HICS Vision and Mission Statement and Educational Philosophy
Vision (how do we envision the school to be?)
HICS is dedicated to developing global thinkers who deeply care about the world and its diversity. The vision of Hawaii International Charter School (HICS) is to prepare its students to be active, caring, and contributing citizens in a global and interconnected world. HICS believes it is imperative to help students enlarge their views beyond their own personal experiences to better understand the interdependence of the world and their role in a global society. As such, HICS is committed to academic excellence by creating a school environment with innovative curriculum, programs, and a school culture that inspire curiosity in and investigation of the world, understanding through multiple perspectives, effective cross-cultural experiences, intercultural communication and social action for the betterment of humanity.
Understanding that teachers are important guides to a child’s budding sense of the world, HICS’ vision is build a professional learning community among teachers engaged in bringing international and intercultural dimensions into the classroom experience.
Mission (what is our strategy to accomplish our vision?)
The mission of HICS is to provide an education dedicated to academic excellence infused with global perspectives to better equip its students with values, skills, and attitudes needed for effective global citizenry and leadership. In particular, HICS is committed to a focus on Asia and its interrelationship with the world.
The HICS school environment will promote the importance of second language learning through the offering of Mandarin as an immersion experience as well as integrating the arts, multiple perspectives, and cross-cultural learning experiences. HICS will focus on the development of the whole child and the uniqueness of each child, grounded in the principles and values of progressive education affirming that children learn best by doing and being active participants in their learning.
The HICS student will be a responsible, respectful and informed citizen in the world having been prepared with multicultural and multilingual learning experiences.
Educational Philosophy
The foundational underpinnings of HICS’ educational programs will be guided by the principles of progressive education and the values of experiential education that children learn best by doing. Learning by doing promotes interdisciplinary and thematic curriculum, critical thinking and creates opportunities for collaboration and creative thinking. HICS believes in the value of childhood and its critical importance of these years in the development of the child as life-long learners.
As a school affirming the importance of integrating global perspectives, HICS recognizes that technology offers unprecedented opportunities in the classroom to explore the world and acquire first-hand knowledge of the world.
HICS believes in the key tenets of global education that incorporate the notions of equity, diversity and interconnectedness.
What is HICS all about?
Our proposed charter school will:
•Provide the first tuition free Asian focused Chinese Bilingual Education public charter school in the state of Hawaii.
•Start with elementary grades and expand every year to finally become K-12
•Include the U.S. National Common Core State Standards
•Teach Chinese Mandarin as a second language
•Get your child ready for the 21st Century Global Community