The ability for a stabilized learning continuum and connection for Native Hawaiian communities to engage in cultural practices in a pandemic crisis of social distancing and shelter-in-place orders remains critical. Native Hawaiians have strong connections to ‘āina, culture, and language and thus are culturally impacted by the pandemic (Kaholokula, Samoa, Miyamoto, Palafox, & Daniels, 2020). NHEC’s community consultation participants reported new possibilities in cultural learning–virtual or in person–during the pandemic. Participants stated cultural content which also imparts Hawaiian values is increasingly more important in a pandemic and post-pandemic world.

Mental health and well-being are paramount for student academic achievement and life. The COVID-19 impacts of social and physical isolation, loss of routines, increased anxiety or pessimism of an unsure future impacted youth. At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the Center for Disease Control reported a 24% increase in children’s mental-health related emergency room visits for youth ages 5-11, with a 31% increase for adolescents ages 12-17 (Leeb, et al., 2020).

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies in relation to student well-being continues to be reinforced as a priority by community. In NHEC’s 2017-2018 annual report, SEL recommendations were also provided to the USDOE to consider for adoption as a new Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) measure. “Hawaiian values and practices have served as guiding principles for Kānaka Maoli (term for indigenous people of Hawai‘i) for innumerable generations. Findings from this project show that the wisdom of the Hawaiian culture is expressed in values and practices that more recently have been identified as SEL competencies. This congruence between Hawaiian value systems and SEL principles reveal the possibility of identifying specific measures of student success that resonate with the Native Hawaiian community that simultaneously reflect the rigorous standards of GPRA.”

Through NHEC’s community consultation work, participants shared the need more mental health professionals in schools and communities including trauma-informed care training for all persons in contact with learners.

The USDOE should provide meaningful guidance and technical assistance to grantees on evaluation budgets to help grantees specify how much will be spent on evaluation tasks, and what is expected of the evaluator/evaluation plan in alignment to the program logic model outcomes. Only 22 of the 38 grants specified in the NHEP Portfolio Analysis Report indicated evaluation as a component of their project budgets, and overall these grantees spent less than 1% of funding on program evaluation. According to a 2016 State of Evaluation Report on nonprofit evaluation practice and capacity, only 12% of nonprofit organizations spent 5% of their budget on evaluation due to long-standing barriers of funding and staff time. Prioritizing program evaluation funding and support goes beyond meeting grant requirements. Program evaluation is a critical and strategic investment in program management, decision-making, and ultimately, a key process for expanding services for community effectively.

In building upon the new GPRA measure requiring grantees to develop program logic models to report against program outcomes, the USDOE and Office of Management and Budget holds a key opportunity in expanding culturally responsive approaches to evaluation that is respectful, equitable, and responsive to the communities impacted, while supporting improved effectiveness in cross-cultural settings for the overall Program. Logic models help us make connections in the work being done by the program and the desired changes the program wants to achieve, so culturally responsive evaluation is needed in effectively measuring success in desired change. In NHEC’s NHEP Portfolio Analysis Report, only three out of the 73 grants for which evaluation design information was available indicated use of participatory approaches that involve stakeholders in design, implementation, and interpretation of the evaluation.

This recommendation also aligns with NHEC’s previous analysis in 2017-2018 Student Outcomes Development GPRA Project. The project initiative precipitated a long-stated need among NHEP grantees that GPRA standards during that time were inadequate for measuring growth, learning, successes, and achievements of Native Hawaiian learners. The standards were largely considered culturally incongruent. The new GPRA program logic model is a step in the right direction in identifying program-relevant outcomes, yet more can be done to support and enhance measuring what matters for community outcomes of NHEP.