HEA Grants Support Teaching as a Career

Three educators involved with their school’s Teaching As A Career program, CTE Pathways program, and Education Academy each received a $1,000 HEA grant to support their innovative efforts. They are Val Tina Oishi, faculty advisor at James Campbell High School; Joyce Kasper, faculty advisor at Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island; and Rondy Arquero, faculty advisor at Maui High School in Kahului.

Val Tina Oishi has ambitious plans for her grant. She plans to accomplish three events for students to explore a career in education.

The first event will be a half-day workshop for James Campbell High School students. Guest speakers will share insights into the field of education and share their journey through their career.

The second activity will involve a series of mini-workshops targeting incoming ninth graders to consider education for their Career and Technical Education elective class – Foundations of Education. Teams of students in the upper level Teaching as a Profession courses will develop a lesson to teach these students at feeder schools to James Campbell High School.

The third event is a read aloud visit to kindergarten students at neighboring elementary schools, Kaimiloa Elementary and Pohakea Elementary Schools. In December 2025, students in the Educators Rising Club and Teaching as a Profession classes will select an age-appropriate book and conduct an activity with the children. This hands-on experience will allow high school students to become teachers for a day and make connections with the children through a structured activity.

Joyce Kasper, who just started Kealakehe High School’s Teaching as a Career Club this school year, said she plans to use her grant for a year-end celebration to support the school’s mentor-mentee program.

A survey revealed that students from kindergarten to the third grade want to feel a stronger sense of belonging at school. To fill this need, Joyce said her high school students have connected with elementary school students by creating holiday crafts together, running game-based learning stations, and spending time talking with them about school.

“This program highlights what it truly means to be a teacher and shows the mentors (teenagers) that there is a purpose to teaching,” Joyce said. “It also gives the elementary school students an opportunity to translate what they have learned from their high school mentors into better ways to interact with other children their age.”

“We would love to connect with Project Equal Access schools across the state to deepen our program and this grant would allow us to close out an amazing first year well,” Joyce added.

Rondy Arquero, faculty advisor for Teaching as a Profession at Maui High School in Kahului, will use her grant to generate excitement about pursuing a career in education by taking students to the Dive Into Education event on Oahu in November 2025.

“This year, I was able to take two students to the Dive Into Education event on Oahu. They were welcomed with a huge career fair for those interested in education, treats, breakouts, and opportunities to network with like-minded peers,” Rondy said. “I felt like this event reinforced their interest in teaching and both of them are heading to college in the fall to pursue education.”

“Being able to travel to Oahu and to create connections with other students is a huge morale boost for my students who are interested in going into education,” Rondy added.