{"id":112680,"date":"2020-03-08T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=112680"},"modified":"2020-03-06T15:55:41","modified_gmt":"2020-03-07T01:55:41","slug":"paipai-o-koolau-1m-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/03\/08\/paipai-o-koolau-1m-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"Game changing, innovative Windward <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr> program gets $1<abbr title=\"Million\">M<\/abbr> boost"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_69749\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZYko_MgnGnc?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Game changing, innovative Windward CC program gets $1M boost\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>Kailua High School graduate <strong>Tiana Pittler<\/strong> has a lot more going on than the typical college coed. The 18-year-old single mother of two-year-old son Zachary is working on her associate\u2019s degree at <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/\">Windward Community College<\/a> with the help of a program designed to increase college enrollment and graduation, called <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/paying-for-college\/paipai-o-koolau\/\">Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span><\/a> or &ldquo;Support of the <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_112788\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-112788\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-pittler-z-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Tiana Pittler with her son Zachary\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-112788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-pittler-z-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-pittler-z-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-pittler-z-630x353.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-pittler-z.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-112788\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tiana Pittler with her son Zachary<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;It has really allowed me to use my [financial aid money] for him because they pay for my first year of college,&rdquo; Pittler said. &ldquo;It\u2019s really helped me financially going to college because I was afraid that I was going to have a hard time paying for school.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>From 2013 to 2019, Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span> has provided self-described &ldquo;intrusive counseling&rdquo; and high-touch wrap-around services to 316 students like Tiana, who have demonstrated financial need that creates a barrier to entering college.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_112722\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-112722\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-akina-s-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"Sarah Akina\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-112722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-akina-s-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-akina-s-93x130.jpg 93w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-akina-s.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-112722\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Akina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;It\u2019s amazing to see their journey and help so many individuals that maybe don\u2019t think college is possible. Maybe timing, or for other reasons, and see them thrive and love it,&rdquo; said <strong>Sarah Akina<\/strong>, advisor and director for Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>The program works. Paipai students graduate and transfer at rates almost double those of the general community college population. Many Paipai students are older, non-traditional students, 78 percent are Native Hawaiian and more than 95 percent are considered low-income. There are many success stories such as 38-year-old <strong>Duane Nalu Dias<\/strong>, a former drug addict who was incarcerated for two years and now wants to earn bachelor&#8217;s and master&#8217;s degrees in social work to help others who are trying to turn their lives around.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People have faith in me and it gave me a better perspective of what I want to do and how to achieve it,&rdquo; Dias said.<\/p>\n<h2>More than $2 million total<\/h2>\n<p>Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span> recently got a big boost. The <a href=\"http:\/\/castlefoundation.org\/\">Harold K. L. Castle Foundation<\/a> has committed a rare second-round of funding of $1.2 million on top of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2013\/01\/23\/largest-gift-to-windward-supports-student-access\/\">more than $900,000 it gave to seed the program in 2013<\/a>, for a total commitment of more than $2 million.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This was a special impact grant and for us to do a second round of funding is unique,&rdquo; said Castle Foundation\u2019s Windward Program Officer Georgianna DeCosta. &ldquo;It is because this partnership with Windward Community College is strong, the results are strong and Windward Community College is not afraid to be bold. The leadership, the team members are innovative and they are brave, and we are so proud to be their partners in this work.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/takitanifoundation.org\/\">Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation<\/a> is also a Paipai &ldquo;cornerstone&rdquo; funder. Windward <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ksbe.edu\/\">Kamehameha Schools<\/a> have provided additional Paipai scholarship funding.<\/p>\n<p>Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span> students have already earned a total of 123 degrees, including 11 bachelor\u2019s and two master\u2019s degrees. The goal is to expand the program\u2019s impact on student, college and community success.<\/p>\n<h2>Growing Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>With the new five-year grant to expand the program\u2019s infrastructure and with the support of other scholarship funders, Paipai plans to grow from a 50-student annual cohort to a hundred students. And Paipai\u2019s best practices will be shared and implemented to help all Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> students succeed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This innovation, this type of work, is game changing,&rdquo; said the Castle Foundation\u2019s DeCosta. &ldquo;We really see this as changing the lives and trajectory for not only the individuals, but families.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Akina added, &ldquo;Now we can dream bigger and think about how we can help or impact more lives and help more people come to college.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.windward.hawaii.edu\/paipai\">Visit the Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span> website for more information.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_112721\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-112721\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-2019.jpg\" alt=\"Group of students\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-112721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-2019.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-2019-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/windward-paipai-2019-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-112721\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span> 2019 cohort learning community<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Harold K. L. Castle Foundation has committed a rare second-round of funding for Paipai O <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span>, a program designed to increase college enrollment and graduation rates, as well as provide financial and academic support for students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,12],"tags":[781,678,71,56,66],"class_list":["post-112680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","category-video","tag-academic-advising","tag-financial-aid","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-video-2","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112680"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112837,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112680\/revisions\/112837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}