About Us

 

 

Hilo Intermediate School is located in the town of Hilo on the eastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii. The historic school opened in 1929 and is one of two public intermediate schools in Hilo. Six elementary schools feed into Hilo Intermediate School, one of two feeder schools for Hilo High School.

 

Currently, there are 36 teachers, 2 counselors, 1 student services coordinator, 1 curriculum coordinator, 1 registrar and 2 administrators contributing to the education of our students. Hilo Intermediate is a Title I school that qualifies for federal funding to assist in the provision of resources to help all disadvantaged children reach rigorous state academic standards expected of all children. Title I funds are used for instructional supports, parental involvement, curriculum materials and program improvement. Additionally, Title I funds provide professional development to help teachers implement Common Core State Standards, evidence-based strategies, technology and the use of monthly informative assessments to target interventions and address gaps for all students.

 

Hilo Intermediate School has adopted heterogeneous cross-content cohorts. Teachers meet in student-centered cohorts to gather and analyze data, develop and implement student-specific intervention plans, and collaborate on cross content and school-wide initiatives and practices. The school continues to support diverse learners with Special Education, ELL, Inclusion and Honors classes in Science, English, Math and Social Studies. To help students become college-, career- and community-ready, the General Learner Outcomes (GLOs) are central to all classroom instruction.

 

Hilo Intermediate School offers a wide range of curricular and extracurricular opportunities. Students may participate in Band, Robotics, Spelling Bee, Science Olympiad, Builders Club, GSA Club, Cross Country, Basketball, Volleyball and after school UPLINK and REACH programs. Science Fair, Math Counts, and lunchtime intramural sports are also popular activities at Hilo Intermediate School.

 

Hilo Intermediate School’s family-school-community partnerships are evidenced by our monthly newsletter, Community-Career-College Fair, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Math/Avid/Team Family Nights, Honor Roll Rewards Program, PBIS Awards Program, SCC Meetings, Parent Volunteers Program, and the Spartanfest Family Event. Community partners on campus include the Kiwanis Club who supports the Builders Club and participates in many community service projects and service to school.

 

 

Hilo Intermediate School is continuing in its efforts to educate the whole child. Teachers meet in student-centered teams to gather and analyze data; develop and implement student specific intervention plans, and collaborate on cross-content and school-wide initiatives and practices. The school continues to support diverse learners with Special Education, ELL, Inclusion and Honors classes in Science, English, Math and Social Studies. To help students becomes college, career and community ready, the General Learner Outcomes (GLOs) are central to classroom instruction.

 

Hilo Intermediate School’s status is listed as ‘Continuous Improvement,’ using the state’s Strive HI metric. The Strive HI Index has four components: Proficiency, Growth, Readiness, and Achievement Gaps. For the previous school year, 2018-2019, the results in Math and ELA/Literacy on the new Smarter Balance Assessment (SBA) were 41% proficient in Math and 46% proficient in ELA/Literacy. Science proficiency on the Hawai'i State Assessment (HSA) was 57%. Our Math Student Growth Percentile (SGP) is 58 and our ELA/Literacy SGP is 40. College and Career Readiness is measured via our Chronic Absenteeism rate, which is 16%. There is a 56% Math Gap Rate and a 52% ELA/Literacy Gap Rate between high needs and non-high needs students. High-needs students are identified as English language learners, students with disabilities, and/or students who receive free or reduced lunch.

 

Hilo Intermediate School has continued the successful implementation of the Cycle of Effective Instruction. Additionally, professional development opportunities were provided to help with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, evidence-based strategies, technology and the use of monthly informative assessments to target interventions, address gaps and help students become college, career and community ready.

 

The school received an accreditation term of six years with a one-day visit from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in the Spring of 2018. In 2021, Hilo Intermediate School will complete the mid-cycle visit.

 

To help students become college, career and community ready, Hilo Intermediate School adopted the AVID program in the 2014-2015 school year and continued its implementation in the 2020-2021 school year. AVID, which stands for Advancement VIA Individual Determination, uses researched-base best practices and curriculum to help close the achievement gap by preparing students for postsecondary opportunities. AVID helps students develop critical thinking, literacy and math skills across all content areas.

 

Hilo Intermediate School has made progress in all ‘Six Plus One’ State Priority Strategies. The school continues to apply the Common Core State Standards Literacy and Math shifts in instruction and provide teachers with the necessary training. Although the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiative is in its infancy, the school anticipates implementation in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment and collaboration in the coming school year. For SY 2019-20, the school has continued its implementation of evidenced-based paragraph writing in all content areas, including elective classes, as part of its school-wide writing plan to improve student writing and literacy. The school continues to build on personalizing student learning through Response to Intervention (RTI), Comprehensive Student Supports and communicating with parents the progress of their children. Through professional development, all departments have established Data Teams, and some are consistently collaborating to share ideas and high-yield strategies to increase student achievement. The implementation of the Educator Effectiveness System is contributing to both educator and student growth. New teachers are being supported through Induction and Mentoring. The Academic Review Team has been established and the team composition is confirmed. Team members are deepening their understanding of the purpose and work of Academic Review Teams, moving from compliance to engagement.