Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) earlier this week joined Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and John Kerry (D-MA) in introducing the College Pathway Act. Through grant assistance, this bill seeks to establish a dialogue between a state's early childhood, K through 12, higher education, and business communities to ensure students amass the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college.

"As a former teacher and school administrator, I have always said that education should be an interconnected pathway, from pre-Kindergarten through postsecondary levels and beyond, into the workforce," said Senator Akaka. "By encouraging states to establish P-16, or as in Hawaii's case, P-20 commissions, to align lower, middle, and high school curricular and assessment standards with what is expected in higher education, we will better assure college readiness and reach a fundamental goal: greater rates of college completion."

"This is an important and necessary initiative that will offer states an opportunity to craft a vision that will reach all students over time so that their educational pathway of access to and success in college will be ensured," said Senator Lieberman.

Such commissions would consist of representatives of the early childhood, and higher education communities, the governor's office, appropriate state legislators, members of the business community and other interested stakeholders. By promoting coordination, among all education levels, states will better align education systems, helping to ensure that all students are prepared to successfully engage in and complete postsecondary level course work.

Hawaii educators expressed their enthusiastic support of this bill. Patricia Hamamoto, Superintendent, Hawaii Department of Education stated: "The vision of the Hawaii DOE is that all of our high school graduates will leave us fully prepared for the "next step" in their lives -- whether that step involves higher education, apprenticeship, employment, military service, or some combination. No one should be in need of remediation. But we know that DOE cannot achieve this vision on its own. We must work in collaboration with pre-schools, both to help children be ready for kindergarten and to help schools be ready for the children they serve. And, at the other end, we must work in collaboration with institutions of higher education and with employers, so that we are providing students with knowledge and skills that serve them well as they move into those 'next steps.' Our Hawaii P-20 Initiative provides a framework to enable such collaboration across boundaries. We welcome the idea that such collaboration is being reinforced at the federal level through the proposed College Pathway Act."

University of Hawaii Interim President, David McClain, added, "We're grateful to the Senator for his efforts to help ensure that access to higher education is more frequently accompanied by success in completing college and in getting a good job."

Elisabeth Chun, Executive Director of Good Beginnings Alliance said, "It is gratifying to see recognition at the federal level, as well as at the state level, regarding the importance of early learning and its impact on a child's lifelong academic achievement. Even for those youngsters who do not have the opportunity to enroll in pre-school, it is important for families to understand their roles as their children's first teachers. If our state hopes to see increased numbers of high school graduates progressing seamlessly to post-secondary education and challenging careers, we must acknowledge the critical importance of early learning."