[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 15 (Monday, February 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1342-S1343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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RECOGNITION OF NEW NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS FROM HAWAII
Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I 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 K-12 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;
Hennan 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, Kaolei High School, Oahu; Kalen Kitagawa, Waialua Elementary
School, Oahu; Sandra Maruyaba, Leilehua High School, Oahu; Patricia
Miyahira, Leeward District Office, Oahu; Jami Muranika, Kaimuki High
School, Oahu; Karen Muronaga, Lincoln Elementary School, Oahu;
Kathleenl Nagaji, Pearl Ridge Elementary School, Oahu; Pascale Pinner,
Hilo Intermediate School, Hawaii; Anne Torige, Kaimuki
[[Page S1343]]
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 the 1999 year the following teachers received the credential:
Derek Minafami, Kailua High School, Oahu; Tammie Reynolds, Mililani
High School, Oahu.
During the 1998 year the following teacher received the credential:
Linda Sciaroi, 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 3 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.''
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