Two Oʻahu educators will use funding to advance culture, diversity in their classrooms
Posted: April 18, 2026
Two Hawaiʻi educators are earning national recognition after receiving grants from the NEA Foundation to bring innovative, student-centered projects into their classrooms.
Two recipients from Oʻahu were selected from more than 100 proposals nationwide for the foundation’s “Grants for Educators” program, highlighting the impactful work happening in our public schools.
Supporting culturally-grounded learning at Ka Waihona
At Ka Waihona O Ka Na’auao Public Charter School in Waiʻanae, Micah Ah Sui, a language arts and math teacher, was awarded a $4,750 Learning & Leadership Grant to expand culturally grounded learning opportunities for her students.
Ah Sui will attend the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) annual conference in Nashville alongside a colleague. His goal is to bring back strategies to strengthen curriculum that reflects Native Hawaiian identity while also preparing students for opportunities beyond Hawaiʻi.
With more than two decades in the classroom, Ah Sui is focused on helping students understand both their place in Hawaiʻi and their role in wider society. Through this experience, he plans to collaborate with other educators from culture-based schools and advocate for integrating real-world skills like engineering and financial literacy into the curriculum.
His vision is to help Ka Waihona serve as a model for culturally responsive education that prepares students for success, no matter where their paths lead.
Creating inclusive, hands-on learning in Waiāhole
At Waiāhole Elementary School, K–2 special education teacher Kateri Miller received a $4,850 Student Success Grant to transform her classroom into a more inclusive, multisensory learning environment.
Miller’s project will bring together technology, hands-on materials, and social-emotional learning supports to better serve students with diverse needs, including autism, dyslexia, and Down syndrome. Her approach centers on interactive, project-based learning, giving students multiple ways to engage with content and build critical thinking skills.
The grant will fund tools and resources that support both whole-class instruction and individualized learning, while also allowing students structured breaks and movement throughout the day. Progress will be measured through individualized education program (IEP) tracking, academic assessments, and ongoing observation.