Aloha!
By the time you read this message, I will no longer be the president of the Hawaii Education Association as I will be stepping into a position with another Hawaii educational stakeholder group. However, I am excited to continue to be a supportive lifetime HEA member.
I am proud to have been a leader in an rganization whose history goes hand in hand with education in Hawaii for over 100 years. I am even prouder to have followed in the footsteps of some of the most iconic education leaders in the profession. However, what I am most proud of is to share membership in this organization with all of you. My HEA membership card rests comfortably in my wallet at all times as a reminder that there is always more we can do for our students, our schools, and our education community.
As I write this, our country is in turmoil. Weather conditions have been crippling cities. The federal government, under the current president, bears little resemblance to what we have all learned about in school. And the recent death of a Minnesota citizen at the hands of ICE agents who are armed and operating well beyond the scope of the purpose of their department is devastating beyond words. That all of this is occurring on endless media loops that provide us nothing more than a window into our darkest hours can be crippling.
And yet, in the year since these seismic changes began to take shape, we have held two Educational Summits with educational leaders in our state gathering to talk about how we move education in Hawaii forward.
In that same year, with your generosity, we have provided thousands of dollars in scholarships to pre-service and in-service educators pursuing ways to help the next generation of students succeed.
At a time when federal support for special education funding is under attack, we were able to partner with HSTA-R to roll out our inaugural Susan Hagiwara Micro-Grants to much acclaim.
We have also been able to provide support for the celebrations of Hawaii’s own National Teacher Board inductees.
And with deepest thanks to the founders and leaders of the Dive Into Education student convenings, we were able to join with Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke, DOE State Superintendent Keith Hayashi, and educational leaders from our colleges, universities, and schools for another amazing event. Hundreds of students throughout the state spent the day at Leeward Community College educating and networking with educators in one of the finest opportunities to grow the teaching profession.
In short, while the darkness in our current events can seem so overwhelming that it paralyzes, there are rays of light that give us purpose, opportunities to take positive action, and above all else, hope that tomorrow can be better.
HEA started as a collective of educators who deal in hope. Our work keeps that hope growing. Your support keeps us going. Thank you!!!!
