Big Island principals nominated for award

Three Big Island public school principals are among 14 nominees for the Island Insurance Foundation’s 13th annual Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award.

Darlene Javar of Naalehu Elementary School, Kelcy Koga of Waiakea High School and Shawn Suzuki of Konawaena High School were honored along with other state principals during a ceremony April 1 in Honolulu.

Island Insurance Foundation President Tyler Tokioka presented each nominee with a $1,000 personal cash award. The recipient of the annual award will be announced April 20 during the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation Dinner on Oahu.

The selected principal will receive $25,000: $15,000 designated for a school project of his or her choice and an additional $10,000 as a personal cash award. Two semifinalists each will receive a $2,000 personal cash award.

The award is named after Island Insurance founder Masayuki Tokioka, an immigrant from Japan who moved to Hawaii at age 12 and graduated from McKinley High School on Oahu in 1921. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a master’s in international commerce from Harvard University in 1927. His business career spanned 70 years, during which he founded successful enterprises including Island Insurance Co.

“My grandfather, Masayuki Tokioka, believed that education, integrity and hard work were the keys to success,” said Tyler Tokioka. “Everything that he achieved was only possible because the Hawaii public school system provided him with the foundation to pursue unlimited opportunities. This is why we are so honored to be able to recognize these principals who give so much to their students and our community.”

The award criteria is based on research by the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy at the University of Washington. The study concluded that school and district leaders can advance powerful and equitable learning by establishing a focus on learning, building professional communities that value learning, engaging external environments that contribute to learning, acting strategically and sharing leadership, and managing improvement activities based on student performance data.