The expansion of work-based learning into a sustainable statewide system, the launch of Direct2UH and a fifth consecutive GEAR UP grant are among the highlights in the Hawaiʻi P-20 Partnerships for Education 2025 Annual Report.
Hawaiʻi P-20 is a statewide partnership led by the University of Hawaiʻi System, Hawaiʻi Executive Office on Early Learning and the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) that works to strengthen the education pipeline from early childhood through postsecondary education and training.
Hawaiʻi P-20 helped to improve college and career transitions through new and expanded advising initiatives. Direct2UH was launched to streamline application and admission for Hawaiʻi public high school seniors applying to UH campuses through a single online form.
The Hawaiʻi College and Career Navigators program launched across three islands and 11 public high schools, providing individualized advising and transition support to nearly 1,000 students annually.
Career-connected learning experiences
A major milestone in 2025 was the continued scale-up of Hawaiʻi’s Work-Based Learning Intermediary Network. What began as a small pilot has grown into a coordinated statewide system connecting schools, employers and communities to create meaningful career-connected learning experiences. By the 2024–25 school year, intermediary services generated 350 work-based learning experiences, reached more than 22,000 students and engaged more than 2,000 industry partners. Legislative action in 2025 secured HIDOE Workforce Development funds to sustain the network long term.
Work to align education with workforce needs continued through newly developed career pathway maps that connect HIDOE career pathways and programs of study with UH postsecondary programs and local workforce demand. These maps provide detailed information on transfer agreements, prerequisites, early college opportunities and related job prospects.
Hawaiʻi P-20 was awarded its fifth consecutive GEAR UP grant, a seven-year federal award supporting more than 21,000 students annually in preparing for and succeeding in postsecondary education. In addition, Hawaiʻi P-20 launched Educators Rising Clubs at eight HIDOE high schools to expand early exposure to teaching as a career and inspire students to pursue teacher education programs within the UH System.