First lady Laura Bush yesterday praised a student buddy program at Radford High School that helps newly arrived military children adjust to life in the Islands and said it could be a model for similar efforts nationwide.

While her husband received an in-depth briefing yesterday morning at Camp Smith, the first lady discussed education and housing issues there with military wives and personnel as well as three wide-eyed Radford students.

The group spent less than half an hour with Mrs. Bush, who glided into the conference room with an admiral's wife at her elbow and an entourage in tow. It was the last stop of a 16-hour Hawai'i layover before the president and Mrs. Bush continued home to Washington after their trip to Southeast Asia.

The first lady seemed particularly impressed with Radford's Transition Center, a 4-year-old program that has helped about 200 new students so far this school year.

Frequent moves are a fact of military life, but the practice can wreak havoc on children who must grapple with grade-point averages that won't transfer, cultures they don't understand and the simple stress of being a stranger.

About 70 percent of Radford's 1,300 students are military dependents.

"It's a big problem for military families across the United States, and what you all are doing is really a model for what schools could be doing everywhere," the first lady told the group.

Every school should have a program like this, she said.

"You remember your high school career," the first lady said. "You remember how frightened you are to be sitting by yourself at the cafeteria. Not knowing people, whether you just moved in or you grew up in the same neighborhood."

The first lady was briefed on the program by the three Radford students — Corrine Bonifacio, 17, Marquis Johnson, 16, and Kimberly Kisner, 17. They learned last Friday that they would be briefing the first lady, but couldn't tell any of their classmates about the event.

The students greeted her with handshakes and said goodbye with hugs. Johnson gave her a red and white lei and told the first lady "you're more beautiful in person." They were giddy when it was over.

Kisner, whose father is an Air Force brigadier general at Camp Smith, said it was all she could do to calm down when the first lady walked into the room. But Mrs. Bush quickly put her at ease, she said.

"Standing there waiting for her to arrive, I was getting really, really excited," Kisner said. "She made me feel like she wanted to be here with me, and that made me calm down. I was able to be calm and let her hear how wonderful our program is. She had welcoming eyes."

Only a few other O'ahu high schools have programs like the Transition Center.

The first lady thanked Jan Ikeda, the Radford administrator who supervises the Transition Center. Ikeda said Mrs. Bush seemed sincerely interested in the program and hoped the first lady would discuss it with a group of governors' wives whom she has worked with to improve the lives of military families.

"This might be the start of a larger conversation for us," Ikeda said. "Her chief of staff wants us to e-mail her. Maybe something will come of this."

The briefing also included housing issues that face military families in Hawai'i. It stressed the millions of dollars being spent currently to remodel or replace housing that in some cases was built in the 1950s.

Marine Master Sgt. Steven Vega — who lives with his wife and three sons at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i at Kane'ohe Bay — told the first lady that he is living in military housing for the first time in nearly 20 years. He praised the strong sense of community and peace of mind that he found on base.

"Not only do I feel safe about my family there, and they feel safe, but I know I can allow my children to ride their bicycles down to the PX, which is a block and half away, or down to the arcade, down to the movie center," Vega said. "All of their friends are there. For the family it helps us grow. It helps them maintain social bonds with kids their own age."

But Vega didn't flinch when it came to being unhappy about school issues. He told the first lady that the public schools his children attend could use repairs, especially Kailua Intermediate, where he has a son in the eighth grade.

"Whenever it rains, the school floods and has to be shut down," he said. "Facilities are a big area that needs to be improved."

Afterward, Vega said it was important to bring issues like this to the first lady's attention.

"An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime," said Vega, whose family arrived in July. "I doubt I'll get an opportunity to do this again, so why not say something?"

Vega said he thought the first lady was listening to his concerns.

"Her ears were wide open," he said. "She was very attentive."

First lady lauds program that makes incoming students feel at home

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.