2023 Outcomes
Established the Special Education Cooperating Teacher Academy
The primary objective for the initial launch of the grant was to establish and recruit the inaugural cohort for the Special Education Cooperating Teacher Academy, which began in Summer 2023 with sixteen highly-qualified special education teachers. This cohort represents current Hawaii public school teachers who teach across PK-12 in special education settings and live on Oahu, Maui, or Hawaii island. This collective cohort met in-person at the UH Mānoa campus in the summer and then virtually throughout the school year.
Topics covered in Summer 2023 Special Education CT Academy:
- Mentoring and coaching preservice teachers (familiarizing with UHM COE SPED programs)
- Knowledge and use of high-leverage practices (development of teacher handbook to use with teacher candidates)
- Teacher leadership skills (development of skills to support department and school leadership)
Learn more about the Cooperating Teacher Academy or apply for the next cohort
Funded the first group of Hawkins’ Scholars
Another key priority for PEA was to provide funding in support of teacher candidates currently enrolled in special education teacher licensure programs at the College of Education. Candidates received supplemental funding to cover additional programmatic costs, such as textbooks, technology, travel from neighboring islands to attend face-to-face sessions at UH Mānoa, and to help offset student teaching requirements.
A total of 70 candidates were awarded for SY 23-24, providing a total of $96,600 in funding and candidates representing targeted areas in building a more robust educator workforce:
- Locale: (a) 49 on Oahu ($66,150), and (b) 21 on neighboring islands ($30,450)
- Multilingual: 20% who are multilingual (self-reported “advanced” in two or more languages). Languages represented: English, Tagalog, Ilocano, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Pidgin, American Sign Language (ASL)
- Ethnicity: 47% Caucasian, 30% Japanese, 24% Filipino/a/x, 24% Chinese, 13% Native Hawaiian, and 7% African American.
Why would receiving this funding be important to you?Applicant Testimonial“Receiving this grant funding is of utmost importance to me, given my current financial struggles and the additional hardship that quitting my jobs to undertake student teaching would entail. Juggling full-time work with being a full-time student has already proven to be a significant challenge, and the prospect of losing a steady income during the spring semester intensifies my financial concerns. The grant would provide essential support in mitigating these challenges, ensuring that I can focus on my student teaching responsibilities without the added burden of financial instability. This assistance is not only an investment in my education but also a crucial lifeline during a challenging period, allowing me to pursue my teaching aspirations with greater dedication and focus.”
2024 Outcomes
Maui County Internship Pilot Project
Students enrolled in a State Approved Teacher Education Program (SATEP) must complete fieldwork and student teaching hours to become licensed teachers in Hawai‘i. Historically, most students cannot work while completing these requirements, often posing a barrier to program completion and adding hardship to students who must balance family, life, and school commitments. As a result, federal funds can now support workforce development, providing internship or registered apprenticeship opportunities so students can earn an income while completing their classroom-based experience hours in schools that are registered as internship or apprenticeship sites.
To launch this opportunity in Hawai‘i, a collaborative partnership between UH Mānoa and Maui County’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations piloted an internship opportunity so that eligible students could earn $20+/hour during the Spring 2024 semester.
As part of the PEA initiative, having increased access to workforce internships allows us to build a wider and stronger pipeline into the teaching profession, as more nontraditional candidates would be able to pursue their teacher preparation program, while also being able to earn an income.
Outcomes
Ten (10) teacher candidates were identified as eligible for this pilot project across 4 different statewide COE teacher licensure programs (i.e., BEd in Early Childhood + Early Childhood Special Education, BEd in Elementary, BEd in Special Education, and MEdT in Dual Secondary + Special Education).
- 9 candidates opted-in to participate in this pilot project; 6 candidates were completing full-time student teaching and 3 candidates were completing their part-time observation practicum field requirements
- Candidates completed their internships across 6 Hawaii DOE Maui County schools; 5 in Maui and 1 in Lāna‘i
- Candidates earned $22.25/hour or higher
Local High School to UH Mānoa Pipeline Building Initiative
A key goal for PEA is to support recruitment initiatives by connecting with various local high school teacher academies across the state. To support the pipeline from high school to college, grant funding allows us to engage in projects and activities that support the high school teacher pathway students to learn more about the teaching career, UH Mānoa’s teacher licensure programs, and engage in hands-on workshops and experiences. In addition, collaboration and feedback from high school partners help inform how we can address current barriers, concerns, or processes that may be hindering secondary students from pursuing education as their major. Finally, funding and support could be provided to schools to establish opportunities for secondary students to gain experience working and collaborating alongside students with disabilities so that more students may consider special education as a potential and rewarding career.
One opportunity identified through this partnership was the development of a College of Education Certificate, designed for high school students enrolled in teacher academy pathways who have earned 40-hour or more of group leadership experience as part of their program. This certificate can then be used when applying to a UH Mānoa teacher licensure program in meeting the 40-hour prerequisite requirement. As a pilot, Waipahu High School was able to award 11 seniors at their 2024 end-of-year celebration.
High Schools Supported in 2024:
- Farrington High School
- Waipahu High School
- Pearl City High School
- Waiakea High School
- Honoka’a High School
Funded the second group of Hawkins’ Scholars
For the second year of PEA funding, adjustments were approved to allot increased funds for our neighbor island candidates to more equitably compensate additional program costs related to travel. In 2024, Oahu-based candidates were provided with $1,350 and neighbor-island candidates were provided with $1,600 each. In this year of funding, we did notice a larger proportion of our neighbor-island candidates who applied and were awarded funding compared to the first year.
A total of 68 candidates were awarded in 2024, providing a total of $101,050 in funding with candidates representing targeted areas in building a more robust educator workforce:
- Locale: (a) 31 on Oahu ($41,850), and (b) 37 on neighboring islands ($59,200)
- Multilingual: 18% who are multilingual (self-reported “advanced” or “native” in two or more languages). Languages represented: English, Ilocano, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Mandarin, and Pidgin
- Ethnicity*: 41% Filipino/a/x; 36% Caucasian; 20% Japanese; 16% Hispanic; 14% Chinese; 13% Other Pacific Islander; 9% Native Hawaiian; 3% African American; and 1% Greek, Vietnamese, or Alaska Native.
*Candidates may identify as more than one ethnicity
“Receiving this grant funding would be important to me because I would know that the entire department of education at UH Manoa cares about us and that we are taken care of. All of you know how much time and money teachers sacrifice to do what they need to do for their students. The support like this grant funding is a wonderful gesture to let us see that you are there for us, and I appreciate it very much. You are modeling to us how to support each other and work as a team.”
“Receiving funding would be important to me because I am experiencing first hand the uncertainty and potential financial hardship while being a full time mother to three girls, employee and a student in this program. The student teaching semester this coming spring has brought a new set of financial worry leading to careful decisions and planning. I understand that being a part of this program would mean a brighter future for my family. This funding would help keep me on track to keeping that future bright.”