Each day we see the realities of educational inequity juxtaposed against the concrete evidencethat when students in low-income communitiesare given opportunities they deserve, they excel.

Hawai'i

"The kinds of ‘high-expectations’ people who are attracted to Teach for America are precisely
the kind of teachers we need in Hawai'i. I also view the alumni of Teach For America as a pipeline for leadership inside and outside of education in Hawai'i."

- H. Mitchell D'Olier, President and CEO, Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.

This year, a corps of 98 of the nation’s most promising future leaders are teaching in our city’s lowest-income classrooms as a part of Teach For America • Hawai‘i. They are working to ensure their students have the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are a leadership force, working from within education and every professional sector to effect broader change. Together they are helping us make educational equity a reality in Hawai‘i. Learn about living and teaching in Hawai'i.

Press Corps Impact Alumni Impact Financial Sustainability Regional Supporters Contact Us Executive Director Executive Director

Press

Recent press coverage

back to top

Corps Impact

Natalie Attar (Hawai'i Corps '06)
Undergraduate University: University of Arizona
Major: Nutrition

Natalie Attar teaches third grade math at Waianae Elementary in the Leeward Complex Area. Natalie collaborated with Courtney Owen (Corps ’06) to design an ambitious new curriculum map for her school, focusing on new assessments, lessons, and long-term plans that were both rigorous and in line with state standards. Her hard work and relentless dedication to her students paid off. At the beginning of the year, only 12 percent of Natalie’s students scored at a basic level or above on the Hawai‘i Quarterly Assessment, but by the end of the year, 100 percent of her students scored at the basic level or higher, with 93 percent of her students demonstrating proficient or advanced work. The success in Natalie’s classroom is representative of the impact that our movement is having in schools across Hawai’i.

Hawai'i: Our Impact on Students and Schools Today

School Year Corps Members Students Reached
2005-06 opened in fall of 2006 opened in fall of 2006
2006-07 49 4,165
2007-08 98 8,330

Pricipal Satisfaction

  • 100 percent of recently-surveyed Hawai‘i principals (in schools with Teach For America corps members) reported that they would hire another Teach For America teacher.
  • 95 percent of principals surveyed regard Teach For America teachers as effective as, if not more effective than, other beginning teachers in terms of overall performance and impact on student achievement.*

*"Teach For America 2007 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2007.

Impact on Student Achievement

According to a highly-regarded study by Mathematica Policy Research, corps members outpaced fully certified and veteran teachers in their schools in moving their students ahead academically. Read national results.

Hawai'i: Corps Member Placement

Assignment # of Corps Members % of Corps
Mathematics 19 20%
Science 16 16%
Special Education 19 19%
Social Studies 7 7%
English 18 18%
Elementary 17 17%
Other (Spanish) 2 2%
Total 98 100%

*Percentages are rounded and may not add up to 100 percent.

Characteristics of the 2008 Corps

Corps Profile Top alma maters by market share*
Average GPA: 3.6 Spelman College : 16%
Average SAT: 1320 Morehouse College, Williams College, Yale University : 11%
Held leadership roles on campus: 95%

Duke University, Georgetown University, University of Chicago, Wake Forest University, Wesleyan University: 10%

People of color: 29% Amherst College, Harvard University, Haverford University, Notre Dame University, Princeton University, Rice University: 9%

*Percentage of senior classes who applied to Teach For America

back to top

Alumni Impact

Fostering Alumni Leadership for Systemic Change
As the number of corps members grows, so does our alumni base. By 2010, we will hope to have over 200 Teach For America •Hawai‘i alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.

  • Nationally, more than 60 percent of corps members continue to work in education,
    including more than 300 who are school leaders.
  • 93 percent of all alumni report they are supporting Teach For America’s mission
    through their career, volunteer activity or graduate study.

Steve Schatz (Los Angeles Corps '94)
Undergraduate University: University of California-Santa Cruz
Major: Political Science
Current profession: Principal

Patricia Halagao (Bay Area Corps '92)
Undergraduate University: Occidental College
Major: Anthropology
Current Profession: Professor

Steve Schatz is the principal of Pohakea Elementary school, and Patricia Halagao is a faculty member in the education department at the University of Hawai‘i.

back to top

An Efficient Program: Cost Breakdown

An Efficient Program: Cost per Corps Member

Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2007-2009

Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in Hawai‘i, and another talented leader with the insight and commitment necessary to sustain the reform efforts underway, which is critical to the ongoing vitality of our Hawai‘i.

Year Corps Size Revenue Needs
2007-08 98 $1.25 million
2008-09 98* $1.25 million*
* projected

back to top

Hawai‘i Supporters

We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Hawai‘i. The foundations, corporations and individuals listed below have made it possible for Teach For America to continue to recruit, select, train, and support teachers who are working to eliminate educational inequity in our city.

Advisory Board
Mitch D’Olier (Chair)
President and CEO
Harold K. L. Castle Foundation
Don Horner
Present and CEO
First Hawaiian Bank
Bryan Luke
Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Services
Hawai‘i National Bank
Larry Stupski
Chair
Stupski Foundation

Corporate, Foundation and Public Support

$100,000 - $199,999

Harold K. L. Castle Foundation
Hawai‘i Community Foundation
Hawai‘i Department of Education
Kamehameha Schools
McInerny Foundation
Office of Hawaiian Affairs

$50,00 - $99,999

First Hawaiian Bank
Samuel and Mary Castle Foundation

$20,000 - $49,999

Atherton Family Foundation
G. N. Wilcox Trust

$10,000 - $19,999

A&B Foundation
Na Lei Aloha Foundation
Poseidon Properties
Royal Contracting

$5,000 - $9,999

First Insurance Company of Hawai‘i
Keoki’s Lau Lau
Oceanic Time Warner
Outrigger Enterprises Group

Individuals
Individuals and families support Teach For America by attending a special event or by participating in our Sponsor A Teacher program. Sponsors provide critical annual leadership support of $5,000 or more to help us recruit, select, train and support corps members in Hawai‘i schools profoundly affected by the achievement gap. Our generous sponsors are denoted by *

$100,000 and up

Lawrence Stupski

$25,000 - $49,999

Kosasa Family Fund

$10,000 - $24,999

Dwayne and Marti Steele Fund
James and Priscilla Growney

$5,000 - $9,999

H. Mitchell D’Olier
Bryan K. Luke
Chock Family
Collin M. Fritz
Hung Wo and Elizabeth Lau Ching Foundation
Jhamandas Watumull Fund
C. Scott Wo

back to top

Contact Us

To support Teach For America • Hawai‘i with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:

Teach For America • Hawai‘i
Jill Baldemor, Executive Director
99-080 Kauhale St.
Suite C-20
Aiea, HI 96701
p 808-485-8127, ext. 2204
f 213-489-9383
jill.baldemor@teachforamerica.org

HRback to topback to top

Executive Director

Jill BaldemorJill is an alumna of Teach For America and taught second grade in Washington Heights, New York City for two years as a 1995 corps member. Previous to joining staff, Jill practiced law at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, LLP, for seven years. Born and raised in Honolulu, she holds master's and bachelor's degrees from Northwestern University and a JD from the University of Washington School of Law.

back to top