HSTA’s teaching excellence award seeks nominations by Jan. 22, 2026
Updated: December 1, 2025
About Stacy Nishina and the S.T.A.C.Y. Award
The late Stacy Nishina was a public school teacher, longtime HSTA staff member, and tireless advocate for improving the professional lives of teachers. She was a leader in supporting the growth and development of HSTA members as professionals. She created a network of support for Hawaiʻi teachers wanting to earn their National Board Certification and worked tirelessly to provide professional development opportunities to help teachers earn reclassification credits, become leaders among their peers as instructors, and raise the level of excellence in their classrooms. She was also a key supporter of HSTA state candidates for the NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence.
The HSTA established the S.T.A.C.Y. award in honor of Stacy Nishina, and it remains the union’s top honor bestowed upon educators.
Each year, HSTA honors an exceptional educator whose impact resonates across our entire teaching community. Nominees—selected by their fellow teachers—are evaluated on their demonstrated leadership, dedication, and passion across five categories that celebrate Stacy’s inspiring life and legacy:
- Scholarship – Commitment to learning and intellectual growth
- Teaching – Excellence in the classroom and innovative instruction
- Advocacy – Championing students, educators, and educational equity
- Community – Building connections and fostering collaboration
- Youth – Empowering and mentoring the next generation
The winner represents the best of what it means to be an educator — someone whose work transforms lives and strengthens our collective mission.
The HSTA invests in excellence — providing the honoree with up to $1,000 to enhance their classroom with essential tools, furniture, and equipment that will benefit students for years to come.
But the recognition doesn’t stop there. The winner advances to represent HSTA on the national stage, competing for two of education’s most prestigious honors:
- NEA Foundation’s Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence
- NEA Member Benefits Award
These coveted national awards shine a spotlight on educators who exemplify the highest standards in teaching and who fearlessly advocate for their profession and public education. It’s an opportunity to elevate not just one teacher’s voice—but the voice of our entire HSTA community.
In this video, former Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association state vice president Joan Lewis reflects on the origin of the S.T.A.C.Y. Award and the legacy of beloved educator and union advocate Stacy Nishina.
The nomination process
Peer nominations are due Jan. 22, 2026. Nominators are encouraged to notify the nominee ahead of time so that nominees can prepare responses and gather all materials for submission (refer to Nominee follow-up below).
Nominees will be judged on the following criteria:
- Scholarship: Educators are lifelong learners driven to continually improve their practice. They are not satisfied with doing the same thing over and over; instead they strive to stay current and develop professional to support their students and their peers.
- Teaching: An expert teacher is not simply someone who has taught for many years, but rather an educator who has developed deep pedagogical expertise through deliberate practice, reflection, and continuous learning. They demonstrate mastery across multiple interconnected dimensions.
- Advocacy: A union advocate is a teacher who serves as an active representative and organizer within their teachers’ union. They bridge the gap between the union leadership and classroom teachers, working to protect and advance the collective interests of educators. Union advocates do not have to be elected leaders; they are educators who support the work that the union does for its members.
- Community: Teachers serve as critical bridges between educational institutions and the broader community, translating complex educational issues into accessible information while advocating for practices and policies that support student learning. Their unique position — as both professional educators and community members — enables them to support various stakeholders (i.e. students, families/parents, school boards, administrators, community organizations, local businesses, taxpayers, policymakers, and the general public) in understanding and engaging with substantive education matters.
- Youth: Creating an inclusive, responsive learning environment is one of the most complex and essential aspects of expert teaching. Teachers must design classroom ecosystems where every student can access rigorous learning while receiving the specific supports they need to thrive — academically, socially, emotionally, and physically.
Nominee follow-up
Once the nomination window closes, the journey begins. Selected nominees will receive an email invitation to showcase their impact — providing supporting materials and responding to targeted questions that highlight their exceptional work across all five categories. This is your chance to let your achievements shine and bring your peer’s nomination to life.
Past S.T.A.C.Y. Award winners
2025: ʻAlohilani Rogers, Kawaikini Public Charter School Hawaiian immersion and resource teacher
A Hawaiian immersion teacher of 32 years, ʻAlohilani has dedicated her life to preserving the Hawaiian language. Her first teaching jobs in the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education were at Kapaʻa Elementary and Kapaʻa Middle. She then helped open Kawaikini Public Charter School, a Hawaiian immersion school in Līhuʻe, in 2008, where she has taught since. Rogers believes that hands-on, ʻāina-based learning is “authentic learning, and it makes sense to do it in an authentic place.” She said, “That’s one of the philosophies that drive me as a teacher, too, that if any, every possible way we can have an authentic learning experience, that’s what we’re going to do. The ōlelo no’eau [Hawaiian proverb] that works with that is ‘Ma ka hana ka ʻike,’ so it’s in the work that you know or that you learn the knowledge,” she said. Rogers’ goal is to instill in her students a sense of belonging and pride in their heritage. “I want them to leave knowing that, to be proud of where they come from and being proud of where they’ve grown up, and this unique culture here in Hawai’i, and the Hawaiian language, is a huge part of that.”
2024: Hope McKeen, Keonepoko Elementary Hawaiian studies teacher
Hope embodies the STACY Award’s key values in her work with over 600 students, her HSTA colleagues, and in her community. Hope is an 18 year veteran and as a Hawaiian studies teacher, believes it’s everyone’s kuleana to know about and take care of Hawaiʻi. Hope is meticulous in instilling in her students a deep and abiding appreciation for the unique paradise they call home. She endeavors to help her students see that they learn not only from textbooks but from one another, weaving together the rich tapestry of our shared humanity. Hope said, “It just makes me happy to see them (her students) be successful. And really, when they say thank you for giving them that sense of kuleana is really important…Even the ones that do come back and say mahalo for that, really, really does make the difference.”
2023: Daphna Ehrenhalt, Keaʻau Elementary School fifth-grade inclusion teacher
Daphna exemplifies the S.T.A.C.Y. award both in the classroom, teaching fifth grade inclusion by differentiating instruction based on students’ needs, and outside the classroom by advocating for their colleagues and community. Daphna is a fierce advocate of the LGBTQ+ community and constantly works to ensure youth are seen, heard, and understood. Daphna also fosters positive relationships throughout her school and community, bridging together like minds so they can connect and grow together. At Daphna’s request, the HSTA gave her school her award money to buy a professional shave ice machine for student fun days and fundraisers.
2022: Zachary Morita, Niu Valley Middle School music teacher
A passionate music educator, Zachary embodies the S.T.A.C.Y. award by innovating his instruction with his students, particularly by finding opportunities for them to perform locally and abroad. He is the founder of the Hawaiʻi Youth Percussion Ensemble, a nonprofit through which he’s been able to provide opportunities for students to travel, perform, and work with well-known musicians and conductors. He’s also a staunch supporter of his union and his fellow teacher colleagues. The HSTA purchased music equipment for his classroom.
2021: Sarah “Mili” Milianta-Laffin, ʻIlima Intermediate School STEM teacher
Mili lives the values of the S.T.A.C.Y. award every day as a STEM educator, always looking for fresh ways to keep her students engaged with real-life lessons. She’s an active union member who champions legislative changes that promote improved working conditions for teachers and learning conditions for students. Mili serves as her school’s gender-sexuality alliance adviser, as well as policy director for GLSEN Hawaiʻi, remaining a strong ally and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. The HSTA purchased Mili large and small rolling whiteboards, chart tablets and markers for her classroom.
Additional winners: Raechelle Villanueva (2020), Diane Mokuau (2019), Cynthia Tong (2018), Michael Kline (2017), Logan Okita (2016)