Hawaii educators recognized for ‘unimaginable’ dedication on Teacher Appreciation Week

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Teachers at Noelani Elementary School in Manoa were welcomed to campus Monday morning with a hot breakfast and thank you from administrators on the first day of National Teacher Appreciation week.

Many other public school campuses across the state are organizing similar efforts to show public educators they are respected and valued every day.

Superintendent of Hawaii Public Schools Keith Hayashi said recruiting and retaining the best and brightest teachers is essential for the Department of Education.

“Our teachers are so important. We have more than 13,000 teachers that helped to educate 160,000 public school students every day here in our state. Their dedication is just unimaginable,” Hayashi said.

The leader of the state’s public school system said the department is working to help all their employees find affordable housing — an issue that many teachers say creates a barrier for building a career in Hawaii.

“We just completed a housing survey to see where our needs are here in Hawaii because we know that housing is so important for our employees,” Hayashi said.

“We need the best and brightest teachers here in Hawaii. We have different differentials that we have in place to support our teachers and staff areas that are typically underserved. We are proud of our Hawaiian immersion courses and career technical education opportunities this year.”

There are a number of deals and free items for teachers during National Teacher Appreciation week. For a full list, click here.

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