Hawaiʻi P-20 > Articles by: Sarah Pescaia

Student financial aid form workshops are offered

Honolulu Star-Advertiser
January 24, 2024

Free virtual workshops to help families complete the recently revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, are being offered on selected Wednesdays through April 24.

Registration for the workshops, presented by Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education and Gear Up Hawai‘i, is open at CollegeIsWithinReachHawaii.com.

“This is a challenging year because the FAFSA application window opened much later than usual, on Dec. 31 rather than Oct. 1,” Angela Jackson, Gear Up Hawai‘i project director, said in a news release. “We have focused our efforts to ensure families in all communities have as many resources available as possible to successfully complete the FAFSA.

“Providing free one-on one assistance virtually is a unique opportunity for families to speak directly with the experts from home,” she said. “We encourage all high school seniors to complete the FAFSA and explore what kind of scholarships and financial aid is available to help you pay for college.”

State schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi added in the release that students should make completing the FAFSA as soon as possible a priority, “regardless of your financial situation. This will not only open doors to grants and aid to pay for college or career and trade school, but also helps determine eligibility for certain scholarships.”

While some people have reported difficulties with the new version, the U.S. Department of Education has touted the form as “The Better FAFSA” and said it is “streamlined from the form’s previous iterations, allowing many applicants to complete it in an hour on average.”

$20M grant, grad goals part of Hawaiʻi P–20 successes in 2023

December 21, 2023
UH News

The development of “Hawaiʻi Graduates for Hawaiʻi‘s Future,” earning a $20 million federal grant to boost early education efforts and the expansion of work-based learning across the state are a few of the highlights in the Hawaiʻi P–20 Partnerships for Education (P–20) 2023 Annual Report.

Hawaiʻi P–20 is a statewide partnership led by the University of Hawaiʻi System, Hawaiʻi Executive Office on Early Learning and the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education that works to strengthen the education pipeline from early childhood through postsecondary education and training.

Hawaiʻi Graduates for Hawaiʻi‘s Future is a new goal focused on educational progress that leads to students being able to find good jobs in Hawaiʻi, with a concerted effort to align educational programs with workforce needs and economic development. This commitment is displayed both in UH’s newly adopted Strategic Plan and the State of Hawaiʻi Board of Education’s Strategic Plan.

In January 2023, Hawaiʻi P–20 was awarded a nearly $20 million federal grant to strengthen the early childhood system by building upon existing federal, state, and local early learning and care investments. This grant will support coordination and collaboration among the state’s existing programs, improve program quality, expand access, invest in workforce and maximize parental engagement in the early childhood mixed delivery system.

Hawaiʻi P–20 has provided resources and support for several work-based learning intermediary organizations to expand work-based learning. Each regional intermediary organization increased student participation in job shadowing, mock interviews and internship opportunities. Hawaiʻi P–20 aims to expand the program to more schools.

Other highlights:
– The Stay at Home, Grow Your Own Teacher Pathway pilot project was developed to address one of Hawaiʻi’s biggest challenges: high teacher vacancy rates especially in the most rural schools, and schools with the highest poverty rates among students.
– There is promising college enrollment data for GEAR UP Hawaiʻi and Soar Higher schools. Between 2020 and 2022, college enrollment at schools with transition support programs showed a 3.2% increase in college enrollment compared to a 0.4% decrease at high schools without them.
– In partnership with the UH Community Colleges, Ke Ala Naʻauao mentors implemented its first onboarding campaign, Finish in a Flash. This campaign aimed to support graduating seniors in completing their enrollment steps to college in early May.