HSTA-Retired/HEA Professional Development Grants

Congratulations to the following four educators who received professional development grants to support their
educational journey:

Dariess Ah Sui
Ka Waihona o Ka Na’auao Public Charter School (Nanakuli)
Dariess Ah Sui, a special education inclusion teacher for kindergarten and first grade students at Ka Waihona o Ka Na’auao Public Charter School in Nanakuli on the Wai‘anae Coast, supports diverse learners in accessing the general education curriculum through differentiated instruction, visual supports and small group learning.

She will use her HSTA-Retired/HEA grant to continue her master’s degree in interdisciplinary education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She started the master’s program, focusing on place-based education and culturally responsive curriculum design this past spring and is expected to be completed in 2027. Dariess, who taught a summer program at Papa Hana No’eau at Ka Waihona, a public charter school on Nanakuli Hawaiian homestead land by integrating Hawaiian culture through hands-on arts and crafts and place-based learning, plans to work closely with students to develop individualized education programs to build  independence and engagement.

Rain Yong
Ka Waihona o Ka Naʻauao Public Charter School (Nanakuli)
Rain Yong, a felllow educator of Dariess Ah Sui at Ka Waihona o Ka Naʻauao Public Charter School in Nanakuli, also received an HSTARetired/HEA grant for professional development. She will use her grant to further integrate indigenous knowledge systems and placebased learning into a modern educational framework, ensuring that her instruction is both rigorous and culturally relevant to better serve the unique student population.

Rain has been a Kaiapuni since 2014, and previous taught at other schools, including Ke Kula  Kaiapuni o Anuenue in Pālolo Valley, Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Pūʻōhala (special education) in Kāne‘ōhe, and Ke Kula ‘O Nāwahīokalani’ōpuʻu Iki Lab Public Charter School in Keaʻau, Puna, Hawai‘i Island.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian language and a master’s degree in elementary education, both from the University  of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, which she says provided “the pedagogical foundation for my teaching career.”

Tiffany Brown
Innovations Public Charter School (Kailua-Kona) 
Tiffany Brown, a full-time performing arts instructor at Innovations Public Charter School in Kailua-Kona on Hawai‘i Island, received a Ka’ohekani Hawaiian Music Academic Subject Certificate at Windward Community College last year, and loved it so much that she will use her HSTARetired/HEA grant to continue her training in Hawaiian performing arts because “the  curriculum is strong, effective, and directly informs my teaching practice.”

“Our school has long wanted to incorporate more place-based learning, and as their performing arts instructor, having a  growing repertoire of content and curriculum aids me in this mission,” she wrote in her application. “I have studied Hawaiian language, music, movement, and history at introductory and intermediate levels now, and am ready to take my studies further.”

Matthew Gallivan
Waialua High and Intermediate School
Matthew Gallivan, a math teacher at Waialua High and Intermediate School since 2024, will use his HSTA-Retired/HEA grant to pursue a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in instructional leadership at Chaminade University. He wrote in his application that a master’s degree “has always felt like a very important and natural next step for me as a teacher. Over time, I’ve realized that the more I learn about teaching, the more I see how much room there is to grow as an educator…Earning a master’s degree is not just about advancing my education, it’s about becoming a better teacher for the students I work with every day.”

“Every class is different, and every student walks into the room with their own strengths, challenges, and experiences,” he added. “I try to adjust my teaching to meet their needs, but I know I can do that more thoughtfully and intentionally.”