Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter, Oct. 16

Hawai'i State Department of Education sent this bulletin at 10/16/2024 11:40 AM HST

Oct. 16

Editorial Mission: As the Department's primary publication, we aim to live up to the meaning of ha‘aheo – to cherish with pride – by bolstering and sustaining pride in public education and touting the successes happening across our system.

Editor’s Note: This issue is orange-hued to celebrate Unity Day as part National Bullying Prevention Month to promote an inclusive, nurturing learning environment for all.

KEEP In the Loop with SuperIntendant Keith T. Hayashi-Template

Aloha, HIDOE Community –

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter.

Hawai‘i State Teacher of the Year

Congratulations to Kalani High School’s Bryan Silver, the 2025 Hawai‘i Teacher of the Year! He was among 16 complex area and charter school teachers of the year who were honored in a ceremony yesterday at Washington Place. The title of Hawaiʻi State Teacher of the Year is the state’s highest recognition for educators and is presented annually to a winner selected from more than 13,000 HIDOE teachers statewide. Bryan will go on to represent Hawaiʻi in the National Teacher of the Year Program.

Kalani High School science and CTE teacher Bryan Silver was named the 2025 Hawai‘i State Teacher of the Year in a ceremony at Washington Place on Tuesday, Oct. 15. He was joined on stage by Kalani High School Principal Mitchell Otani, Superintendent Keith Hayashi, Board of Education Chair Roy Takumi, Gov. Josh Green and Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area Superintendent Rochelle Mahoe. Credit: Eliot Honda / HIDOE Video Production Branch.

Bryan is a veteran educator with more than two decades of teaching in Hawai‘i public schools. He’s a science and Career and Technical Education teacher and serves as the advisor for Kalani’s robotics team. He also led the effort in creating the Innovation Station, a mobile classroom equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters and other tools aimed to make STEM resources accessible to students and teachers at different schools across the island. He also recently became the first Hawai‘i recipient for the 2024 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, winning $50,000 for Kalani High School’s robotics program.

This annual event is not just about celebrating one individual — it's about honoring all teachers. Each nominee represents thousands of our educators across Hawaiʻi who work tirelessly to inspire curiosity, innovation and growth, and to ensure that our students are prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. Your work is essential, and we are incredibly grateful for all that you do.

Congratulations to all 16 complex area and charter school teachers of the year who were honored in a ceremony at Washington Place with Gov. Josh Green on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Credit: Eliot Honda / HIDOE Video Production Branch

School Bus Updates

This week, a total of 109 bus routes – or 79% – have been restored on O‘ahu, Maui and Hawai‘i Island. Service has been restored for 90% of impacted students (3,363 out of 3,720). We are still working to restore the remaining 29 suspended bus routes and our contractors are actively recruiting.

Mahalo to Gov. Green for extending the emergency proclamation which enabled us to implement alternative transportation methods, such as allowing the temporary use of tour buses to transport regular education students and allowing school bus contractor Ground Transport Inc. to place drivers on school buses before they have fully completed their licensing process.

King Kamehameha III Elementary

Kamehameha Schools announced a 16-acre site in Ku‘ia, Lahaina that could serve as the permanent home for rebuilding King Kamehameha III Elementary School. The proposed site is located below the Lahaina Bypass road and above the tsunami zone.

A map of the proposed site for rebuilding the permanent campus of King Kamehameha III Elementary School. Credit: Kamehameha Schools

We’re working on organizing a community meeting to gather feedback on the new proposed site. The details have not been finalized yet, but we are looking to hold the meeting near the end of this month. Please stay tuned for more information.

Meanwhile, we are currently in the process of returning the original King Kamehameha III Elementary land along Front Street to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Maui.

National Principals Month

In honor of October also being National Principals Month, we are sharing videos from ED Talks Hawai‘i featuring award-winning school principals on their unique leadership styles.

In this video, Kapa‘a High School Principal Tommy Cox shares that leadership doesn’t always mean being at the forefront of everything. Instead, he chooses to lead from “behind,” which allows him to have a different perspective to best see the needs of his staff. Cox received the 2024 Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award earlier this year.

Ho‘oha‘aheo Photo of the Week

Holomua Elementary School fifth grader Sophia Nacapuy, sixth grader Jasmine Bonilla and third grader Liam Nacapuy joined Superintendent Keith Hayashi to film an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video on Wednesday, Oct. 9 outside of the HIDOE state office building. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, now in its 10th year, aims to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and encourage donations to research.

In the video, which can be viewed here, Superintendent Hayashi challenged all school principals to join him in raising awareness for ALS. Ke‘elikōlani Middle School’s Joe Passantino immediately stepped up to the fight.

Credit: Kimberly Yuen / HIDOE Communications Branch

Submit your public school-related image from this school year for a chance to be featured as next week’s Ho‘oha‘aheo Photo of the Week!

#HIPublicSchoolsProud

Social media highlights of the most engaging posts of the week.
Use the #HIPublicSchoolsProud hashtag for a chance to be featured!

ʻAiea High School

»This homecoming, we not only celebrate our present but honor our past. Our alma mater stands as a reminder of the unity, pride, and spirit we carry with us. From the cheers on the field to the memories we create, we are bound by the same roots that continue to grow stronger each year. Here's to tradition, to friendship, and to all the incredible students, alumni, and staff who make ‘Aiea High School home.

Honokaʻa High & Intermediate School

» Throughout the first quarter, our students learned about Honoka’a High School’s history as a sugar plantation town. Our rich history was shared with Sen. Hirono as she encouraged our students to keep exemplifying the values of hard work and determination that were at the core of employees of the Hamakua Sugar Plantation. It was a great gathering of Dragons showing off their PRIDE!

Waimea Canyon Middle School

» WCMS Culinary Arts students blended delicious smoothies this week under the direction of Ms. Pfandler! 🥤✨ Ask them how they tasted! 😋 Made with yogurt and frozen fruit, it's all about building healthy habits in our middle school elective. #HealthyHabits #CulinaryArts #SmoothieVibes #wcmsohana #HIPublicSchoolsProud

Family Focus

What do you think about cellphones in schools?

As parents, we arm our kids with cell phones in case of emergencies. Cell phones can also provide students with immediate access to educational resources. But students have a hard time detaching themselves from their personal devices and teachers struggle to keep kids focused. Some studies also indicate that prolonged use of smartphones, in combination with social media, affect students’ mental health.

According to Education Week, “at least 15 states have passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools statewide or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies.” Hawai‘i currently does not have a statewide cellphone ban in schools.

So how do we balance the pros and cons of the debate?

Possible classroom cellphone control implementation strategies:

1. Teachers just tell students not to use phones during instruction.
Concerns: The burden is on the teacher, stealing their focus from teaching. Students are likely to sneak gaming, messaging, or media access.

2. Teachers collect phones at the start of class and return at the end.
Concerns: This takes time away from instruction. Schools and teachers could face liability issues if phones break or go missing.

3. Schools deploy a blocking app like “FamilyTime for Schools” to block apps and games, and remotely lock students’ phones during tests or lectures.
Concerns: Cost of the app. More technology staff would be needed to implement.

4. Students get “dumb phones.”
Concerns: Students would still want “smartphones” for gaming and media so this would be a duplicative cost.

5. Students are given “Yondr pouches” to hold their cellphones. (Used at schools all over the U.S. including Kīhei Charter School.) Teachers can lock or unlock with a magnetic base station based on academic or emergency needs.
Concerns: Each pouch costs $25-30 and all parties would require training.

Whatever policy is developed, it needs input from all parties involved as full support will be necessary for it to succeed.

What do you think?

We welcome your thoughts in this short survey.

Family Focus is a monthly column coordinated by Parents for Public Schools Hawai‘i, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization of parents, educators, community leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders in Hawai‘i public education.

HIDOE Headlines

A roundup of announcements, resources and shoutouts.

» Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻO Ānuenue unveiled a new tech lab donated by the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation. The renovated space includes 3D printers, drones, audio/visual equipment, and iPads and laptops for students. Players Cam Christie, Trentyn Flowers and Kai Jones were in attendance and signed autographs for students.

» Farrington High School students held a pep rally to honor alum and four-time Super Bowl champion Jesse Sapolu. “This is where it all started for me, so I’m honored to be back,” he told Hawaii News Now.

» Students from Radford, Campbell, ʻAiea and Kaiser High Schools, and ʻEwa Makai Middle School, participated in a drone technology program over fall break hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization.

Important Dates & Upcoming Events

Oct. 31 - Halloween
Nov. 5 - Election Day (Schools and offices closed)

The Great Hawaiʻi ShakeOut earthquake drill is scheduled on Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m. Millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquake drills tomorrow at work, school and at home. What is the proper immediate response in classrooms to an earthquake?

Lockdown
Evacuation
Shelter In Place
Drop, Cover and Hold On

Find the answer at the end of this newsletter.

Alumni Spotlight

Globally competitive, locally committed

Tara Reed

Occupation: Physician
What school you grad? Waiākea High School ‘06
College: UC Irvine
Medical School: University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine
Location: Hilo, HI

Dr. Tara Reed is a physician specializing in internal medicine serving her hometown of Hilo. After graduating from Waiākea High School in 2006, she went to study at UC Irvine, majoring in criminology with a minor in biological sciences.

She then attended the University of Hawai‘i’s John A. Burns School of Medicine on a full-ride scholarship through the National Health Service Corps. After completing her residency in internal medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, she served as a primary care physician at the Ko‘olauloa Health Center in Kahuku and later at the Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.

She and her husband Shannon (classmates at Waiākea High School) moved back to Hilo in December with their two young children, where she joined a private practice with her longtime mentor.

Q: What are you up to these days?
A: Returning home to serve the community I grew up in has been a dream come true. My son is in kindergarten at Waiākeawaena Elementary School which has been extra special since I was a student there, too. I work in a private practice clinic alongside my mentor, Dr. Sydney Tatsuno. Teaching the next generation of physicians is also a passion of mine. I am an assistant professor at UH in the Department of Medicine, where I teach medical students and resident physicians. I also sit on a nonprofit board called Hui Kahu Malama to address the primary care physician shortage on the Big Island.

Q: What makes you #PublicSchoolProud?
A: I am a proud product of the public school system. Waiākeawaena Elementary to Waiākea Intermediate to Waiākea High to UH Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine has given me a strong base and the building blocks to become a physician and lifelong learner. Each step of my education through the public school system has given me the tools and experiences to reach my academic and professional goals.

Q: Name of a teacher or mentor you’d like to thank?
A: I have had the privilege of having many excellent teachers. At Waiākeawaena, Mrs. Nakagawa, Mrs. Ebersole, Mrs. Okazaki and Mr. Yanagi created a solid foundation of learning for me. At Waiākea Intermediate, Mrs. Miyazono, Mrs. Purbaugh, Mrs. Chang and Mrs. Oshiro were amazing. At Waiākea High, Mr. Olive, Mrs. Nekoba, Mr. Hagiwara, Mrs. Poai, Mrs. Nishina and Ms. Richardson helped in preparing me for college. Dr. Sydney Tatsuno has been a lifelong mentor in medicine and I am grateful to work alongside him.

Q: Favorite subject in school?
A: Science.

Q: What advice do you have for students?
A: It does not matter where you come from or what your background is, if you have a goal, are committed, and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way, anything is possible. Setbacks are just challenges that teach you lessons to make you stronger and more resilient.

Dr. Tara Reed is pictured with her kindergarten teacher Janice Nakagawa. Nakagawa, who is now retired, taught both Dr. Reed and her younger sister at Waiākeawaena Elementary School, and has recently established care with her former student. Credit: Dr. Tara Reed

Are you or do you know someone who exemplifies the Hawai'i State Department of Education's mission to prepare all graduates to be globally competitive and locally committed? We are looking for individuals who graduated from a Hawai'i public school and are passionate about their communities. Please fill out this form for a chance to be featured as a future alumni spotlight.