““As a society becomes more enlightened, it realizes that it is responsible not to transmit and conserve the whole of its existing achievements, but only such as make for a better future society. The school is its chief agency for the accomplishment of this end.” ”
The mission of the Professional Development Center at Hanahau‘oli is to build upon the school’s rich progressive education tradition to support the development of school communities that promote a better future society for today’s children.
With a commitment to serving a public purpose, the Professional Development Center (PDC) at Hanahau‘oli is a bridge between the school and the community. Made possible through an endowment from the Clarence T. C. Ching Foundation, the PDC was established to build our collective capacity for developing and maintaining school communities that both meet the needs of our current society and strive to create a better future society for our children. To carry out this mission, the PDC offers a wide range of educative experiences--aligned to the school’s progressive philosophy and tradition--for educators, researchers, scholars, parents, and community members. In partnership with the University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa College of Education and other community collaborators, the PDC also facilitates Hanahau‘oli School’s role as a preeminent Professional Development School (PDS) that models socially just, progressive, interdisciplinary, and inquiry approaches to teaching and learning.
Hanahau'oli School is a member of the Progressive Education Network, an association of schools that embody the ideals of progressive education, which at its core emphasizes a commitment to diversity, equity, and justice in our schools and society. As our own school embarks on self-reflection sparked by uprisings across the nation, we take inspiration from our partners in progressive education and offer programming through the Professional Development Center that supports educators throughout Hawai'‘i in pursuit of social justice. Read the Progressive Education Network's call for educators to "acknowledge the urgency of addressing racial justice inside and outside our classrooms" and "examine the complicity of our own institutions in racial bias and inequitable representation in our curriculum and pedagogy, and in our institutional systems, structures, and rituals" here, and consider joining us at one of our upcoming professional development programs in a shared pursuit of a more just society for the children of Hawaii.
Use the links in the left menu to learn more about our program’s history and programming, view the upcoming workshops on our events calendar, and explore our extensive resources for educators.
