Photo By Staff Sgt. Mark Miranda | HONOLULU – Military volunteers from across U.S. Pacific Command stand for...... read more read more
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HONOLULU -- Senior military leaders joined Hawaii educators, lawmakers, community members and volunteers for the 15th annual Joint Venture Education Forum, or JVEF, at the Hawaii Convention Center, Nov. 17.
Formed in 1999, the JVEF is an active partnership between U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) and Hawaii Department of Education that promotes interaction between Hawaii's military community and public schools in the pursuit of quality education for children.
“The goal was to provide a place where parties or partners, as a joint venture would come together and talk about issues related to education – hopefully to resolve them and chart a path forward,” said Alisa Bender, the principal of Hickam Elementary School. “JVEF has grown and evolved over the past 17 years and is a testament to our shared commitment.”
"Education is the great equalizer," wrote U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye in the JVEF 2012 Executive Summary. "It provides a foundation for students to excel, to achieve their dreams and to become contributing members of their communities."
In 2000, Inouye, with support from then USPACOM commander Navy Adm. Dennis Blair and Paul LeMahieu, former state superintendent of education, supported an annual appropriation via the Department of Defense for repair and maintenance projects in public schools.
For more than a decade, USPACOM served as steward of these funds – close to $60 million since 2000 -- that provided Hawaii public schools new playgrounds, textbooks, technology, support for transition and citizenship programs, and curricular support in math, science, language arts, fine arts and robotics programs.
The focus of this year's JVEF centered on the theme "Great Public Schools for All Students: Our Kuleana," which celebrated the 127 active military-school partnerships statewide.
“It’s just amazing the amount of dialogue that you have between the local community the DOE and all the schools where the focus is military children and their education and how important that is,” said Col. Peter Santa Ana, USPACOM Director of Manpower and Personnel and JVEF Executive Co-Chair.
“The volunteers really help out in that endeavor to make sure that the kids are having their school needs met every day,” added Santa Ana.
Keynote speaker Army Lt. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, Deputy Commander, USPACOM, noted both the military and local communities have a vested interest in the efforts of JVEF.
“The bottom line is, it is an imperative because of Hawaii’s unique situation. This state has the highest number of military dependent children per capita in our entire country,” Crutchfield said in his remarks to the packed Lili’u Theater. “Around 8% of all desks in Hawaii’s public school systems seat a military dependent child. We count 45 schools on Oahu with significant populations of military children.”
The majority of these approximately 15,000 military-dependent students are spread through schools located on or near military installations in Oahu’s Central, Leeward and Windward School Districts.
“The constant moves can be jarring on families, and it’s not uncommon for military children to attend nine different schools as they move around. If we add the impact of combat deployments and extended parental absences, our military families can feel left behind, they can even feel alone,” said Crutchfield. “Luckily, we have a forum for all of us to come together to express our concerns and look for solutions as partners.”
Awards were presented recognizing JVEF’s outstanding civilian and military contributors whose efforts have had a significant impact on Hawaii’s military and public school students.
A joint presentation of the JVEF Outstanding Civilian Contributor Commendation Award was made to Ms. Leilani Reyes of Aliamanu Elementary and Ms. Cherise Imai, Executive Director of the Military Interstate Compact Children’s Commission. The Outstanding Civilian Contributor Commendation Award was renamed this year in honor of the late Representative K. Mark Takai, who was honored with a video tribute to close out the program.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. John A. Goshorn received the JVEF Outstanding Military Contributor Commendation Award for his coordination of two SeaPerch and MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) underwater robotics events for schools at Coast Guard Base Honolulu. Twenty-three schools and 131 students participated, building submersible robots and navigating them through underwater obstacle courses. The Outstanding Military Contributor Commendation Award was renamed this year in honor of the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye.
| Date Taken: | 11.17.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2016 20:41 |
| Story ID: | 215276 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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