The Hawaiʻi State Legislature has honored special education coordinator for teacher education for her invaluable contributions to the state’蝉 educational systems. Social Sciences Instructor Christina Keaulana received a legislative resolution in February, highlighting her work designing and implementing the Nānākuli Educational Assistant-to-Teacher Pilot Program.
The program was designed to increase and enhance the recruitment, support and retention of educators from diverse backgrounds, with a specific emphasis on the state’蝉 chronic shortage of special education teachers. Candidates with experience and commitment to working with special needs students and who are representatives of Hawaiʻi’蝉 culturally and linguistically diverse populations were recruited into the program.
Keaulana said, “Leeward Community College has given me a platform to innovate and to serve as a change agent for my community. I am privileged to hold the position I have in the teacher education program and blessed to have the leadership who gives unwavering support of outside-the-box thinking and for sharing a community strength-based approach to teaching and learning.”
Teacher education collaboration
Through a collaborative effort between Leeward CC’蝉 and the , a pathway was designed for educational assistants to complete an accelerated, site-based hybrid bachelors of science in special education K–12, a state approved teacher education program.
Leeward CC provides comprehensive wrap-around services to support these non-traditional students, who are first-time college students, in an advanced age group, or have limited exposure to navigating online higher education. The Nānākuli Educational Assistant-to-Teacher Pilot Program is leading the charge in establishing a long-term pipeline of locally sourced, highly invested and culturally competent teacher candidates to work in Hawaiʻi Department of Education schools with chronic teacher turnover.
In fall 2018, 37 ambitious educational assistants residing in Waiʻanae enrolled in the pilot program, and Keaulana procured funds to cover the tuition for all four years of their bachelor of science degrees in special education, leading to teacher licensure.
The resolution honoring Keaulana was initiated by Sen. Michelle Kidani and supported by Representatives Stacelynn Eli, Cedric Gates, Justin Woodson and Scott Saiki, and Senators Maile Shimabukuro and Ronald Kouchi. A reception was held in Sen. Shimabukuro’蝉 office after the ceremony.
—By Kathleen Cabral