The Social Justice Education in Hawai‘i Project is a Hanahau‘oli School Professional Development Center initiative led in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa College of Education. Since 2018, the project has been growing and supporting local educators who see schools as levers of change for creating a better future world. . Deeply aligned to the mission of progressive schools, social justice educators seek to transform education from merely transferring knowledge to actively promoting equity, fairness, and more inclusive, democratic societies.

I first met Dr. Noboru Tanaka in 2015, while traveling across Japan giving a series of lectures related to democracy and education. Since then, we’ve become friends and colleagues, collaborating on a number of scholarly endeavors that aim to bridge the work of progressive educators in Hawai‘i and Japan. Not only has this included co-authoring academic journals and book chapters, but also cheering side-by-side at my children’s high school football games and learning more about Tanaka’s love of motorcycle riding and stint in a punk rock band. Today, I continue to work with Dr. Tanaka in his role as an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment at Kobe University, where he specializes in citizenship education and democratic society studies. His research, similar to mine, focuses on education for democratic citizenship, with his lab exploring civic engagement and educational philosophy.

One of the greatest honors of my life has been learning, growing, and teaching at the only public high school on the rural and very Hawaiian Island of Molokai. Located in Hoolehua, Molokai High School has a predominantly Native Hawaiian student body, with approximately 76.5% identifying as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. As a non-Native Hawaiian, it has been   very special to learn from the Molokai High School community; how Hawaiian cultural values can be used in my work as a special educator who aims to foster a holistic, safe, and supportive learning environment for our entire school community.