comes to the students at the new school, Strauss says Laupahoehoe anticipates attendance numbers to be fairly close to those of last year, between 210 and 220 students.

The push for charter conversion at Laupahoehoe has been a long road, and it appeared at times that it might be stalled by an anti-charter movement led largely by teachers at the school who feared having to choose between staying at the school or remaining Department of Education employees.

In April, however, a Third Circuit Court judge dismissed an appeal seeking to halt the conversion process. The appeal had been filed by teachers and the Hawaii State Teachers Association, claiming that the charter’s interim board was acting illegally in planning to hold elections for a permanent school board after the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.

According to Strauss, that election has been scheduled by the interim board for Sept. 6.

For more information about the charter school, visit www.laupahoehoecharterschool.com.

Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.