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Chamiande University Receives $25,000 Grant from First Hawaiian Bank

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HONOLULU (January 30, 2020) – Chaminade University of Honolulu recently received a $25,000 grant from First Hawaiian Bank that will allow the university to remain current and be better positioned to train tomorrow’s teachers. The grant will be used to ensure Chaminade’s School of Education graduates teachers who are using best practices in place-based, deep learning.

First Hawaiian Bank presenting check to Chaminade University
Pictured left to right: Dr. Elizabeth Park, Chaminade University; Dr. Lynn Babington, Chaminade University; Donna Mendes, First Hawaiian Bank; and Dr. Katrina Roseler, Chaminade University

Place-based education encourages student agency and is situated within the context of the learners’ environment, allowing them opportunities to explore questions that are immediately relevant. In Hawai‘i, such an instructional approach provides a space to honor and highlight native/indigenous knowledge and skills in addition to addressing required state and national standards. It has been shown that learners who engage in place-based education are not only more engaged, but also demonstrate a deeper understanding of content. Teachers who embrace this style of teaching are also more likely to stay in the classroom.

Chaminade will collaborate with the Kupu Hou Academy, a teacher professional development program housed at Mid-Pacific Institute, to help translate and implement the place-based, deeper learning model in the university setting.

According to Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington, “This collaboration with Mid-Pacific Institute will transform Chaminade’s School of Education and ensure that it is graduating teachers who are using best practices in place-based, deep learning, and who are empowered to be innovative and creative in the classroom. The real beneficiaries will be Hawai‘i’s children, who will have access to an engaging, quality education.”

Chaminade’s School of Education offers six undergraduate degree programs and two master’s degree programs, supplying the second largest pool of teachers for the state.  For more information, visit www.chaminade.edu.

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About Chaminade UniversityChaminade University of Honolulu provides a collaborative and innovative learning environment that prepares graduate and undergraduate students for life, service and successful careers. Established in 1955, the university is guided by its Catholic, Marianist and liberal arts educational traditions, which include a commitment to serving the Native Hawaiian population. Chaminade offers an inclusive setting where students, faculty and staff collectively pursue a more just and peaceful society. For more information, visit www.chaminade.edu.

Chaminade Alum’s “Students First” Mentality Leads Him to White House

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Since Ryan Tauriainen graduated from Chaminade in 2010, he’s racked up a long list of accomplishments. At 26, he became one of the youngest principals in the country. In 2016, the Washington Post named him the “Principal of the Year.” And as a charter school leader in the nation’s capital, his strategies helped produce the highest-performing early childhood classrooms in the district.

White House Fellows pose for their official portraits in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Wednesday, September 11, 2019, at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Keegan Barber)

Oh, and the author of five children’s books is now a 2019-20 White House fellow.

But he says despite all the acknowledgment and titles, he still sees himself as a “teacher first.”

And that’s due in part to the approach he started to build at Chaminade that helped him see that improving school culture, building a positive and happy work environment – infused with aloha – and putting people above everything else always produces the best results.

“I definitely believe that I brought a servant’s heart and the aloha spirit back with me to DC from Hawaii,” Tauriainen said, in a recent interview. “Having roots in Hawaii was a benefit for my education career. Every day, my main inspiration lies in the children I have served and will serve.”

Tauriainen enrolled in the Master of Education program at Chaminade while serving as a Teach for America educator.

During the day, he taught language arts to seventh graders at Wheeler Middle in Wahiawa. And at Chaminade, he sought to expand his knowledge of secondary education, working alongside professors and his fellow graduate students for insight and support as he worked to sharpen his classroom skills.

His mentors and peers helped him grow as an educator.

And, he said, they provided vital emotional and academic support. “I appreciated how flexible Chaminade was for graduate students,” Tauriainen added. “I was a full-time teacher while being a full-time student. Being able to do both and manage both was a blessing.”

Tauriainen’s White House fellowship began in August 2019. He works at the U.S. Department of Education, where he reports to Frank Brogan, the assistant secretary of education for Elementary and Secondary Education. And he said among the projects he oversees is $26 million in grant money set aside for Native Hawaiian education programs – an area that he said he’s passionate about. The Oregon native also remains committed to improving opportunities for education – “the great equalizer” – across the United States. “I have seen the benefits of providing an excellent education and I have seen the detriments of failing our students,” he said. “Ensuring an excellent education for every child, no matter their zip code, is the surest way to our more perfect union.”

Secondary Education Student Wins MLA Student Essay Contest

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Jennifer Nguyen '22 with author Viet Thanh Nguyen
Jennifer Nguyen ’22 with author Viet Thanh Nguyen. Jennifer cited his work multiple times in her essay.

Jennifer Nguyen ’22 calls herself a “history fanatic.”

She’s an online undergraduate student studying Secondary Education at Chaminade and hopes to one day teach history. So when her English professor, Dr. Brooke Carlson, assigned her class an argumentative essay designed to be something of a self-exploration she knew instantly what she would write about.

She took on nothing less than the Vietnam War, a topic that has haunted her since childhood.

“I find many reasons to be proud of my American heritage,” Nguyen said, in a recent interview. “On the other side, I find myself drawn to the stories, the struggle, and the memory of a war that has affected not only my family but all those who were lost, displaced, resettled, disturbed.”

Her essay explores the problematic way in which Americans collectively remember the war, offering a powerful alternative for recalling a bloody and protracted conflict that Nguyen said is meant to reflect her “love for the American value of expression and a love for cultural identity.”

Her powerful perspective didn’t just impress her professor.

It also garnered a national award: Out of hundreds of submissions from around the country, “The Vietnam War, the American War: Literature, Film, and Popular Memory” was selected as a winner in the MLA (Modern Language Association) Student Paper Contest. A committee of judges said Nguyen’s essay not only had a clear thesis and excellent sources, but the topic and her argument were “compelling.”

In winning the award, Nguyen’s essay will also be published on the MLA Style Center, a hub geared toward students from high school to graduate school that’s meant to demonstrate how to correctly use MLA style – and, of course, write a good essay.

Nguyen said the essay was a “passion project” that was made possible thanks to her partnership with Carlson. Nguyen said her professor suggested she submit the essay to the MLA and then helped her cut the word count and offered other suggestions for tweaks.

“Without him, I would not have even known or considered submitting my work to the MLA contest,” Nguyen said, adding that “This essay really was a joy to research and write. I hope to continue on this path and produce more work that sheds light on important issues.”

2019 Hawaii Catholic Teacher of the Year

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Ernest Mendoza notoriously puts his students first.

In his 27-year tenure for St. Anthony School in Maui, one of our sister Marianist institutions, he has impacted the lives of countless students. Whether it’s staying late to help a student on an assignment, inspiring students to find their faith in God or coming in on a weekend to fix things around campus, his legacy runs deep.

He was a natural choice for this year’s Teacher of the Year award, presented by Chaminade University and Hawaii Catholic Schools.

Ernest Mendoza accepting his check for Hawaii Catholic Schools teacher of the year

“When we looked at Mr. Mendoza’s commitment to his students and service to his school, and the incredible testimonials we received from his students, alumni and colleagues, it was clear he deserved this award,” says Dale Fryxell, dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Chaminade University and member of the selection committee. “Mr. Mendoza exemplifies everything that this award stands for—a celebration of the effect teachers have on the lives of their students.”

Mendoza received the $1,000 award, made possible by the generous support of John and Mary Lou Brogan, at the annual Hawaii Catholic Schools Recognition Luncheon on May 22.

Our own Dr. Helen Turner, dean of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and vice president of innovation at Chaminade University, was the event’s keynote speaker. She addressed the audience about innovation in Catholic schools.

A sincere thank you to Hawaii Catholic Schools for making these accolades possible. We look forward to our continued collaboration and partnership.

Chaminade Grad Named Teacher of the Year

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Mathieu Williams '14
Dr. Dale Fryxell (Dean, School of Education & Behavioral Sciences) and Mathieu Williams ’14 (2019 Hawaii Teacher of the Year)

Congratulations to Mathieu Williams ‘14 for being named the 2019 Hawaii Teacher of the Year. Williams is a visual media and technology teacher at Kealakehe Intermediate School in Kona who challenges his students to look inward and discover the individual they want to become.

“Media is such a great platform, but it’s all about building a brand,” says Williams. “I help my students understand that they all have their own brand and I ask them, ‘what are you going to be known for? Do you want to be known for kindness? Respect? Being dependable?’”

Williams started his teaching journey as a member of Teach for America right out of university. He didn’t know he wanted to be a teacher right away, but he fell in love with all that his students had to offer. He learns from them every day and loves helping his students see the world in a different light. “The moment we stop learning it’s a scary thing because we get complacent,” says Williams. “It’s not about teaching kids facts or subject matter, it’s about teaching kids how to learn and how to empathize and understand people and places.”

“Knowing that the future sits in front of you each and every day and that you have the ability to shape that future is a large responsibility,” says Williams. “I feel completely humbled by it.”

Mathieu graduated from the Chaminade Master of Education program with a specialization in educational leadership in 2014. “We are incredibly proud of Mathieu for achieving such a high honor,” says Dale Fryxell, dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Chaminade. “This is a fantastic accomplishment and a well-deserved award.”

Education: The Teachers of Tomorrow

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Seven Chaminade University staff and faculty last month joined over 700 members from across Micronesia for the three-day Micronesian Teacher Education Conference in Chuuk State, in the Federated States of Micronesia.

They helped train other teachers by presenting on a range of topics, including how to embed culturally responsive teaching into the classroom, engage exceptional students with effective strategies, teach vocabulary using word games and more.

Chaminade offers a distance-learning Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in Oceania in Chuuk State, so several of the conference attendees were Chaminade graduates who have become teachers in Micronesia.

“Engaging with our colleagues from different parts of the Pacific is a physical demonstration of our mission to develop partnerships with our Island neighbors,” says Katrina Roseler, Associate Professor in the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences who taught a session on adaptation and natural selection, and another on engineering for disaster. “We’re all in this together. I still have so much to learn and share with teachers all over the world.”