Spring 2023 Communities of Care Workshops
LEEWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Saturday, March 4, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
UNIVERISTY OF HAWAII AT HILO
Saturday, March 25, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
UNIVERISTY OF HAWAII MAUI COLLEGE
Saturday, April 1, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
KAUAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Saturday, April 29, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Thank you to those who joined us for this Communities of Care workshops! We hope you found fellowship and inspiration in this workshop presented by the Hawaii Education Association. Mahalo to our presenters Dr. Troy Hutchings, RJ Rodriguez, Kaiser RISE UP, and attendees for a robust discussion.
Spring 2023 Communities of Care Workshops
In March and April, face to face workshops were held at Leeward Community College, the University of Hawaii at Hilo, University of Hawaii Maui College and at Kauai Community College.
Each session at the face-to-face workshops started with Kaiser Permanente’s Education Theater’s Resilience In School Environments: Understanding and Practice (RISE UP) Staff Lounge, a virtual mental health and resilience professional development program for school staff and part of the Thriving Schools Resilience in School Environments (RISE) initiative. The RISE UP team employed theatre, experiential learning, mindfulness practices, and arts integration techniques to engage participants in the discovery and implementation of resilience-building tools. Participants practiced resilience tools and techniques to support staff and student health, as well as foster connection and supportive relationships with colleagues.
The second and third sessions featured Dr. Troy Hutchings, internationally recognized researcher, writer, and speaker in the areas of professional ethics, educator misconduct, and frameworks for an ethical and legal teaching practice. He is the Senior Policy Advisor for the National Association for the State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). Dr. Hutchings guided an interactive discussion on creating Communities of Care by connecting educator ethics and teacher well-being. Dr. Hutchings was joined by Raymond (RJ) Rodriguez, Specialist with the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, to pinpoint ways local teachers can connect ethics to well-being at their school sites and among their faculty. Educators left each workshop eager for more sessions with these two skilled presenters.
HEA is grateful to financial sponsors of these workshops: Kaiser Permanente Foundation, Hawaii Community Foundation, and the Atherton Family Foundation. We also thank the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board for endorsing our workshops featuring Dr. Hutchings and Mr. Rodriguez.
Meet Our Presenters
Kaiser RISE UP
Resilience In School Environments: Understanding and Practice (RISE UP) Staff Lounge is a virtual mental health and resilience professional development program for school staff and is part of the Thriving Schools Resilience in School Environments (RISE) initiative. The RISE UP team employs theatre, experiential learning, mindfulness practices, and arts integration techniques to engage participants in the discovery and implementation resilience-building tools. Participants will practice resilience tools and techniques to support staff and student health, as well as foster connection and supportive relationships with colleagues.
Creating Communities of Care through Ethics
Dr. Troy Hutchings
Troy Hutchings researches, writes, and speaks in the areas of professional ethics, educator misconduct, and frameworks for an ethical and legal teaching practice. Hutchings also provides expert witness testimony in judicial hearings; collaborates on policy initiatives with state, federal and provincial agencies; and has been the subject matter expert on a variety of national projects dealing with educator ethics including the Model Code of Ethics for Educators and the National Council for the Advancement of Educator Ethics.
Dr. Hutchings is the Senior Policy Advisor for the National Association for the State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). He has a record of full-time teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities at the university level, and has also served as a high school teacher, administrator and coach.
Licensing Specialist for the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board
Raymond “RJ” Rodriguez
Raymond “RJ” Rodriguez is a Licensing Specialist for the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board. He is also the lead for the Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE) work in Hawaii. RJ has ten years of experience in public schools, ranging from elementary school classrooms, middle school, and up to high school. RJ also worked for the teachers’ union in Hawaii for just under a decade advocating for quality working conditions and empowering teacher leaders. RJ graduated from Illinois State University, which allowed him to student teach in Hawaii and get his first job teaching. He was also fortunate enough to teach for three years in Chicago, before returning back to Hawaii. RJ has also worked for Hawaii P-20, where he was able to learn more about higher education and the ways in which students, post-secondary education, and the workforce interact.
