| Robert
M. Witt
Robert
has served as executive director of the Hawai'i Association
of Independent Schools since 1989, and president of the Hawaiian
Educational Council since 1992. He holds these positions concurrently.
Hawai'i
Association of Independent Schools membership includes 50
full-member schools and more than 50 associate and affiliate
members. Among other things, it conducts educational research
studies. Most recently, the HAIS Teacher Retention Study was
published in June 2004 in collaboration with the Curriculum
Research and Development Group at the University of Hawai'i.
Accreditation of Hawai'i's private schools has been
a prominent issue for HAIS. Robert currently serves as vice-chair
of the newly organized Commission on Accreditation at the
National Association of Independent Schools.
Representing
Hawai'i's private schools at the legislature since 1990, Robert
has coordinated several successful initiatives. A recent effort
has been amending the Hawai'i State Constitution to allow
private schools to use tax-exempt bonds as an affordable strategy
for financing much needed campus renovation projects. In the
past two years he has assisted ten private schools with the
approval of $80 million of special purpose revenue bonds.
Concerning public education, Robert's efforts have been in
support of teacher professionalism and charter education.
He currently serves as vice-chair of the Ho'okako'o Corporation,
a new non-profit entity organized in support of charter schools
in communities with a predominance of children of Hawaiian
ancestry.
As president
of the Hawaiian Educational Council Robert serves as the director
of the Hawai'i Executive Conference, an annual professional
development program for CEO's and other policy level
executives.
In an
advisory capacity Robert serves as a member of the UH College
of Education Advisory Board, the UH Education Policy Center.
He is particularly proud of the recent launching of a new
master's degree program in Private School Leadership,
a joint project of HAIS and the UH College of Education which
graduates its first cohort of 23 emerging leaders this August.
His degrees
are a master's in education from Ohio University, a
bachelor of science in secondary education and a bachelor
of arts in English literature, both from the University of
Cincinnati.
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