Chaminade University of Honolulu

Education

Chaminade University Receives Grant from Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation

Chaminade University has received a $50,000 grant from the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation to fund its Early Childhood Education (ECE) teacher scholarship program. The grant will be used to award over 20 scholarships this school year to students from Chaminade’s School of Education who are majoring in Early Childhood Education (ECE).

“The ECE Castle Scholarship funding will play an instrumental role in supporting quality early childhood educators qualified to teach in the public sector throughout the state of Hawai’i,” said Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington. “With the generous support from the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation, Chaminade University will continue to provide quality education to those who have a passion for educating our young children.”   

Early childhood education teachers continue to be in high demand across the state and the nation. Chaminade provides Early Childhood Education programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. These programs provide not only degrees but also state teaching licensure and internationally accepted Montessori credentials. The university’s ECE major is offered through online courses with opportunities for hands-on learning experiences. For more information regarding undergraduate programs, click here and for graduate programs, click here.

The Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation is a proud supporter of improving the lives of Hawai’i’s children and families through the improvement of early childhood education and development.

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Chaminade 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 chaminade.edu.

Education in the Time of COVID

When Shana Tong, MEd ‘08 was offered the position of interim president at Maryknoll School, a private Catholic school in Honolulu, the situation couldn’t have been more urgent. It was July of 2020, and the education system around the world had just been rocked by one of the biggest challenges of the century: the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shana Tong, MEd '08

Schools across the globe had spent the last part of the 2019-20 school year scrambling to finish out the year remotely. No one really knew what fall of 2020 would bring—would schools be able to reopen? Teachers and administrators were working double-time to prepare for all possible scenarios.

In Hawaii, things were looking stable in early July. But now, a little over one month later, everything has changed. Numbers are rising, and quickly. The situation is becoming much more dire, and public schools have now been mandated to begin their school year online.

If there is anyone that can lead Maryknoll through these difficult times, it’s Tong. Tong knows Maryknoll like the back of her hand. She has had every possible relationship with the school—she has been a Maryknoll student, parent, teacher and administrator. And her endless optimism and easy manner will serve the school well during these unpredictable times.

It isn’t easy assuming a new leadership role in the middle of a pandemic with so many unknowns ahead. Tong knows her biggest challenge will be making sure the parents, students and teachers all feel comfortable and confident in the new learning plan.

“Everyday it could change,” acknowledges Tong. “Being flexible, adaptable, resilient—those are the skills we are going to need in order to really thrive and make sure our children are feeling confident and cared for, and to give them a sense of normalcy, even when the world is crazy out there.”

Tong credits the knowledge she gained in Chaminade’s Master of Education program with helping her navigate the complexity of the situation today. She had already had an extensive teaching career when she enrolled in the program in 2006, but Chaminade taught her about the business of running a school—the finance, law and human resources side of things. It gave her the solid foundation she needed to become a confident leader.

But even more so, her professors at Chaminade modeled what it meant to be a Catholic educator, something Tong is holding very near and dear today. Regardless of a child’s faith, Tong believes the Catholic education that Maryknoll helps shape children to become more responsible and caring citizens.

“When children see themselves and their role in the world as bigger than themselves, it’s always enlightening,” says Tong. “It sets the path for how they take care of other people, making difficult decisions when times are tough.”

That’s especially true in today’s world, as people struggle to navigate so much uncertainty. “Right now we’re in a pandemic,” says Tong. “I think more than ever, people need something to look forward to. As times change, faith gives you something to rely on, it gives you a sense of responsibility.”

Tong doesn’t know what this upcoming school year holds, but with her faith and a dedicated team of fellow leaders and mentors to help guide her, she feels confident in the journey ahead.

PPE for Queen’s Medical Center

CTRAC created PPE donated to Queen's Medical Center

The Castle Teacher Resource Activity Center (CTRAC) in Chaminade’s School of Education and Behavioral Sciences recently donated 62 face shields to nurses in the Trauma Unit at Queen’s Hospital to use as protection while treating patients with COVID-19.

CTRAC created PPE donated to Queen's Medical Center

When Chaminade staff approached Graduate Assistant Veronica Haskell about using the CTRAC equipment to create face masks, she immediately got to work creating a prototype. With a successful prototype in hand, she went into production and produced the face shields using the center’s 3-D printer and laser cutter.

Haskell, a graduate student in Chaminade’s Master of Arts in Teaching program, has worked at CTRAC for less than a year. She has learned to master both the 3-D printer and the laser cutter in that short period of time and has been invaluable on numerous projects, including this one.

CTRAC created PPE donated to Queen's Medical Center

CTRAC was established nearly 10 years ago through generous funding from the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation, and provides a much-needed space for students to study, relax, create and socialize. The center was turned into a maker’s space in 2018 and now houses the 3-D printer and laser cutter, both of which are available for student use.

Haskell worked with Dr. Elizabeth Park, associate professor of education at Chaminade, and Dr. Amber Noguchi, director of Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Programs at Chaminade. Together, they were able to coordinate the delivery of the masks to Queen’s in a contactless drop-off on June 1, 2020.

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

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

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

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.”