Galera, Hayashi among those heading to final interviews
Posted: April 29, 2022
A former Hawaii Board of Education (BOE) member and longtime school administrator, the interim superintendent, and the national superintendent for a network of nonprofit charter schools are the three finalists for Hawaii schools superintendent released Friday.
The first finalist, Darrel Galera, is a leadership consultant for the Hawaii Center for Instructional Leadership. He previously served on the BOE and was deputy district superintendent for the Leeward Oahu District. Galera spent 13 years as principal at Moanalua High School, where he previously taught for eight years starting in 1982. He then went on to become an administrator at other schools such as Aiea Elementary and Radford High.
Keith Hayashi, the second finalist, has served as interim superintendent of Hawaii’s public schools since August, a post he held in 2017 during the search for the state’s last superintendent, Christina Kishimoto. Before that, Hayashi was principal at Waipahu High for 12 years and previously spent three years as the Pearl City/Waipahu Complex area superintendent. He also was principal at Waipahu Elementary for three years and spent almost five years as a vice principal at Waipahu High. Hayashi began his educational career as a teacher at Lehua Elementary in 1989.
The third finalist, Caprice Young, now lives in the Los Angeles area, but her family lived in Hawaii and her mother taught special education at Kalihi Elementary. She has served as the superintendent and CEO of several charter school systems in the continental United States, their sizes ranging from 4,000 to 49,000 students. Since January 2019, Young has been the national superintendent of Lifelong Learning and Learn4Life Schools, a group of 20 nonprofit groups serving students in 85 schools. She began her career as a teacher in Los Angeles in 1990, and also served as an assistant deputy mayor for budget and infrastructure in Los Angeles and a senior manager at IBM Global Service.
The search committee of four Board of Education members conducted initial virtual interviews with seven candidates and narrowed the field down to three who are now being recommended to the board at its May 5 meeting, according to a BOE report. The board will interview finalists during a special meeting and deliberate on the finalists May 19. The public will be able to watch the interviews and potential selection live.
Two teachers, listed below, and 12 other education stakeholders assisted the search committee, from creating the job description to drafting interview questions. This advisory group watched recorded interviews of top candidates and provided feedback to the BOE.
- Sarah Tochiki, Hawaii State Teachers Association Kauai Chapter vice president; Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School teacher
- Whitney Aragaki, 2022 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year; Hawaii State Teacher Fellow; Waiakea High School teacher
The advisory group may also support the superintendent’s transition as needed.
HIDOE superintendent search timeline
April 29: The search committee’s finalist recommendations are posted with the board’s official meeting materials.
May 5: The search committee reports its list of finalists to the full board.
May 19: The board interviews and takes action on the finalists at a special public meeting.