College of Education, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

New Teacher Closet

inside look at the new teacher closet, filled with books, classroom supplies, and other teacher materials
New Teacher Closet with images of different school supplies and the College of Education Logo around the wording

New Teacher Closet

The New Teacher Closet at UH Mānoa is a project to support the newly licensed teachers who graduate from the College of Education each year. As the largest provider of new teachers for the state, our goal is to best support our new teachers by helping to reduce the costs that teachers have when establishing their first classroom. Nationally, teachers spend an average of $478, whereas Hawaii teachers spend an average of $953 of their own money on supplies for their classroom (Hawaii State Teachers Association, 2023; Wolff & Carolson, 2021). We acknowledge that these personal investments by teachers are likely highest in their first year, as they look to establish a welcoming and effective classroom environment for their students.

Thank you to the Hawaii Scholars for Education and Social Justice for providing the research and references on this topic.

Hawaii State Teachers Association (2023, January 23.) Gov. Green proposes $500 state tax teacher credit. https://www.hsta.org/news/recent-stories/gov-green-proposes-500-state-tax-teacher-credit/

Wolff, S., & Carlson, D. (2021). Who chooses DonorsChoose? Submission and funding patterns on the nation’s largest education crowdfunding platform. Educational Researcher, 50(6), 355–367. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X21990002

Class of 2025

Fisher Hawaii Classroom Makeover Contest!

Update Sept. 15, 2025: The Fisher Hawaii winners have been selected and check out the KITV news spotlight in celebration of our grand prize winner, Kimiko Maeda-Leon, our recent graduate from the Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Secondary Education program!

In partnership with Fisher Hawaii, 2025 graduates had the opportunity to also enter an essay contest for a “classroom makeover”. Graduates were asked to respond to the following prompt:

How is the classroom environment important to teaching and learning? What does your ideal learning space look like and how do you feel that would impact you & your students?

The first place winner received $500 to buy supplies for their classroom. Second and third place winners each received a $100 gift card to Fisher Hawaii. Mahalo to Derrick Isono and the Fisher Hawaii community for helping us set up our new teachers for success! An additional shout-out to Principal Passantino from Ruth Ke‘elikolani Middle School for helping us coordinate and surprise Kimiko during their faculty meeting!

Kimiko, Derrick, and Janet are holding a large check for $500 from Fisher Hawaii
2025 Fisher Hawaii Classroom Makeover Winner

How to Donate or Pick-up!

Donations

We are requesting new or gently used donations that new teachers could use to set up their first classroom once hired. Please refer to the word cloud to see which items are most commonly listed on our graduate wish lists, however, we are happy to take items not included on the list if they would be useful within a new classroom. Have questions? Email coeinfo@hawaii.edu to inquire.
word cloud with the names of the different materials that students have requested. Most common are pencils, erasers, tape, expo maters, and whiteboards
Most requested items

Throughout the summer, we will open up the New Teacher Closet for donation drop-offs. Graduates will be invited to bring a box and grab whatever they need from the closet beginning in mid-July.

Summer 2025 Drop-Off Days

  • Monday, June 2, (Last Day for Teachers), 10am – 5pm
  • Wednesday, June 4, 11am – 2pm
  • Saturday, June 7, 9am – 11am
  • Monday, June 23, 11am – 2pm
  • Thursday, July 3, 12pm – 2pm
  • Monday, July 7, 12pm – 2pm
  • FINAL DROP-OFF DATE: Monday, July 14, 10am – 12pm

If none of these dates work for you, please email coeinfo@hawaii.edu to coordinate.

Location:

1776 University Ave, Wist Hall; Honolulu, HI 96822

  • Exact Location: The New Teacher Closet is located in a portable building next to Wist Hall that faces the faculty parking lot. It has a blue colored door with the #4 on it.
  • Parking: Metered parking is available along Metcalf Street during weekdays, but all parking on campus is free on weekends, including the faculty parking lot in front of the New Teacher Closet

If you have any questions about this project, please email Janet Kim at coeinfo@hawaii.edu.

Class of 2025 (N = 166)

Here’s a snapshot of our 2025 Graduating class of newly licensed teachers:

  • Program Type
    • 102 = Bachelor’s Degree w/licensure
    • 25 = Master of Education in Teaching Degree w/licensure
    • 39 = Post Baccalaureate Certificate w/licensure
  • Dual Licensure Recipients
    • 35 = Dual Certified (21% of graduates earned licenses in two different fields)
  • Licensure Field by Age Group/Content Area (Note: dual licensure graduates are counted twice)
    • 8 = Early Childhood (PK-3)
    • 85 = Elementary (K-6)
    • 43 = Secondary (6-12; 1 Art, 1 Chinese, 19 English, 1 TESOL, 9 Science, 2 Hawaiian, 3 Japanese, 1 Korean, 7 Mathematics, 6 Music, 13 Social Studies)
    • 43 = Special Education (PK-12)
    • 5 = Multilingual Learners/ESL/TESOL (K-12)
    • 4 = Health & PE
    • 0 = Hawaiian Language Immersion

On May 16, 2025 the College of Education at UH Mānoa celebrated their graduates at their annual convocation at the Andrews Amphitheater on campus. Graduates wrote thank-you cards to the people in their lives who had helped them make their graduation possible, which was read by a faculty member from their program as they each walked across the stage.

Class of 2024 (N = 208)

Here’s a snapshot of our 2024 Graduating class of newly licensed teachers:

  • Program Type
    • 126 = Bachelor’s Degree w/licensure
    • 38 = Master of Education in Teaching Degree w/licensure
    • 44 = Post Baccalaureate Certificate w/licensure
  • Dual Licensure Recipients
    • 75 = Dual Certified (36% of graduates earned licenses in two different fields)
  • Licensure Field by Age Group/Content Area (Note: dual licensure graduates are counted twice)
    • 34 = Early Childhood (PK-3)
    • 93 = Elementary (K-6)
    • 65 = Secondary (6-12; 1 Art, 1 Chinese, 19 English, 1 TESOL, 9 Science, 2 Hawaiian, 3 Japanese, 1 Korean, 7 Mathematics, 6 Music, 13 Social Studies)
    • 74 = Special Education (PK-12)
    • 8 = Multilingual Learners/ESL/TESOL (K-12)
    • 4 = Health & PE
    • 2 = Hawaiian Language Immersion

A big mahalo to the Department of Special Education for sponsoring our neighbor island wish list packages that were mailed to the graduates living on Hawai‘i, Lāna‘i, Kaua‘i, Maui, and Moloka‘i at the start of the school year!

On May 10, 2024 the College of Education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa gathered to celebrate its newest graduates! Graduates represent undergraduate, post-baccalaureate certificate, and graduate programs across the various departments in the College of Education. Programs include teacher licensure and professional development offerings, including our online and statewide options, and many graduates flew in from their respective islands to participate.