History & Mission
Our Story
In 2012, the Dean of the College of Education (COE) at the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa, Dr. Donald Young called Dr. Patricia Halagao and Dr. Niki Libarios into his office to discuss the status of Filipinos in the College of Education. He shared a concerned letter written by a former Filipino employee who had just received her annual College magazine, “Currents.” Not much had changed when she was an employee many years ago. She was disturbed by the dismal growth of Filipino students attaining degrees in education and the lack of role models to Filipino students, who make up the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii’s public schools. In order to advise the Dean on how to address the underrepresentation of Filipinos in the College, the Filipino Education Advisory Council was created.
Our council was named after Tinalak, the hand-woven natural cloth designed from the dreams of the indigenous T´boli people of the Philippines. Symbolizing “dream weavers”, the original charge of Tinalak is to envision, inspire, and weave together Hawaii’s new generation of educators through the recruitment and support of Filipinos in the education field.
To empower the Filipino community in Hawaiʻi, the Tinalak Education Advisory Council’s vision is to transform education to be equitable, culturally sustaining, and emancipatory at all levels.
Our mission is to inspire and weave together Hawaii’s new generation of educators through the recruitment and support of Filipinos in the education field. As such, our goals are to:
- Recruit, retain, and graduate Filipino students from the COE to produce more Filipino educators in Hawaii.
- Provide professional development in understanding and working with Filipino students.
- Increase the number of Filipino faculty in the COE.
Our Vision and Mission
To empower the Filipino community in Hawaiʻi, the Tinalak Filipino Education Advisory Council’s vision is to transform education to be equitable, culturally sustaining, and emancipatory at all levels.
Our mission is to inspire and weave together Hawaii’s new generation of educators through the recruitment and support of Filipinos in the education field. As such, our goals are to:
Goal 1
Recruit, retain, and graduate Filipino students from the COE to produce more Filipino educators in Hawaii.
Goal 2
Provide professional development in understanding and working with Filipino students.
Goal 3
Increase the number of Filipino faculty in the COE.