Spark & Inspire Week 2020
May 5 - 7, 2020
Virtual (Zoom link to be sent in advance to those who RSVP)
4:30-5:30pm
After an exciting launch in 2019, HawaiiKidsCAN and Teach For America Hawaiʻi are excited to announce Spark & Inspire Week, a three-day virtual experience from May 5, 6, 7 where we will host 3 separate 60 minute events with each project getting its own feature night. We have an exciting new format for the pitches, and presenters will be on hand after for a question and answer session with resource experts and audience members. Presenters will share their bright ideas and "ask." An ask might be a request for feedback, expert support, or a solicitation for partnerships and resources. Expect to hear about ideas that: ● Have the potential to scale or impact the broader system ● Will create a legacy of impact over many years ● Demonstrate collective impact or partnership with others Throughout the evening, presenters, advisers, and audience members will have the opportunity to network virtually. We hope to facilitate interactions between stakeholders in our educational community to spark new ideas and inspire a renewed commitment to uplift all kids in Hawaiʻi. Please RSVP to register and select any of the presenter sessions during Spark & Inspire Week you'd like to attend. We will send you a secure Zoom link in advance to join the sessions.
May 5
Olga Dolgopolova, Wheeler Middle School
Lauren Tanner, Wheeler Middle School
Olga and Lauren are teachers at Wheeler Middle School who have worked closely over the last three years. They serve as grade level mentors for their seventh-grade team. Olga teaches English language arts and social studies. Lauren teaches math and science. As team teachers, they deliver rigorous content that is meaningful to their students. They promote an inquiry-based approach and ignite curiosity to transform students into active explorers.
Build a Bridge
The Build a Bridge project connects students from local and military populations to improve areas of their community. Students will learn from each other and deepen their connection to the HĀ framework.
May 6
Jamie Borromeo, Konawaena High School
Jamie currently co-owns and operates Happy Buddha Farm located on the Big Island of Hawaii, and is a business teacher at Konawaena High School. She is the author of Young, Educated & Broke, and has developed retreats, leadership trainings, and college tours on the inability to develop the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs and career professionals.
Konawaena Coffee
Konawaena Coffee is the coffee line developed by Konawaena High School's Business Program. It was developed in partnership with Greenwell Farms, which is one of the largest producers of Kona Coffee. In an effort to expose the students to the benefits of Kona coffee to the larger economy, the business program has built public private partnerships so that the children can create their own coffee line. The students pitch their product to real customers and learn marketing, communication and sales techniques.
May 7
David Wild, Konawaena High School
David Wild is a 6th year math teacher at his placement school, Konawaena High School in Kona, Hawaii. He is a TFA 2014 corps member and Karuk tribal member. David grew up in San Diego and majored in Mathematics at UC Berkeley. After working in the IT and non-profit sector of the Bay Area and bicycling around the world, he pivoted to work with youth. He teaches, coaches runners and triathletes, and pursues triathlon as a hobby.
Go Wild Foundation
In hopes of making the Go Wild Foundation a non-profit company, we will celebrate Native youth and their cultural practices. This will be done through leveraging networks to fund an annual scholarship to support Native youth, island-wide.
Sponsors
Hosted by
HawaiiKidsCAN
Founded in 2017, HawaiiKidsCAN is a local nonprofit education advocacy organization dedicated to empowering communities with accessible information and helping elevate community voices and concerns to build the conditions for all students in Hawai‘i to thrive. In our first year of operation, HawaiiKidsCAN has focused on expanding equity and innovation in education, working with students and community members to drive policy change at the Hawai‘i State Legislature and Board of Education. Visit us on the web at hawaiikidscan.org.
Teach For America Hawaiʻi
Since 2006 on O‘ahu and 2009 on Hawai‘i Island, Teach For America Hawai‘i has recruited and developed over 800 educational leaders. Beginning as teachers serving public school students affected by poverty, the alumni of our program continue to work across career sectors – including education, law, business, medicine, and government – to improve opportunities for young people and advocate for educational equity. As a native and rural region of Teach For America, we work with local and national partners to provide all students with access to an education that empowers them to be authentic leaders of our local and global communities. For more information about our region, visit www.teachforamerica.org/hawaii and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.