Earlier today I headed off to Oʻahu with our Mixed Varsity Paddling Crew for them to represent Kauaʻi and Island School at the States paddling competition alongside the Waimea HS Varsity Girls Crew and the Kauaʻi HS Varsity Boys Crew. I'm so proud to have the chance to witness these hard-working athletes as they aim to get on the podium over the strongest paddlers across the State. Please see further details about this and additional Winter Sports successes. Send them strength across the ocean as they race on Saturday morning!

Throughout this year, I've been writing to update you about our Accreditation process. I'm proud to share with you that our team completed our portion this week… We hosted the five-member Accreditation Visiting Committee from Sunday through Wednesday. Our team participated in 16 meetings plus a meeting with parent representatives as well as student leaders and daily meetings with me. The visiting committee worked hours to write their report in response to their visits to classrooms, viewing programs, and through consolidating their reading of our 200+ page report and their interview notes. And to conclude our time with them on Wednesday afternoon, our faculty and staff gathered alongside Board members to hear the summary of their report. They read from the almost-final draft of what they will report as our Major Strengths as well as Major Opportunities. And I think all who were present would agree that we were validated in so many ways regarding the strengths that they highlighted – everything from the power and effectiveness of our mission, the dedication and resilience of of this community across multiple leadership changes and a world health crisis, the expanded and integrated Hawaiian language and culture program, our beautiful campus, and so much more. And as they shared Major Opportunities, we were also affirmed as they focused on areas we had articulated ourselves in our report, including strengthening our alumni outreach, developing a strategic plan to guide us into our future, assessing our school daily schedule for efficacy for all students, and formalizing data collection and benchmarking for the admissions program as well as our overall program assessment.

The committee will finalize their report and submit it to the HAIS and WASC Commissions in the coming week with their accreditation recommendation (ideally 7 years). In April or May, the Commissions will review the Visiting Committee's report and finalize their recommendation. We will then receive a formal letter regarding our accreditation and their finalized report likely sometime in May. And before the year is out, we will share all the Major Strengths and Major Opportunities.

 

We've made so much happen already, and I am humbled to work with each of you, my colleagues, and your children every day as we continue to grow into the school we aspire to be in the years to come.

As always, mahalo nui loa for the privilege to work with you and your children during these important years of their lives.

Together,

Nancy Nagramada P’29 

Head of School

n.nagramada@ischool.org 

Don’t forget to buy your tickets today for our Annual Gala - Voyage Under the Stars! Your support in whatever capacity you can for this important event is critical to our success. Mahalo for joining in on our shared effort that helps us raise funds for Financial Aid so that we can continue to be a school that truly represents the beautiful diversity of Kauaʻi.