Teachers Meet Pro Standards

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The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has certified 40 more Hawaii teachers for meeting its standards, and all but three teach in the public schools.

East Oahu has two educators who successfully completed the rigorous requirements this year, which include 400 hours for preparation, portfolios, videotapes and work samples of classroom teaching and other documentation and assessments.

They are Julie Arasato of Kaiser High School (mathematics) and Leimomi Chun of Koko Head Elementary School (exceptional needs specialist).

Jonathan Gillentine, who chairs the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, is “extremely thrilled” about the high number of new certifications. Most work in schools that serve large numbers of disadvantaged students. The incentives for finishing the program, however, have been reduced.

A $5,000 annual salary bonus, for example, has been dropped for certified teachers in a restructured school or one that hasn’t made yearly progress toward requirements.

“It’s no longer offered due to budget cuts made by the Legislature,” Gillentine explained, and with further cuts being considered, candidate support “may be critically hurt.”