Tammy Carvalho has been teaching elementary school for 23 years. She is currently a 1st grade teacher at Kapa'a Elementary School and is the 2027 Kauai Complex Teacher of the Year.

She shares what she does both inside and outside her classroom to promote community and sense of belonging for her students!

Jessica Canyon is a 5th grade teacher at Fern Elementary school where she has served with the DOE for 30 years. She is also the 2026 Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area Teacher of the Year.

Steve Hanks has served with the DOE for over 30 years all of them at Honokaa High and Intermediate School.

He discusses what he does to create community in his classroom, and in his school, as well as multiple calls to action for teachers in the classrooms today.

This week we are excited to welcome Emily Mendoza to the podcast. Emily is the 2026 Aiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area Teacher of the Year. She is the culinary arts teacher at Aiea High School. She is originally from New Mexico but has lived and worked on Oahu with her husband and two children for the past nine years.

Lacey Cabral has been a counselor with the DOE for almost 30 years. She serves as a high risk counselor and program coordinator at Keaau High School.

With her team, Lacey also created the Ulupono ALC program for students who need "a little more love" than the regular campus classrooms can provide. The program has successfully helped hundreds of students find their place at Keaau and graduate on to their next steps.

Susan Chew is a kindergarten teacher at Lanai High and Elementary School. She is also the 2026 Hana-Lahaina-Lanai-Molokai Complex Area Teacher of the Year.

She shares what she does to create community in and out of her classroom.

Nate Waters is a math teacher at Waiakea High School. He has served with the DOE for almost 20 years. We discuss some of the things he does to build community with his students and his colleagues.

Aoi Shinagawa is the music teacher at Pahoa High and Intermediate School and has been working to revive the music department since she was hired in 2022.