Often hailed as one of the most exquisite vacation destinations in the world, Hawai‘i is also home to a public school system that ranks 44th in the nation in terms of academic achievement. The 50th state to join the United States, Hawai‘i was once a sovereign nation. This history, combined with its physical distance from the mainland of the U.S., has resulted in a complex and sometimes tense relationship between Hawai‘i and the mainland.
| Quick Stats |
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| Site Since: 2006 |
| Corps Size: 105 |
| Average yearly temperature: 77.2° |
| Car: Access to car is essential |
Salary: See cost of living  |
The physical and cultural independence of Hawai‘i is a palpable part of life on the islands, and is a driving factor in debates around social and education reform in the state. Hawai‘i's residents are known collectively for their Aloha spirit, yet they both celebrate and acknowledge their diversity. Native Hawaiians as well as people of Japanese, Filipino, Samoan, Chinese, Korean, and European descent have all contributed to shaping life in the islands. In addition, the state has the largest population of people with multi-ethnic backgrounds in the country, and has a continuous schedule of festivals featuring eclectic varieties of food, music, art, and dance.
Physically, Hawai‘i is breathtaking. Nineteen islands and atolls make up the Hawaiian Archipelago. There are eight main islands at the southeastern end of the island chain including Hawai‘i, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kauai, Niihau and Kaho’olawe and Oahu. The island of Hawai‘i is known locally as the “Big Island” because it is nearly twice the size of all the other islands combined. With deserts, rainforests, volcanoes, and even snow-capped mountains, the island of Hawai‘i has the greatest geographic and physical diversity of all islands in the archipelago. Maui is known as the “Valley Island” because a central valley divides two large volcanoes that comprise the island. It is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands and is famous for its beaches which are host to some of the world's best surfing. Oahu is home to 80 percent of the islands' residents, the state's capital city, Honolulu, and has the most visited landmark in the state at Pearl Harbor.
Teach For America Hawai‘i corps members are placed in relatively remote sites on the island of Oahu in the more arid, agricultural areas of the state. Currently, corps members are placed in the two largest districts on the island, the Leeward and Central districts. These two districts are located on the Leeward (Western) coast of the island. Approximately 45 miles from downtown Honolulu, most of the current corps members have chosen to live in areas like Maili, Kapolei, Makakilo and Makaha. Most corps members live in areas that are relatively close to their schools. However, depending on where corps members choose to live, they may be a one to two-hour drive away from Honolulu (depending on traffic), and in terms of leaving the islands, flights to the mainland are expensive. In order to avoid the sense of isolation experienced by some newcomers to Hawai‘i, incoming corps members must be adept at cross-cultural interaction and prepared for the geographic distance between their respective communities and major metropolitan areas such as Honolulu.
Teach For America • Hawai‘i is focused on improving the educational outcomes of the students that our corps members serve. We work together as staff and corps members colleagues to ensure that we are doing all we can to alleviate the achievement gap in schools across the island of Ohau. As in all of our regions, Hawai‘i corps members can expect to both engage in regular conversations with staff members around their teaching practice and to receive regular observations by Program Directors throughout the school year. Additionally, Hawai‘i corps members attend Teach For America professional development events designed to help them in their development as teacher-leaders. In the 2007-08 school year, Teach For America • Hawai‘i has implemented a Professional Saturday structure each quarter of the school year. This structure provides workshop sessions focused on honing our teachers’ skills in specific teaching skills and exposing them to the “big picture” of our efforts in the movement to end educational inequity at the regional and national level.
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