Mentor Teachers Appreciation Conference Spring 2005

Mentor Teachers Article
Current Perspectives Fall 2005

On Saturday, April 9th, mentor teachers, principals, ITE cohort coordinators and field supervisors, and VIPs including Hawai‘i DOE Deputy Superintendent Clayton Fujie, Hawai‘i State Teachers Association (HSTA) Executive Director Joan Husted, and Institute for Teacher Education Director Barbara Landau, gathered at the Radisson Waikïkï Prince Kuhio to honor the mentor teachers who worked with pre-service teacher candidates during the spring ‘05 semester.

The purpose of the conference was to thank these mentor teachers, celebrate the good
things happening in field experience classrooms, and gather information from mentors to
plan for future collaboration and partnership. Throughout the day, examples of success
stories were shared, as teachers were able to network with their colleagues and others from different schools and settings. Partnership and collaboration ruled. The event was coordinated by Dr. Alice Kawakami, director of the Hawai‘i Institute for Educational
Partnerships (HIEP) and Aeza Mae Bolo, HIEP secretary. They were assisted
by Carole Mitsuyoshi-Sugai, Aaron Levine, Milli Gorecki, and JoAnn Soong. The committee did a fabulous job of planning an agenda that was aimed at supporting mentors, reaffirming professional values, and honoring teachers. One of the results of the
collaboration with the Hawai‘i Department of Education was the featured videotape,
“Celebrate What’s Right in the World.” The video highlighted the endless possibilities
created by believing in the potential for good. Because of the excellent network within
our community, teachers also received goodies and door prizes secured by the DOE and
the HSTA.

Teachers shared their success stories after hearing testimonies from two current mentor teachers, Ms. Loke Wakinekona and Ms. Sharon Dietrich. Sharon was Loke’s
mentor teacher when she was a student in the Ka Lama o ke Kaiaulu cohort. Now they
both mentor future teachers for schools on the Leeward Coast. Their staunch belief in the values of our profession and the long-term impact of mentoring set the tone for the rest of the day.

After a couple of focus group activities and a fabulous lunch, participants were treated
to an interactive performance of “Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain.” This activity energized everyone with “mooing” and dancing to the beat of the rhythm instruments played by COE undergrads. Certificates of appreciation were presented to schools
that hosted COE students in observation/participation, student teaching, and internships.
This semester, 72 P–12 schools assisted in the pre-service education of Hawai‘i’s future
teaching force. The conference closed with the singing of Hawai‘i Aloha. The event was a great success because of the partnerships and the positive relationships that have been
built and sustained by our community of dedicated educators. HIEP is grateful for
their support and enthusiasm, and is looking forward to coordinating similar events in
the future.

Last Updated: January 17, 2006