KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- Legislators, senior military officials, educators, community leaders and other distinguished guests eagerly found their seats inside the auditorium at The Salvation Army-Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, here, Aug. 28.
After all, class began promptly at 9 a.m., and no one wanted to be tardy for the bell.
As the hum of conversation settled and cell phones were switched off, Lt. Col. Derrick Cheng, chief, Public Affairs, 25th Infantry Division, and Jan Iwase, principal, Hale Kula Elementary School, took their places at the head of the class to begin the day's lesson: shaping the future of education here in the islands.
This coming-together of Hawaii's military, public schools and other community organizations marked the return of the annual Joint Venture Education Forum (JVEF).
Initiated in 1998 by the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, in partnership with Adm. Dennis Blair, then-commander, U.S. Pacific Command, and former state superintendent of education Paul LeMahieu, JVEF is charged with developing and fostering a committed, empowered and involved partnership between local military and public schools in the pursuit of quality education for students.
Since 2000, Hawaii public schools have benefited from $58 million appropriated by the Department of Defense to fund programs and partnerships that promote quality education through teacher training, computers in the classrooms, facility upgrades and other initiatives.
Funding from the DOD ended in 2011; however, the cooperative effort has continued to thrive, despite budgetary restraints, which specialists say speaks volumes to the impact JVEF has made within the local community.
"The organization could have crumbled very easily, but it didn't, and that testifies to the strength of the organization and the importance of the organization," said Doug Kelsey, school support specialist, Installation Management Command-Pacific.
"I think it's very encouraging that the organization hasn't faltered during this sudden change of no funding," Kelsey continued. "The positive relationships between the military units and the public schools in Hawaii not only benefit the schools tremendously, they're also good for our Soldiers and Airmen and the others to feel good about contributing to the community."
Now in its 13th year, the 2014 JVEF focused on "Dedicated Partners in Education," a theme educators who partner with U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii believe perfectly sums up the relationship they share with their Soldier volunteers.
"We've had many different opportunities for partnership," said Sally Omalza, principal, Solomon Elementary School, which is teamed with the 29th Brigade Engineering Battalion, 3rd Bde. Combat Team, 25th ID.
"We've had Read Alouds, where Soldiers have come in uniform, and that gives the children a sense of hominess," said Omalza. "And, they helped us set up our whole May Day program so that it could be successful. The teachers at Solomon really want to continue the May Day program, because it creates that sense of aloha with our families."
"It's been a wonderful journey of having the military come and be our partners," agreed Ofelia Reed, principal of Iroquois Point Elementary School, which has been working with Soldiers from 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th ID, for two years.
"Our students really appreciate the opportunity to work with them," Reed continued. "They've volunteered their services with repainting our parking lot during the summer and school year. And they also came for our physical fitness days, and fall fest and Read Across America. They're very helpful, and the kids love them."
"I'm just amazed that they have such heart, and that even after being out there protecting our country, they want to come back and give back to the community. You can tell their passion for that," added Sonia Lin, Parent Community Network Center facilitator at Iroquois Point Elementary.
The importance of these partnerships and the continued need to promote understanding and support for military children and families within Hawaii's public schools, despite ever-present challenges, was underscored by JVEF presenters and guest speakers, which included U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and JVEF executive co-chairs Col. Jaimie Pease, director of manpower and personnel, USPACOM, and Kathryn Matayoshi, superintendent, Hawaii State Department of Education.
"As I've said many times before, a commitment to America's military families is a commitment to America's future," said Duncan, to the 300-plus attendees via a prerecorded message.
"The great men and women of our armed forces work so hard every single day to keep the American people safe and secure, and never ask for anything in return," Arne continued. "It is our duty, our task, to make sure that their children, and our children, get the best education possible. That's not always easy, but it's important that we continue to work together to identify goals and act on what makes a difference for our nation's students."
JVEF concluded by recognizing the men and women of the armed forces, as well as educators and community members who have each played a role in enhancing the education and character of Hawaii's keiki throughout the past year.
"This conference itself is a celebration, really, to recognize all of the volunteers who have done so much for the schools," Kelsey said. "We just have to support the schools with our efforts, and the schools are very receptive to the military input in their operations."
"JVEF is truly about the power of people working together to do something greater than themselves," said Matayoshi. "We need to continue learning from each other … to ensure our children are graduating college and career ready. Our efforts will ensure JVEF will continue to be far reaching and provide the best opportunities for all students."
• Special Recognition
The following are the names of Soldiers and spouses who were recognized at the 2014 Joint Venture Education Forum for lending their time and service to Hawaii's public schools over the past year.
•Sgt. Tyriek Andrews
•1st Lt. Joshua Ballard
•Sgt. 1st Class Wesley Burton
•Chief Warrant Office 2 Glenn Butler Jr.
•1st. Lt. Chase Cappo
•Jessica DeGrandi
•Spc. Corky Dunovant
•Sgt. 1st Class Janna Escude
•Capt. Leslie Farrior
•Jennifer Flory
•1st. Lt. Daniel Gray
•Pfc. Daniel Gomez
•Staff Sgt. Jeremy Griffin
•Pvt. Xavier Harris
•Sgt. 1st Class Paula Henderson
•1st Lt. Tate Husemann
•1st Lt. Carolyn Johnson
•Spc. Joshua Kane
•1st Lt. Josephine Kim
•Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keith Kurth
•1st Lt. Grace Lu
•Sgt. 1st Class Charles Lusk
•Clayton Maciorowski
•Staff Sgt. Kyle Martin
•Spc. Nikko Matos
•Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Neher
•Staff Sgt. Jon Ours
•Sgt. Joseph Peavey
•Sgt. Joshua Potts
•Sgt. Meshelle Shirk
•Master Sgt. Keela Smith
•Staff Sgt. Krystal Stocks
•Spc. Benjamin Wang
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