“Most Likely to Succeed in Hawaii”

I’ve been retired for a little over a year now, but that doesn’t mean that I am no longer interested in education issues. On the contrary, I probably have more time now to delve deeper and to decide how I want to stay involved.

Last week, I agreed to be a mentor for Hawaii Innovative Leaders Network 2.0. I was a member of the first HILN cohort, and it was the best professional development I received as a principal. When I first began HILN 1.0, I was a bit hesitant because I had never interacted with any of the other participants prior to being a part of this PD. By the end, though, I considered all of those school leaders as not just colleagues, but friends. Today, I reflected on my experiences (see my blog), and I know why HILN was so valuable to me as a school leader. It was the culture of trust, the realization that we were at different places in our journey, but that we all were striving to engage and empower our students and our staff to make a difference in this world through project-based learning. It is evident that HILN 2.0 is a dynamic group of school leaders. Many are young and just starting their journey as administrators, but already, they are confident in who they are and what they hope and dream for their schools. Others are more experienced, but they are excited and open to new ideas so that their schools will benefit.

Our schools and our leaders in Hawaii are going through some pretty significant changes that are positively impacting our students. I see many more schools using social media to share not only what is going on but also to engage in conversations with others about “What School Could Be.” I am thrilled! This was something I hoped for, where schools in Hawaii are much more open about sharing successes as well as challenges. Educators are supporting each other in their writing; they are planning un-conferences; they are hosting ed chats, and recently, a “Most Likely to Succeed in Hawaii” podcast launched. I’ll be honest; I don’t listen very often to podcasts, but I really enjoyed the first two episodes and can’t wait to hear more from outstanding school leaders! I wished that these podcasts had been available when I was a principal so I could have connected and learned from others.

This is a great time to be an educator! Let’s show the rest of the country “What School Could Be” in Hawaii!