Who

     Learning First Hawaii is looking for a diverse group of 8-12 teachers from schools around the islands who have ideas on how to improve teacher professional development (PD) on all levels within the DOE (school, district, and state). We are interested in fellows who share our passion for empowering the profession and who can commit to attending the required meetings as well as completing the tasks assigned throughout the fellowship (2-3 hours of work every 2 weeks).

 

What

      During the meetings, fellows will meet with experts and officials that currently work in areas around teacher professional development and will share ideas on how to imporve teacher PD. Between meetings, fellows will do assigned readings and collect feedback from their collegues. At the end of the research and data collection phase of the fellowship, fellows will be guided through the process of coallating their recommendations and write portions of an advisory white paper on the topic of teacher professional development. The individual segments written by the fellows will then be gathered and assembled into a finalized policy suggestion paper that will be presented to various education stakeholder groups and the Deaprtment of Education. Stakeholder groups from which we will seek support include parent, community, advocacy, policy, and early childhood education groups as well as the Hawaii State Teachers Association. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where

     The location of each meeting will change based on our speakers for that week. For example, one week we will hold a discussion with faculty from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, School of Education, so we will reserve a location on the UH campus. The next week, we will meet with the PD contact person from HSTA, so we would meet at the HSTA headquarters. The guest speakers for each meeting have been chosen, but the locations are still TBD. The majority of meetings will be held in Honolulu, and we will ensure clear communication concerning these logistics.   

 

Why

     Teachers are experts in education and our collective voice can help strengthen the system. You are an authority on what supports teachers need to be successful in their classrooms, and you know we can do better than the status quo. 

 

How

     You MUST complete the application in one sitting, so we suggest preparing your responses to the following three questions in advance and then paste your responses into the space provided.

 

1. What has been the most valuable professional development you've attended? Why was it effective? (250 word max)

2. Tell us about a time you've felt frustrated with the quality of PD you were receiving at a particular session or training, and what you would have changed. (250 word max)

3. What initial thoughts or ideas do you have about how Hawaii can improve the way teachers are being professionally developed? (500 word max)

 

When you are ready, click on the link and complete your application.