ʻWe need more people like us doing this work to inspire the next generations’
Posted: November 25, 2025
More than 230 high school students from a dozen public schools across the state gathered Friday for the third annual Dive Into Education event to learn more about the teaching profession from Hawai‘i educators.
Held at Leeward Community College, the event included a college and career fair featuring programs for students interested in teaching careers. The Hawai‘i Education Association (HEA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students with scholarships for college and grants for educators for professional development and to obtain state licensure, was the lead sponsor of the event.
The event comes at a time when the teacher turnover rate in Hawaiʻi averages nearly 16% statewide, according to a recent analysis by the state Department of Education. Some schools have seen turnover rates of 30% to 50%.
Recent efforts to recruit and retain educators include expediting paths to licensure, developing a teacher apprenticeship program, and offering tuition stipends for Bachelor of Education, postbaccalaureate, and Master of Education in Teaching programs, with a commitment to teaching in a Hawaiʻi public school.
The HIDOE also offers location and subject area shortage differentials ranging from $3,000 to $10,000. However, the HIDOEʻs recent compensation study revealed that lower differential amounts ($3,000 and $5,000) did not have a strong impact on teacher recruitment and retention.
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke delivered Friday’s keynote speech, highlighting the state’s teacher shortage and the impact of students having substitute teachers for extended periods.
“We hear about nursing shortages, but the teacher shortage is real. And how many of you went to a classroom and you had a substitute not for one day, but an extended day? When you have a substitute teacher, it’s not the same […] That’s what we’re trying to fix,” she said.
Luke also shared her personal story of moving from Korea to Hawaiʻi at age nine, not knowing any English, and credited her caring teacher for making a profound difference in her life.
“It was a really scary time, but there was my homeroom teacher, and my homeroom teacher took me aside every day after school on her own time to teach me English, and that was my first impression and exchange with how gracious, how filled with aloha and how loving a teacher could be,” she said.
“It’s a collective effort to change how the current system works. It takes all of us—every single one of you—to commit to ensuring that you can change people’s lives in the future,” Luke added.
Hawaiʻi teachers: Expose students to the career as something they can do in the future
Friday’s event welcomed students from eight Oʻahu campuses (Campbell, Farrington, Kailua, Kalani, Leilehua, Mililani, Pearl City, and Waipahu), one Maui campus (Maui High), and three Hawaiʻi Island campuses (Konawaena and Honokaʻa High & Intermediate).
Students explored breakout sessions on teacher salaries and benefits, building strong relationships with students, reaching students with different learning styles and needs, integrating AI into education, and more.
Aaron Tanimoto, education academy director at Honokaʻa High, attended the event with his students and emphasized the importance of giving them early exposure to the profession.
“We’ve got students who are interested in becoming teachers, and the idea is to expose them to the career as something they can do in the future.
“Teaching requires dedication, and I’ve brought five students who woke up at three in the morning to catch a 6 a.m. flight to come here—and we’ll be going home around 6:30 tonight. So we already know the dedication that teaching requires, and we see that in our students,” he said.
Lizchel Ugalde, teacher education pathway advisor at Leilehua High, hoped the event would motivate students to pursue teaching.
“I hope they learn more about being a teacher, and maybe about different careers within education, so they’re more aware. Maybe some myths about teaching will be clarified, too. Hopefully, this event will inspire them to continue on and pursue education,” she said.
“I think that we need more people like us doing this work to inspire the next generations,” she added.
Joan Lewis, Hawai‘i Education Association president, an educational resource specialist at Kapolei High School, and former vice president of the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, delivered remarks to attendees.
Other organizations providing in-kind contributions and volunteer support include the Hawai‘i Department of Education, Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education, Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board, Hawai‘i State Teachers Association, and the University of Hawai‘i system.
