Tag Archives: Hawaiian Teachers

Jackie Freitas named Hawaii’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Jackie Freitas named 2024 State Teacher of the Year Photo Credit: CCSSO

There are many excellent educators deserving of recognition who work in public schools in the state of Hawaii. One of these is his school agriculture teacher Jackie Freitas. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Jackie teaches at Leilehua High School in Wahiawa, Hawaii. In a career that spans 13 years, she has worked nearly all of them at Leilehua. There she instructs courses in natural resources and serves as the advisor for her school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) Club.

Jackie teaches her students to grow produce through coding and STEM research. She has introduced her students to lessons on hydroponics, bee apiaries, and more. She has also pioneered a new initiative at the high school which allows students to sell and donate produce to local families. She created a curriculum for animal husbandry in order to give students hands-on experience, and designed lessons in organic farming to train them to become certified organic inspectors for the state. She has also formed partnerships with the State Department of Education for certification in food handling and with the State Department of Land and Natural Resources for hunter education certification.

In addition to working with young people, Jackie also serves as a facilitator for providing professional development and hands-on training to teachers across the state. 

Her advice to colleagues? “Take the time to build a community within your classroom, get to know your students and what they can offer within your classroom, as well as allow students the opportunity to learn beyond your four walls of the classroom,” she says. “There are many ways to incorporate instruction other than just lecturing and worksheets, but rather come up with ways to incorporate labs, hands-on instruction, or different types of technology,” she continues.

Jackie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at the University of Hawaii at West Oahu in 2011. She also earned certification to teach Career and Technical Education in natural resources from Leeward Community College. She is currently pursuing her National Board Certification in natural resources.

Annual song competition honors beloved Hawaii educator George Alanson Andrus

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There are times when a particularly special educator inspires students long after he or she no longer walks this earth. One of these educators is George Alanson Andrus, a beloved music teacher who taught in the Hawaiian islands during the early part of the 20th century. Even though he lived a century ago, George became the inspiration for a singing competition that still takes place annually at Hawaii’s Kamehameha School. The Kamehameha School is a privately-funded high school originally founded to provide quality education for Native Hawaiian students. Many consider the institution to be one of the most prestigious schools in the Hawaiian islands.

When George suddenly collapsed and died on May 26, 1921, the principal and faculty of the school wanted to honor the popular teacher. To do so, they hastily organized an impromptu choral competition between the classes that very same day. They held that first competition in the dark on the steps of the campus’s Bishop Museum, illuminated only by the headlights of automobiles aimed at the contestants. The following year, the Kamehameha School for Girls staged their first annual song contest.

In the early days of the contest, each class sang the school’s alma mater, Sons of Hawaii, followed by a Hawaiian composition, and culminating with an original song in Hawaiian composed by members of the class. In 1968, the competition was televised for the first time, live, with a simulcast on radio. Today, the event is still highly anticipated, and, like the very first competition, many of the song selections are still delivered a cappella.

To learn more about the Kamehameha Schools, visit their website at www.ksbe.edu. To view a performance at the 2024 competition, view this four-minute YouTube video below.

Hawaii’s SPEDucator Project: “You are exactly who our students need!”

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Every dedicated, hardworking educator knows how difficult the job of teaching is, and sometimes we may feel like, no matter how hard we try to make a positive difference in the lives of our students, we are not good enough. This happens not only to many Special Education teachers, but to many regular education teachers, too. Well, here is a video created by the Hawaii’s SPEDucator Project especially for Special Education teachers that offers a message for every educator:  “You are exactly who our students need!” View the video below.

The is SPEDucator Project comprised of Special Education teachers working with the Hawaii State Department of Education. These teachers were selected by educational leaders for their passion, ingenuity, and excellence in the field of special education. Participants advocate for resources and training to better serve Special Education students, parents, and communities. Click on this link to learn more about the SPEDucator Project.

Educators caught by Lahaina wildfires have lost homes, classrooms

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Educators all over the country have undoubtedly heard of the calamitous wildfire that has befallen the community of Lahaina in Hawaii. The fast-moving fire has leveled nearly the entire town, killing more than 100 people and forcing thousands to flee without a possession to their name. When these survivors were finally able to return to their community, they found themselves homeless.

Preliminary counts indicate that more than 50 Maui educators have either lost their homes entirely, or their homes suffered so much damage that they are uninhabitable. And that’s not all. Since the fires destroyed King Kamehameha III Elementary School was also leveled, at least 15 of these teachers have lost their classrooms as well.

According to the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), some of these teachers and their families have been offered temporary shelter with family members, friends, or colleagues living in unaffected areas. Fortunately, a few of these educators have already set up GoFundMe, GiveSendGo, or Venmo accounts to help raise money to meet their most pressing immediate needs and get themselves and their households back on their feet. To see a partial list of these accounts compiled by HSTA, click on this link to their Maui Wildfires Donations webpage.

Remember that the counts of those educators that have been affected by the devastating wildfires do not include other school employees, such as education assistants, cafeteria workers, custodians, and administrators. And don’t forget the kids and their parents! They all need a great deal of assistance, too! This can be done through a donation to the Aloha United Way Maui Fire Relief Fund. Your tax-deductible donations will go directly to Maui United Way to support Maui victims.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the large numbers of people and the extent of the need. I’m sure every little bit of help you can offer will be very much appreciated.

 

Beloved music teacher George Andrus inspires Hawaiian singing competition

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There are times when a particularly special educator inspires students long after he or she no longer walks this earth. One of was George Alanson Andrus, a beloved music teacher who taught in the Hawaiian islands during the early part of the 20th century. Even though he lived a century ago, George became the inspiration for a singing competition that still takes place annually at Hawaii’s Kamehameha School. The Kamehameha School is a privately-funded high school originally founded to provide quality education for Native Hawaiian students. Many consider the institution to be one of the most prestigious schools in the Hawaiian islands.

When George suddenly collapsed and died on May 26, 1921, the principal and faculty of the school wanted to honor the popular teacher. To do so, they hastily organized an impromptu choral competition between the classes that very same day. They held that first competition in the dark on the steps of the campus’s Bishop Museum, illuminated only by the headlights of automobiles aimed at the contestants. The following year, the Kamehameha School for Girls staged their first annual song contest.

In the early days of the contest, each class sang the school’s alma mater, “Sons of Hawaii,” followed by a Hawaiian composition, and culminating with an original song in Hawaiian composed by members of the class. In 1968, the competition was televised for the first time, live, with a simulcast on radio. Today, the event is still highly anticipated, and, like the very first competition, many of the song selections are still delivered a cappella.

To view a performance from this year’s song competition, watch the YouTube video below. To learn more about the Kamehameha Schools, visit their website at www.ksbe.edu.