'Aiea Intermediate School Principal Tom Kurashige has a saying that teeters on the edge of triteness: "Failure is not an option."

It's a philosophy that he credits with the decadelong turnaround of 'Aiea, which is now considered an example of a school challenging the perception that public schools are inferior.

"The thinking is teachers have to work hard to make kids successful. If the students fail, we fail," Kurashige said.

Though many of 'Aiea's students exhibit the socio-economic characteristics traditionally viewed as a significant barrier to academic achievement — it's a Title I school, meaning it serves many students from low-income families — they consistently place among the best in state essay, poetry, History Day and Science Fair competitions.

All the while, 'Aiea Intermediate School's scores on the Hawai'i State Assessment, the measurement used for No Child Left Behind, are among the highest in the state. Eighty-one percent of 'Aiea's students were proficient in reading this year, compared with the state average of 65 percent. Likewise, 58 percent of 'Aiea's students were proficient in math, compared with the state's 45 percent.

"For a long time the school was perceived to be a poor performing school, and I think that to a certain extent that perception still exists even though the data contradicts that," Kurashige said.

Some 10 years ago, prior to Kurashige taking over as principal, the school had a reputation similar to that of many Hawai'i middle schools in Central and Leeward O'ahu — a campus riddled with behavioral problems, a high level of truancy and an overall lack of academic rigor.

"When we came, we had relatively poor test scores, we had lots of issues in terms of bad behavior, a lot of things. But, we were able to attract some good people and establish a new environment and culture for learning," Kurashige said.

Over the past several years, the school has adopted a philosophy that all students can be successful, no matter the challenges they may face at home. And success is not necessarily measured by a student's performance on math and reading tests. Teachers believe that every student should be given the opportunity to find something they can be successful at, whether it be in graphic arts, drama, visual arts, robotics or media production.

"Our magazine, our drama production, every year we have a student represent the state in National History Day, the fact that we score high in the state essay contest ... to me these are more powerful indicators of success than what the test scores say," Kurashige said.

NURTURING INTERESTS

Arnold Applegate, teacher of eighth-grade graphic arts, said it's important to engage students in learning through their own personal interests.

"You can't throw away a kid because he's not perfect. You can't say that he can't learn. A lot of kids with very special needs who have trouble with book learning, they come into my class and they love that computer. They learn, and they get stuff done," Applegate said.

Johnathan Gray, an eighth-grader in Applegate's class, said he often struggles with math concepts, but graphic arts has given him a better understanding because it requires him to use it for real-life projects. Graphic arts students, for instance, have designed professional quality banners and T-shirts for businesses and community organizations.

"When we're in math class, it's hard to get because I'm not a math person. When we're in here, it's easy to get because we're using computers, and that helps. ... I'm more a computer person," Gray said.

Much of the learning at 'Aiea Intermediate centers around technology. As a newly designated Applied Technology Signature School by Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto, 'Aiea has nearly a one-to-one computer-to-student ratio and a newly created "innovation laboratory," where students work on projects in robotics and electronics. The school also received $100,000 in seed money from the superintendent last year so it could continue its efforts to provide a high technology environment.

Students usually spend about 13 weeks in the graphic arts class before they move on to another elective, perhaps visual arts, band, drama, journalism or video production. Called the "explore wheel," the idea is that students will eventually find something they can be successful at or something that engages them in the learning process. They can then participate in a club or after-school program — such as the fashion design club — to be more immersed in their interests.

"In middle school, the kids are so young, so you want them to expand their horizons and explore their abilities," Kurashige said.

USEFUL SKILLS

Julia LoPresti, the school's drama teacher and student activities coordinator, teaches a 13-week introduction to theater that every student will eventually take. It may not necessarily be something that interests them, but it gives them skills they can use no matter what, she said.

"Because we focus on communication, collaboration and creative problem solving, they can use that in other core areas. They have to be able to have those interpersonal skills," LoPresti said.

The school also puts on two musical productions a year that rival drama programs from most high schools. Last year, students produced the musical "Willy Wonka Jr."

But the production didn't stop with the theater students or the drama club — it involved programs across the campus. Graphic arts students created the fliers, posters and the playbill. Home-economic students designed and sewed costumes. The media technology students filmed the production and created a DVD.

It's all part of a philosophy that learning is connected, that math and reading transcend pre-algebra class or literature class, Kurashige said.

"Engagement" is also one of 'Aiea Intermediate's buzz words. Let kids be kids, Kurashige says, and they will perform academically.

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Tucked away in a hollowed-out classroom is a small-scale arcade room with pool tables, a basketball machine, a bay of television screens for video games and a foosball table. There's a weight room for student athletes. The school holds regular "movie on the lawn" events, cooking competitions and fashion shows, all to allow kids to feel connected to their learning environment.

"They will not invest in learning unless they feel that engagement," Kurashige said.

Kurashige, awarded Middle School Principal of the Year last year, is unwilling to accept credit for the school's turnaround — he credits his teachers instead. But he's held up by the state Department of Education as an example of what strong administrative leadership can accomplish at a school.

Teri Ushijima, complex area superintendent for the 'Aiea, Moanalua and Radford complexes, said it is his leadership that has brought out the best in 'Aiea Intermediate's teachers.

"The transformation is really incredible in terms of what they've done to look at addressing the whole child," she said.

"The leadership at the school is very important. He is very focused on the learning that happens in the classroom," Ushijima said.