STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3480

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NOS. 781, 782, 783, 840

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 781, 782, 783, and 840, submitting for study and consideration the nominations of: 

 

Early Learning Council

 

G.M. No. 781

ALFRED CASTLE,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014;

 

G.M. No. 782

CHRISTINA COX,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014;

 

G.M. No. 783

LORA PERRY,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014; and

 

G.M. No. 840

PAMELA PERKINS,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal histories, resumes, and statements submitted by the nominees and finds Alfred Castle, Christina Cox, Lora Perry, and Pamela Perkins to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated to the Early Learning Council.

 

ALFRED CASTLE

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Alfred Castle from the Executive Chambers of the Governor; Department of Education; Early Learning Council; University of Hawaii System; Ae Kamalii Preschool; Castle Colleagues Program; Chaminade University of Honolulu; Good Beginnings Alliance; Hawaii Association of Independent Schools; Holy Nativity School; Kapiolani Health Foundation; Papa Ola Lokahi; Project Vision Hawaii; Read Aloud America, Inc.; YMCA of Honolulu; and one individual.

 

     Mr. Castle is dedicated to building a comprehensive, integrated, high-quality early learning system in Hawaii.  Currently, he serves as the Executive Director, Treasurer, and Trustee of the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation and Henry and Dorothy Memorial Fund for Children.  Last August, he provided needed funding to hire a team for Hawaii's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge application.  Most recently, his collaboration with the Department of Human Services, the University of Hawaii's Center on the Family, and the Kellogg Foundation produced an important and culturally sensitive Quality Improvement and Rating System to enhance the quality of early childhood programs earned national recognition.

 

     Mr. Castle is a distinguished pioneer and member of the philanthropic community.  Prior to returning to Hawaii in 1998, Mr. Castle was the Vice President and an adjunct professor of history in the California State University system.  He returned to take the helm at the one-hundred-twenty-year-old Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation.  He began an active partnership with Good Beginnings Alliance and most recently has been serving as a member of the Early Learning Council's Finance Committee.

 

     Testimony received by your Committee indicates that Mr. Castle is widely respected by preschool directors statewide.  He has sponsored numerous professional development opportunities for directors and teachers.  He has also created an important low-income tuition assistance program for families having trouble paying for tuition at high-quality accredited centers.

 

     Mr. Castle indicated in his personal statement that he brings a wealth of knowledge on early education and private foundations to the Early Learning Council.  Specifically, he understands the key issues faced by teachers, children, and families; has knowledge of private funding in Hawaii and on the mainland; and is aware of the historical origins of Hawaii's early learning system.  During his two-year term, he hopes to substantially advance the connections between public policy and private financial investment.

 

     Your Committee finds that Mr. Castle's appointment would fulfill the philanthropic sector representation on the Early Learning Council.  Mr. Castle's dedication to building a high-quality, integrated, comprehensive education system in Hawaii will assist the Early Learning Council in furthering its goal of developing and administering the early learning system.

 

CHRISTINA COX

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Christina Cox from the Executive Chambers of the Governor, Department of Education, Early Learning Council, University of Hawaii System, Good Beginnings Alliance, Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, and one individual.

 

     Ms. Cox is a leader in the early childhood education and development community.  Ms. Cox is currently the President and Chief Executive Office of KCAA Preschools of Hawaii, a position she has held since 2000.  Recently, Ms. Cox provided guidance on the State's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge application and informed the preliminary dialogue on how the Department of Education's junior kindergarten program will transition to a voluntary state-funded program for targeted four year olds through a mixed delivery system.

 

     Testimony received by your Committee indicates that Ms. Cox's extensive experiences in various early learning and development programs serve as a strong foundation as she advocates for high-quality early education and care.  She is the liaison for the Childcare Business Coalition of Hawaii, which includes over sixty preschools serving over four thousand children on four islands in Hawaii.  As the liaison for the Coalition, Ms. Cox is on the Board of Directors of the Early Care and Education Consortium, which is a nonprofit alliance of America's leading national, regional, and independent providers of high-quality child care and early learning and development programs for young children.

 

     Your Committee finds that Ms. Cox's nomination would fulfill the center-based program sector representation on the Early Learning Council.   Ms. Cox's leadership in the field of early childhood development and learning in Hawaii will ensure the Early Learning Council has the perspective and knowledge of multi-site centered-based early childhood programs.

 

LORA PERRY

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Lora Perry from the Executive Chambers of the Governor, Department of Education, Early Learning Council, University of Hawaii System, Child and Family Service, Good Beginnings Alliance, Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, Hawaii Career with Young Children, National Center for Family, Partners in Development Foundation, and eight individuals.

 

     Ms. Perry has carried out extensive work with young children and families in Hawaii for the past thirty years.  Ms. Perry is currently the Co-Director, Coordinator, and Teacher of the Partners in Development Foundation's comprehensive family education program located at Blanche Pope Elementary School in Waimanalo.  She is an active member of state and community organizations focused on child care and family engagement practices.

 

     Testimony received by your Committee indicates that Ms. Perry is a Native Hawaiian whose rich experiences include living in the Waimanalo Hawaiian Homestead community and working in Kamehameha School's Early Childhood Education Division.  She comes to the Early Learning Council with a Master's degree in Early Education.  As the Project Director of Na Pono No Na Ohana, Ms. Perry integrates progressive teaching methods with Native Hawaiian cultural values to further improve social, economic, and educational opportunities for families in the program.

 

     Ms. Perry indicated in her personal statement that she is passionate about providing high-quality early childhood education to all children in a family-selected environment, regardless of socioeconomic background, existing risk factors, or disabilities.  Ms. Perry feels that a position on the Early Learning Council will allow her to continue to serve Hawaii's children and their families in a meaningful way.

 

     Your Committee finds that Ms. Perry is seeking another term on the Early Learning Council as the family-child interaction learning representative.  Her leadership and contribution to early learning in Hawaii has enabled the effective administration of culturally competent programs that support the development of the child and the education of the family.  As a lead contributor to the development of the Early Learning Council's framework for comprehensive early childhood system, which was implemented in 2011, her dedication and continuing contribution to early childhood education will assist the Early Learning Council in engaging family members and caregivers and assist them in understanding their role as the primary influencer of their children during these formative years.

 

PAMELA PERKINS

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Pamela Perkins from the Executive Chambers of the Governor, Early Learning Council, University of Hawaii at Manoa Children's Center, Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, PATCH, and ten individuals.

 

     Ms. Perkins is a lifelong learner who has over forty years of working in the field of early care and education among diverse early care and education settings.  She has a Master's degree in Education in urban sociology and community education, and early childhood studies and education philosophy.  She is currently a family child care provider at the Ao Kukui No Na Keiki Licensed Family Child Care in Pahoa on the Island of Hawaii.  In addition to her experience in early care and education, she also has more than ten years of experience in adult education with a focus on infant and toddler curriculum.

 

     Testimony received by your Committee indicates that Ms. Perkins brings an extensive array of reliable expertise, connected experiences, and wide-range knowledge of Hawaii's early childhood community.  Ms. Perkins is an active member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children.  She is the current Hawaii Island chapter President, and is the Big Island representative on the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children's Policy Committee.  She has done professional development workshops for teacher and caregivers at the Association's annual conferences and at the Hawaii Island Early Childhood Conference.

 

     Your Committee finds that Ms. Perkins is seeking a reappointment to the Early Learning Council to fulfill the family child care program representative.  Ms. Perkins' background in educating adults, developing curriculum, and consulting and facilitating parent education, with a specialization in working with infants and toddlers in group care, will greatly assist the Early Learning Council in openly collaborating with colleagues and members of the community as the Council develops and implements an early childhood system.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominees, has found the nominees to be qualified for the positions to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nominations.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

 

 

 

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair