Six district teachers chosen as the best
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Six Hawai'i public school teachers with expertise in everything from fine arts to food service were named District Teachers of the Year yesterday.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The teachers have a combined 122 years of teaching experience. One among them will be named State Teacher of the Year at a Board of Education meeting Oct. 17.
Hawai'i school districts' Teachers of the Year 2003: Front row, from left, Margaret Almony, Windward; Roberta Zarbaugh, Kaua'i; back row, from left, Jamie Kahalewai, Central; Gail Teshima, Honolulu; Susan Miyashita, Hawai'i; Marlene Bourke-Faustina, Leeward.
Some of the teachers remembered a special child or talked about what they have learned from their students.
Margaret Almony, a third-grade teacher at 'Ahuimanu Elementary who was named the Windward district teacher of the year, talked about an unresponsive, paralyzed student whom she was finally able to reach when she had the idea to share a McDonald's strawberry milkshake with him.
"We have so many treasured memories as teachers," she said.
Marlene Bourke-Faustina, a music and chorus teacher named Leeward teacher of the year, greeted the crowd at the DOE event with a Hawaiian chant and talked about how proud she is to come from Wai'anae. She said she always tries to teach from the heart, but that after her son died, her students returned the favor by offering to take care of her.
"They said, 'We are your children and we love you.' And they know I love them," Bourke-Faustina said.
The State Teacher of the Year will represent Hawai'i at a national competition.
"It brings tears to our eyes because it reminds us of why we are here," Superintendent Pat Hamamoto told the teachers at an awards ceremony at the Hale Koa. "You're remarkable. You make us wish we were back in the classroom with you."
The District Teachers of the Year are:
• Roberta Zarbaugh for the Kaua'i district. She is a seventh- and eighth-grade language-arts teacher at Kapa'a Middle and has eight years of teaching experience. Zarbaugh, a poet who has encouraged her students to get their work published, said she tried to teach students to value their own voice. "They are our future, and worth every investment and expectation," she said.
• Gail Teshima for the Honolulu district. She is a fine-arts teacher at Farrington High and has 31 years of teaching experience. "There isn't any time that Gail isn't engaged in some kind of service for the school community," said Francine Fernandez, complex area superintendent. "She has given her heart and her life to Farrington and art."
• Susan Miyashita for the Hawai'i district. She is a first-grade teacher at Konawaena Elementary and has taught for 28 years. Miyashita was raised on the Big Island by her father, a Japanese immigrant, and her mother, an orphan who wanted the best education for their daughter. Miyashita teaches at the same school she attended as a child.
• Jamie Kahalewai for the Central district. Kahalewai is a food-service teacher at Radford High with four years of teaching experience. Gary Griffiths, the Central district superintendent who first hired Kahalewai when Griffiths was principal at 'Aiea High, said she embraces all students and has turned food services into a premier program. "She reaches out to all kids, all cultures, all backgrounds, and she welcomes them," Griffiths said.
• Marlene Bourke-Faustina for the Leeward district. Bourke-Faustina is a music and chorus teacher at Wai'anae Intermediate and has taught for 31 years.
• Margaret Almony for the Windward district. She is a third-grade teacher at 'Ahuimanu Elementary and has 20 years of teaching experience.
All of the district teachers of the year will receive a free, one-year lease of a new car. The cars — donated by Hawai'i Volkswagen Dealers Association, Nissan of Hawai'i and its Nissan dealers, TheoDavies Big Island Honda, Servco Toyota, Subaru of Hawai'i and its Subaru dealers and Hawai'i Mitsubishi — will be presented at the Oct. 17 BOE meeting.
Each teacher also will receive a $500 award from the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
