Mr. President, today I would like to congratulate a special group of teachers in the Hawaii Public School System, those who have successfully earned the designation National Board Certified Teacher. During 2004, a new cadre of 24 consummate professionals demonstrated that their teaching practice is consistent with the rigorous requirements for the profession as set by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. By demonstrating that their practice meets or exceeds the most rigorous set of standards for a K12 teacher in the United States, they have successfully achieved National Board Certification. Their achievement brings the number of teachers working in the schools in Hawaii who have attained this prestigious credential to 80.
These dedicated teachers are distributed throughout the educational system of Hawaii. Some teach at the elementary level, some in middle schools, while others teach in high school classrooms. Some teach on Oahu, some are on the Big Island, some work on Maui and others on Kauai. Some teach language arts, some teach math, while others teach other disciplines. Some teach special needs students, a few are generalists, others are specialists, and one is a librarian. But all of them have one thing in common, their dedication to helping the schoolchildren of Hawaii achieve all they can. I am proud to enter their names into the Record of this august body.
During the 2004 year the following teachers received the credential: Cynthia Acierto, Kalihi-Kai Elementary School, Oahu; Deborah Anderson, Honokaa High and Intermediate School, Hawaii; Laura Brown, Pearl Ridge Elementary School, Oahu; Lorraine Ching, Lunalilo Elementary School, Oahu; Laurianne Chun, Hawaii Center For The Deaf and Blind, Oahu; Sharon Chun, Maemae Elementary School, Oahu; Scott Fieux, Honokaa Elementary School, Hawaii; Jilda Hoffman, Kailua Intermediate School, Oahu; Michael Ida, Kalani High School, Oahu; Tracey Idica, Aiea High School, Oahu; Shari Kaneshiro, Hokulani Elementary School, Oahu; Patti Laba, Dole Middle School, Oahu; Angela Miyashiro, Hilo High School, Hawaii; Diane Murakami, Kaahumanu Elementary School, Oahu; Sunny Seal-Laplante, Kalanianaole Elementary and Intermediate School, Hawaii; Linda Seals, Wahiawa Middle School, Oahu; Ralph Soderberg, Kealakehe Intermediate School, Hawaii; Lynne Sueoka , Moanalua High School, Oahu; Kimberly Tadaki, Holomua Elementary School, Oahu; Terri Takabayashi, Maemae Elementary School, Oahu; Saundra Takara, Aliamanu Elementary School, Oahu; Joanne Thompson, Kilauea Elementary School, Kauai; Gail Van De Verg, Heeia Elementary School, Oahu; Laurie Waite Flores, Hauula Elementary School, Oahu.
During the 2003 year the following teachers received the credential: Jerri Anderson, Kealakehe High School, Hawaii; Kristilyn Atalig, Holomua Elementary School, Oahu; Cynthia Chun, Kapolei High School, Oahu; Phyllis Clemmer, Keaau Middle School, Hawaii; Colleen Collins, Pahoa Elementary School, Hawaii; Marian Crocco, Alvah Scott Elementary School, Oahu; Denise Darval-Chang, Kailua High School, Oahu; June Davids, Keaau Middle School, Hawaii; Karen DeBrum, Lanai High and Elementary School, Maui; Elizabeth Delyon, Makawao Elementary School, Maui; Laura Fukumoto, Aliamanu Elementary School, Oahu; Jonathan Gillentine, Benjamin Parker Elementary School, Oahu; Nancy Graf, Kapaa Middle School, Kauai; Maria Hawkins, Kaimiloa Elementary School, Oahu; Phyllis Ida, Windward District Office, Oahu; Michael Kline, Kalaheo Elementary School, Kauai; Roberta Kokx, Kihei Elementary School, Maui; Herman Leong, Radford High School, Oahu; Sandra Linskey, Castle High School, Oahu; Judy Locke, Kihei Elementary School, Maui; Michael Oliver, Baldwin High School, Maui; Liane Otani-Nakagawa, Kihei Elementary School, Maui; Cristina Rathyenn, Moanalua High School, Oahu; Carol Seielstad, Hanalei Elementary School, Kauai; Cherie Synnott, Pearl Harbor Elementary School, Oahu; Maria Vasquez, Waialua Elementary School, Oahu; Anna Fern White, Kohala High School, Hawaii; Kara Yasui, Holomua Elementary School, Oahu.
During the 2002 year the following teachers received the credential: Rena Arakawa, Kaahumanu Elementary School, Oahu; Carla Brooks, Roosevelt High School, Oahu; Dewey Gottlieb II, Pearl City High School, Oahu; Jamie Hamada, Barbers Point Elementary School, Oahu; Leslie Hamasaki, Kalani High School, Oahu; Loraine Hotoke, Liholiho Elementary School, Oahu; Sandra Kaneshiro, Central Middle School, Oahu; Carolyn Kirio, Kapolei High School, Oahu; Kalen Kitagawa, Waialua Elementary School, Oahu; Sandra Maruyama, Leilehua High School, Oahu; Patricia Miyahira, Leeward District Office, Oahu; Jami Muranaka, Kaimuki High School, Oahu; Karen Muronaga, Lincoln Elementary School, Oahu; Kathleen Nagaji, Pearl Ridge Elementary School, Oahu; Pascale Pinner, Hilo Intermediate School, Hawaii; Anne Torige, Kaimuki High School, Oahu; Julie Tomomitsu, Maemae Elementary School, Oahu; Jenny Wells, Windward District Office, Oahu; Julia Williams, Hawaii District Office, Hawaii
During the 2001 year the following teachers received the credential: Lisa Houston, Iliaha Elementary, Oahu; Teresa Tugadi, Pohakea Elementary School, Oahu; Lisa Yanase, Waialua Elementary School, Oahu.
During the 2000 year the following teachers received the credential: Jill Hirota, Waialua Elementary School, Oahu; Bess Anne Jennings, Hawaii District Office, Hawaii; Charlene Miyashiro, Waiakeawaena Elementary School, Hawaii.
During the1999 year the following teachers received the credential: Derek Minakami, Kailua High School, Oahu; Tammie Reynolds, Mililani High School, Oahu.
During the 1998 year the following teacher received the credential: Linda Sciaroni, Chiefess Kamakahelie Middle School, Kauai
I offer my heartfelt congratulations to them all. They have worked very hard to earn the designation, National Board Certified Teacher.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the organization that confers this designation, is a teacher-led association, which grants national certification to a teacher only after a long and very comprehensive process. It requires the preparation and submission of a portfolio featuring videotaped classroom presented lessons, including a written analysis of the lesson, lesson plans and student work samples. The teacher must also submit written discussion, analysis, and reflective commentaries concerning other curriculum used in the classroom. A third component of the portfolio includes records of activities benefiting the larger school community, including families and activities that help to improve the teaching profession. The candidate has three years to complete these activities, although most complete this portfolio during one school year. Also required for this certification is successful completion of a rigorous set of examinations assessing the content knowledge of the teacher. This is a very arduous process. But in Hawaii help is available. The Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, along with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, provides support groups for teachers undertaking this process. These sessions are held on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, and they provide a support network for the candidates as they go through the process. Most often this will be a facilitator, a teacher who has already earned the designation of National Board Certified Teacher. It is also a place to meet with other teachers undergoing the process, support each other, and sometimes to commiserate. This support goes a long way in making this very difficult process doable.
National Board Certification does not replace the teacher licensure requirements as maintained by the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, but identifies the recipient as an exemplary practitioner, someone at the top of his or her profession. It signifies the teacher as someone who is a recognized leader in the art and science of teaching. And research has shown time and again that students in classrooms with National Board Certified Teachers show larger gains on assessments than do students in classrooms not staffed with nationally certified teachers. It is the only nationally based teacher evaluation and certification program to successfully undergo a rigorous scientifically based set of evaluations, and to show improved results for the students. I am very proud to honor these newly recognized teachers.
At a time when the country is working to improve education, when the No Child Left Behind Act is demanding a Highly Qualified teacher in every classroom, where schools, district and states are under the gun to make Adequate Yearly Progress, where increasingly students must demonstrate achievement as measured by a High Stakes Test to graduate from high school, where Districts and States are working to find, hire and retain professionals in this very difficult field, and where research has shown the ability of the classroom teacher is the most important factor affecting the learning of the students, I am proud to say to these newly certified teachers "Well Done!" and "Mahalo Nui Loa!"
