Spark and Inspire!

 

I had the amazing experience of attending this year's Spark and Inspire event this past week. Sponsored by Teach for America Hawai`i and HawaiiKidsCan, this event invited three educators to pitch their ideas to those in attendance to gain funding for their projects. It was definitely inspiring as all three teachers were articulate, and their project ideas were outstanding and relevant.

First, Cerina Livaudais shared about how she had wanted to be an engineer but as a female, she felt out-of-place and ignored in her college classes. Now she teaches computer science at Dream House Ewa Beach so that no student ever feels that they don't belong. Cerina's goal is to make computer science available to all students, not just at her school, but in all schools in our state. Listening to Cerina made me wish that I could go back to school to take computer science classes and to understand about coding, Minecraft, and creating apps that reflect our unique culture here in Hawaii. (Link to Cerina's video)

Next, Zachary Morita, a music teacher from Niu Valley Middle School along with students from his Youth Advisory Board, spoke eloquently about music performance and how much they grew in confidence through their participation in the Music Olympics. They would like to expand that program to include more K-12 students, especially those who aren't able to take private lessons. I was fortunate to attend the first Music Olympics back in 2019, and all of the participant groups were poised, played music beautifully and with confidence. Schools today often eliminate the arts in order to balance their budgets. This is why programs such as the Music Olympics needs to be supported. (Link to Zachary's video)

The final educator to share his project was Isaiah Pule, a teacher at Kamaile Academy. Isaiah remembers the time when a teacher made a difference in his life. As a young student who didn't realize his own identity as a young Hawaiian, the canoe E Ala helped Isaiah learn about his roots and the connection between land and sea. It helped him to appreciate and be proud of his heritage, and now he shares those hopes and dreams with the students he teaches. The E Ala has been dormant for the past five years and Isaiah hopes to revitalize the canoe so it can be used to give students in the Waianae area real-world experiences that can help them to rediscover and be proud of their roots. (Link to Isaiah's video)

As I left the Spark and Inspire event, I was a bit troubled. Here were three teachers who were pitching excellent projects and hoping for donations from businesses and other education supporters. All of their projects were worthy, but without extra funding, their dream projects may not be realized. 

Many teachers have wonderful project ideas, but continued funding can be a barrier. Grants may be available, but often, they are time-limited with restrictions. Once the grant funding is over, schools need to find the funding to continue the program, and unfortunately, that is not always possible. 

I wish that all educators had more opportunities to receive funding for projects that will make a difference for the students they teach. There are funding sources such as Good Idea Grants and Donors Choose that teachers here in Hawaii can apply for. That's a good place for educators to start, and hopefully, more funding will be available in the future. Let's support our teachers by providing more opportunities for them to receive funding for the kind of projects that we learned about at Spark and Inspire.