{"id":19979,"date":"2025-11-06T14:49:47","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T00:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/?p=19979"},"modified":"2025-11-06T14:51:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T00:51:27","slug":"strengthening-the-bond-between-families-and-kohala-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/strengthening-the-bond-between-families-and-kohala-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging\u00a0the Gap: How One\u00a0Community School\u00a0Coordinator is Strengthening the Bond\u00a0Between Families and Kohala High School\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a typical school\u00a0day,\u00a0you\u00a0will\u00a0probably see\u00a0Liza\u00a0Dela Cruz\u00a0Monsalve, Community School Coordinator with Piha Me Ka Pono<\/a> program, greeting students, faculty, and \u2018ohana (families) with a warm smile\u00a0as she walks through the Kohala High School campus.\u00a0Whether\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0chatting\u00a0with\u00a0parents at drop-off, handing out flyers, or connecting with community partners, Liza is a constant bridge between school and community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kohala High School has an average student population of 252 students<\/a>, with the two largest represented ethnic groups being Native Hawaiian (37%) and Filipino (29%). Through Piha Me Ka Pono, Liza works closely with the school to increase family engagement and reduce absenteeism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Community<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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As a\u00a0proud\u00a0alumnus\u00a0of Kohala High School\u00a0who moved\u00a0to Hawai\u02bbi at 16 years old, she understands the challenges of navigating a new school environment and overcoming language barriers.\u00a0“A lot of the parents come to\u00a0school,\u00a0and they feel intimidated to speak to anyone or interact with each other,\u201d she shares. \u201cEngaging with the parents help them feel comfortable to approach staff members and get involved with their children’s journey through high school.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Liza’s approach to increased family engagement is hands-on. She works with the school staff to hand out event flyers on and off campus, and shares information about events with Kohala Mountain News. She is also the creator and moderator of a Kohala High School group on the Team Reach app, sharing announcements and resources to the school community. The community and students have grown accustomed to her friendly and welcoming presence around campus and at school events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of her most impactful initiatives was an attendance incentive program. In the 2024-2025 school year, students who were on track each quarter to be below the chronic absenteeism rate at the end of the year had their name submitted into a drawing to win a PlayStation 5, provided by PIDF and thanks to Liza’s efforts. She also met with families of students with continued absences to problem-solve barriers to attendance. Kohala High School\u2019s daily attendance rate went from 87% to 90%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Teachers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Kohala High School graduating class of 2025 honored Liza and Piha Me Ka Pono in their graduation ceremony. In a statement from Kohala High School they shared, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) has been an invaluable and integral part of Kohala High School and the broader Kohala community. Their efforts have consistently strengthened the relationship between the school and the community, fostering meaningful connections that have made many events and initiatives possible. Their dedication does not go unnoticed and is deeply appreciated by all.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Liza’s efforts, our school has received impactful donations from PID, including iPads for teachers to enhance instructional support and bleachers for our football games. She has also provided vital classroom and art supplies, helping to ensure students have the tools they need to succeed and feel a sense of pride.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond these contributions, Liza has built strong relationships with families, attending school community council meetings, visiting homes, and coordinating EL family nights, making her a trusted and integral part of our community. She also worked directly with the vice principal to help students in the attendance boot camp reflect on their own attendance barriers and write clear goals for success. Her work has been a driving force in creating an environment where students feel supported, valued, and excited to come to school.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are truly grateful for the continued support of Partners in Development and hope they are able to carry on their invaluable work in the years to come.”<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Through trust and genuine care, Liza isn\u2019t just connecting families to Kohala High School, she\u2019s building a stronger community for generations to come. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a typical school\u00a0day,\u00a0you\u00a0will\u00a0probably see\u00a0Liza\u00a0Dela Cruz\u00a0Monsalve, Community School Coordinator with Piha Me Ka Pono program, greeting students, faculty, and \u2018ohana (families) with a warm smile\u00a0as she walks through the Kohala…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":19989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,34],"tags":[567,568,569,520,511,566,222,202],"class_list":["post-19979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-piha","category-success-stories","tag-community-resources","tag-community-school","tag-community-school-coordinator","tag-community-school-model","tag-kohala","tag-kohala-complex","tag-pidf","tag-piha-me-ka-pono"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19979"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19990,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19979\/revisions\/19990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}