Our Greatest ASSETS
By Katherine Pierpont, Senior Editor

For more from ASSETS School, Hawaii, click Ten Teaching Tips by Tracy Aki.

A young student is all smiles while learning the theme to the latest Star Wars movie in Benoit Weber's classroom.

At first glance, ASSETS School, a K-12 school for gifted, dyslexic and gifted-dyslexic kids in Honolulu, HI, has a rather unusual school symbol: the turtle. ASSETS looks at the metaphor of a turtle (or honu) struggling in the sand toward the sea as a sign of their mission. The school's teachers and staff consider themselves to be blessed with their own honu: students who have, in many cases, labored mightily to get by at other schools. When these children eventually find their way through the sand to ASSETS, their teachers embrace them with open arms and work every day to get them one step closer to what ASSETS maintains are "the deep waters of life."

A journey through the sand. We spoke first with Lou Salza, who has served as Head of School for the last 10 years (Randy Drabman is the school's K-8 principal and Patti Jenks is principal for 9-12). He's an easily approachable man with a quick smile and engaging laugh. He's also no pushover. As one of his students' fiercest advocates, he spoke eloquently and at length of the disservices he feels are done to children when they are defined by a disability or deficit.

Make way for honu - "Once our turtles get to the place where they belong, they do very well," said ASSETS' Head of School Lou Salza.

"I hate the word remedial because it implies, 'We did this before and it didn't work.' Usually what we find is that the kids didn't have a structured approach to learning language before they got to ASSETS," he explained. "So, we're not remediating anything – we're finally giving them the kind of development curriculum that they need."

ASSETS, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this past fall, was founded as a school that provided specialized education for developmentally disabled children of military families stationed in Hawai'i. In 1969, the school's charter was changed to serve the learning disabled. In the mid 70s, ASSETS rededicated its mission to become a haven for dyslexic and gifted students and opened its enrollment to children of both the military and civilians. Today, ASSETS is home to over 400 students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade. Parents are often the best source for referrals, particularly at the lower grade levels where dyslexia and other language-based learning differences are difficult to diagnose. "Moms and dads know their kids. Many times, based on their family history, people will bring their children to us."

Students relax in front of ASSETS' parent-constructed play structure and hang loose at recess

After learning more about the school's history and goals, it was time to go and experience firsthand all ASSETS has to offer.

"Let's go out and see what our turtles are doing today," Lou said.

Right at the heart. ASSETS is a school that draws you in at once – we could feel that this was a place where good things are happening every day. We marveled at the kids nearly – dare we say – skipping to class, the warm smiles they exchanged with each other and the beautiful leis and heartfelt greeting we received from the school's Aloha Committee. Even the physical school itself appeared to be an enchanted village of sorts. Built around a lovely, verdant courtyard, ASSETS is comprised of several covered wooden walkways that connect the school's modular classroom buildings. The classrooms are multi-age (students are grouped according to their functional abilities) and in each there is one lead teacher, one assistant teacher and 16 children. This technique allows the teacher to be able to differentiate and individualize the curriculum.

"People like Tracy Aki are very good illustrations of what our faculty does so well," said Lou. "They all began in this profession as very caring individuals with lots of aloha for children."

The heart of ASSETS lies in its' classrooms, where the kids truly radiate joy in what they're learning. One little boy who stopped us on our way out of a classroom only verified what we already knew. "Even if there were no enrichments, I'd still love this school," he said. "Enrichments" are offered during the last period of the day and the program allows students to build upon their strengths and expand their learning. Student-chosen courses of study have included everything from criminology, stained glass and animation to rocketry and cricket.

Good point. There's no doubt about it, ASSETS' teachers have their work cut out for them, but they are more than equipped for the challenge and are deadset on seeing their students succeed. They've developed several classroom management techniques that work beautifully and bar any disruptions from their students' learning environment.

When we visited Tracy Aki's 5/6 classroom, the kids were playing a math card game called "99." A young boy became agitated when it was another student's turn to shuffle the deck. Tracy politely explained that everyone would get a turn. When the student continued to grumble, she directed him with a nonverbal cue to go to "point out." We watched as he got up without protest and went to a designated chair. Less than a minute later, Tracy went over to him to have a quiet chat.

5/6 assistant teacher Sarah Love stands by patiently as a student reviews his Language Arts work. "The teachers here are really innovative and creative," Sarah commented. "The kids are getting a different type of experience that they need – one they're not getting in public school."

"Do you know why I put you in point out?"

"Yes," he said. "Everyone should get a turn to shuffle."

"This is not a humiliating thing at all for the child," Tracy later told us. "It's a way for them to think about what they were doing that was inappropriate, and it's only for a short time." She was right – after their discussion, the boy rejoined the game and the activity continued as if nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

"Some of our students have had unpleasant experiences related to discipline and academics at other schools," Tracy said. "When they come here, their confidence level just rises."

Let's discuss. Another practice that has been working wonders for the students of ASSETS is a weekly one-on-one sitdown with their teacher. "It's not therapeutic counseling, it's more like functional counseling," Lou explained. "Teachers will ask questions like, 'How are you doing today?,' 'How's the homework?,' and 'How do you find the other work going on in class?'" The teachers have found that this quiet discussion time helps with the student's initial adjustment to the school as well as with ongoing problems with friendships, schoolwork, etc.

Younger students are hard at work on their art projects in Birgitta Leitner's art room.

Four days during the week, each lead teacher also holds a group counseling session with his or her class that's called "Magic Circle." This is a time where students will talk to one another about topics introduced by their teacher. An example topic in a lower grade classroom would be stranger safety. One day a week, the time designated for Magic Circle becomes a class counseling session that's run by the students, with their teacher standing by to step in when students have trouble negotiating solutions. Here's how it works: A student will bring up a problem that he or she has been having in school. The class will brainstorm a list of solutions and the student will then pick one and report the outcome to the class the next week. "We're integrating a way to teach kids how to deal with their feelings and talk about them," said Lou. "We want them to listen to other people's feelings before they become the stuff of conflict."

Music teacher Benoit Weber finally relents after his students beg him to play the latest Green Day song at the conclusion of their music class.

Here's to the future. With a goal of eventually seeing every student mainstreamed, ASSETS' staff has never lost sight of the fact that they are ultimately helping their students to succeed in life, long after they've left the school. "Our job is not only to serve the needs of the kids here, but it's also to educate this community about who these kids are and what their futures hold and not to ever sell them short," Lou said.

The honu found on the shores of Hawai'i are thought of as elegant and blessed creatures. You are considered lucky if you catch a glimpse of one before it disappears beneath glittering waters, toward a destiny far beyond our reach. After an uplifting day of visiting with ASSETS' own remarkable honu, we couldn't think of a more fitting school mascot.

For more from ASSETS School, Hawaii, click Ten Teaching Tips by Tracy Aki.