They are Reggie leaders, student athletes, class officers, members of our student government, club and committee members, and many more. For our inductees, I encourage you to build your leadership by embracing diversity and inclusion, serving as mentors, being positive and proactive, and participating in our school. When problems arrive in our school community, offer solution and be a voice for your fellow students. Our NHS members and inductees demonstrate service by serving others willingly. Those who serve are dependable, wellorganized, and willing to take on responsibility to better their community. Service is shown in school by current members and our inductees by participating in Skills USA, serving as Reggie leaders, class officers, and active membership in clubs, activities, and volunteer services. All members of the National Honor Society should provide service to their communities by participating in community service that is not sponsored by our school. I encourage you to pick something that you are passionate about and volunteer.
Here to answer any questions. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next to testify, Sher Nakamura Coalition. Aloha chair, vice chair, and members of the committee. Sher Nakamura from Hea Coalition. Uh we will stand on our testimony and support. Uh we really appreciate the efforts of the legislature to expand and strengthen our mixed delivery system of prek opportunities. Bolstering preschool open doors in particular will help families increase access to early learning options and help children be better prepared to enter our K12 system. Thank you for this opportunity to testify. Thank you, Sherry. Next to testify, Philip Bosard, executive director, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools. Thank you, Chair Kadani, and um members of the committee. My name is Phil Bosard. I'm the executive director of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.
This may come in from the form of working for your church, working with at an animal shelter, serving the elderly community, or working with younger children, just to name a few. Find something that you're passionate about. I am hopeful all of our inductees here tonight take the responsibility outlined in the chapter bylaws to heart and continue to strive towards modeling the four pillars of the National Honor Society. Let these pillars alongside our core values serve as guideposts for how you live and serve your community. Congratulations and best wishes you at this time. It gives me great pleasure to introduce Ronald Ramirez, the keynote speaker. Ronald is a Dominican first generation graduate from the class of 2014 GLTS's business technology department and a former vice president of the National Honor Society. He currently works as a private consulting firm as an external audit manager of unclaimed property services for the state government as well as a Spanish medical interpreter in training within the healthcare industry.
We stand in support and strong support of this amendment and uh happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Phil. Next to testify, Michael Bolia Jr., chair, Stonewall Caucus of Party of Hawaii. Good afternoon, Chair Michael Golia Jr., chair of the Stonewall Caucus. We thank you for hearing this bill. We stand in full support. Uh we do oppose anything that would make accreditation uh optional. Uh we believe accreditation is necessary, especially when dealing with our kei. And we would like to if just to remind everybody that anybody we I want to make sure that anybody who uses these funds would do so in the same way that a GIA and they cannot discriminate. So that being said, we thank you for hearing this bill. We look forward to passing it. Mahalo. Thank you, Michael. Next to testify, Doug for Early Childhood Action Strategy. Good afternoon, chair, vice chair, and members of the committee.
He and his lovely wife Dory both grew up in Lawrence. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration, concentrated in management information systems along with a minor in Spanish from UMass Lel in 2018, and subsequently completed his MBA in business intelligence analytics from Southern New Hampshire University in 2022. Please join me in welcoming Ronald Ramirez. [Applause] Thank you everyone, district community, school administration, new inductees, family members, and staff. It is an honor to be a part of this ceremony once again. and such a pleasure to share in the intensity of emotions filling this auditorium as I reminisce about my time here. Parents, you are probably wondering where the years have gone. So am I. As you marvel at your sons and daughters accomplishments today, we recognize their excellence in service, character, scholarship, and leadership. We live in a time when our world is dealing with enormous challenges, but at a time when the opportunities created by those challenges have never been greater.
I'm Doug Emeg, the lead for evidence and outcomes for early childhood action strategy. We stand in support of this bill and we stand on our written testimony and I'm glad to answer any questions. Thank you so much. Thank you members. We also have a number of written testimony all in support with a couple comments.
Growing up in Lawrence, I was a product of two hardworking immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic who left everything behind to start a new life with their two children in the land of opportunity. Seeing my parents sacrifice so much motivated me to excel in everything that I did in order to make them proud. But what truly inspired me to move forward was the dedication of all the teachers and professors I encountered throughout middle school, high school, and college, all within this small area we call the Marramac Valley. It is worth mentioning the ones who pushed me to my fullest potential in this very place. Kate Keys and Angela Santana. If it were not for you both, I would not be standing here today speaking in front of a large crowd. Yes, you pushed me to overcome my fear of public speaking through PowerPoint presentations. Even though I had that paralyzing stage fright that most introverts struggle with, nevertheless, with great courage and lots of practice, I was able to face my fears.
Members, are there any questions of our testifiers? If not, moving on to our final bill. House Bill 503HD2 relating to computer science education requires the board of education to work with the Department of Education to conduct an analysis on the need, impact, and feasibility of making computer science a graduation requirement. requires the board to determine whether making computer science a graduation requirement would be in the best interests of public school students and the public. Requires a report to the legislature. Appropriates funds for teacher professional development in computer science to testify. Superintendent Hayashi. Good afternoon, Chair Kedani, Vice Chair Marcato Kim, members of the committee. I'm Heidi Armstrong, Department of Education, and we stand on our written testimony offering comments. I would also like to add that this bill is not part of the DOE's administrative package. Thank you for the opportunity. Next to testify, David Nishiro, executive director, Hawaii Kids Kent.
It is true what they say though that everything you have ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear. Once I got over that, I was able to tap into my latent leadership skills. First and foremost, people want their leaders to be innovators and honest more than smart and inspiring. That is because credibility equals trustworthiness. In other words, you will not believe the message if you do not believe the messenger. Our words must become actions as we practice what we preach. The minute you cease to do what you said you would, you lose credibility. Therefore, leaders need to live up to the values they teach by modeling the way and setting the example. All of you here tonight are natural leaders. Leadership at its core is the ability to influence relationships. Leaders help themselves and others to do the right thing. They build an inspiring vision, foster collaboration, and encourage people to take action.
[Music] Load chair Kanani, Vice Chair Kim, and members of the committee. Hawaii Kitscan stands on our written testimony in strong support of HP503H2 with a few notes. May 3rd, 2018. We believe this is the last time the Hawaii Board of Education has taken up computer science education on an agenda. At the time, the DOE approved K12 computer science standards for our school. While the DOE has made clear progress since then, our schools are not on track to meet the legislaturator's goal from act 158 that beginning with the 2024 2025 school year, all public elementary, middle, and intermediate schools shall offer computer science courses or computer science content. Uh this will ensure that the collaboration to reach this goal will happen between the legislature, BOE, and DOE. So we are looking forward to this bill serving as a powerful catalyst for equity and access. Thank you.
Yet, while leaders set the direction, they must also use their talents wisely to guide people in the right track as smoothly as possible. I personally believe that leadership starts with a vision which is a realistic, convincing and attractive depiction of where you want to be in the future. Visions provide direction, set priorities and provide a marker so that you can measure your growth as we are all a work in progress. Learning the real meaning of leadership is indispensable for your career and personal life. However, leadership means different things around the world and in different situations. For example, it could relate to community leadership, religious leadership, political leadership, as well as transformational leadership in the workplace or in any social environment. Transformational leaders lead by example and tend to use inspiration and empathy to engage others. They are known to possess courage, confidence, and willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good.
Thank you, David. Next to testify, Trevor Aberusa for Chamber of Commerce Hawaii. Trevor is not here. Next to testify, Amber Davis, testifying for hope.org on Zoom. Hey there, chair. Thank you so much. Thank you, members of the committee. Um, House Bill 503H2 would be a great step forward for Hawaii students. Allowing the Board of Education to to determine the feasibility of a computer science graduation requirement will help ensure all Hawaiian students learn computer science and to especially close the gaps in computer science for girls and underrepresented students. Currently in Hawaii, even even though every school is required to offer computer science, there's still 23% of schools that are not providing this foundational learning opportunity for students. It's become increasingly clear that we cannot leave these opportunities to chance for students. There is a stark gender gap among students who enroll in computer science. And while this gap is narrowing every year, when you look at the gender breakdown of um of the students taking computer science, only 23.8% 8% of those students are female.
Personally speaking, that is the type of leadership style I prefer. As a former member and vice president of the National Honor Society, I know what the membership entails, and I believe it is your duty to be involved in helping our community grow. Every member should seek creative ways to contribute and cooperate in your communities in order to improve it and make it a better place for future generations. And that starts at your school. Greater Lawrence Tech is a wonderful place to begin your journey as you discover what better suits your path forward. I was in your shoes once, uncertain of where my choices would lead me. Just remember that you are not the face of the future but of the present. Your calling or vocation starts now. You are called to be great, to be extraordinary, to stand out in everything that you do. You can do anything you set your mind to with great effort and dedication.
This is not unique to your state and states that we've seen solve this problem have passed computer science graduation requirement which is why we are advocating for this policy and think it's a great step forward to have the board evaluate the feasibility of this. Thank you for your time. Thank you Amber. Next to testify Celeste Endo also on Zoom. Let it grow. Let it grow. Let computer science grow. A aloha aa chair Kadani, vice chair Kim, and members of the education committee. I am Celeste Endo, a preschool through fifth grade computer science teacher at Queen Kahunaru Elementary. Last month, third graders sang along with Elsa and made their very own card games to learn the computer science concept if Elsa. Oops. I mean if else conditionals. Our preschoolers even came up with this conditionals game. If black card shaka won everybody else, red card we twist.
You can get very far in life. I can attest to that myself because it does not matter where you think you will go or how long it takes you to get there. What matters is that you keep moving forward. Besides, failure is an essential prerequisite of success. Through failure, you will get to know yourself better and you will learn from your mistakes. Failure makes us reconsider and find new ways and strategies to achieve our goals. So do not be afraid of it. I am talking about this because I thought I had failed when I ended up switching majors in college. Prior to choosing business administration, I had gone for computer science in my undergrad. My whole life I had always succumbed to the dreams of my parents. I thought that if I stayed on a straight path, I would be happy. But that was merely an illusion.
Let's try it. Seven of clubs. True. We shaka. Three of hearts. Else. Oh, it's a false. So we go to everyone. My kay very good if we support computer science our kids will shine else Hawaii will far fall far behind. Thank you. Mahalo. Mahalo. We also have seven written testimonies mostly in support, one giving comments and one in opposition. Members, questions of any of our testifiers? A general question to all the ones in support. Have any of you gone to the board of education and ask them to put this as part of the um curriculum? Because they always say that, you know, we micromanaging we micromanage the regions or micromanaging voter education, telling them what to put in. Frankly, I think we should have um fiscal literacy as part of the graduation um requirements. So, um, shouldn't this be something that the board of education should be determining?
The real learning curve was in the process of realizing what was not meant for me. Thus, after coming to the realization that I did not share my parents' expectations for my future career, I decided to forge my own path. At the end of the day, they just wanted me to get a higher education and become a professional since they could not. But I did it in my own way. I graduated from UMass Low with a bachelor's in business because that was what stuck with me since high school. Due to the various technical skills I acquired at this vocational school, I was able to easily land an internship during college and a permanent position right out of college. At the time, my resume stood out to employers. And as an intern, they were impressed at the fact that I was advanced in Microsoft applications at such a young age or that I could even type faster than my senior counterparts.
So, of the legislature, I don't want to speak for the department, but on behalf of what we've actually thought, you come forward. Thank you for the question. Um, yes, we've certainly reached out to the board of education numerous times. As I pointed out, it was back in 2018 the last time the board has actually put computer science on the agenda. I do know that they have a number of priorities, including a new strategic plan, but I agree uh this is 2023 and there are a number of priorities including financial literacy that could be a part of the student experience. So again, this may not be the ideal venue for that conversation, but hopefully it sparks uh the needed discussion that should happen there. Thank you. Thank you uh for that information, David. Members, I will also tell you that in discussion with the board of education, I recently uh was told that the board is going to set up another committee that looks at um these requests for for different curriculum.
That led me to gain an internship at my current job. Today, I work for a private contractor as a manager of unclaimed property services for several state clients. And just last year, I completed my MBA in business analytics at Southern New Hampshire University. And I can say that I love what I do for a living because I help reunite people with missing money they never thought they had. As you can see, I went through all the typical steps to get to where I am today. But I chose what worked for me. And this is what I encourage you to do. To chase your dreams and not people. I say this because when I was your age, many students were just in a certain career area because of their friends or perhaps even a boyfriend or girlfriend. I do not recommend this because in my experience, most of the people you are close to now would not be around after graduation.
Um because uh as Senator Kim pointed out, we often get calls for uh financial literacy curriculum in the schools and my question has always been um do we add more hours to the school day to have these other uh courses. They are for the most part offered as um um yeah as uh requested or what do we electives? Electives. Yes. Um, and so I don't know if uh Heidi can address a comment made by one of the testifiers that not every school offers um the financial literacy I'm sorry for um computer science. So, we're we're following Act 158 and we are on track to meet the requirements of this year um that require each um one public school um one public elementary, one public middle or intermediate shall offer the content beginning this year, then 50% next year, moving to 100% um all schools in um the for the third year.