Naalehu Elementary School principal recognized for New Teacher Academy

KAILUA-KONA — Darlene Javar believes the job of a principal is to work behind the scenes, but she couldn’t dodge the spotlight Thursday night at the Waikiki Sheraton Hotel on Oahu.

The Naalehu Elementary School principal was awarded the Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award for her efforts in developing the New Teacher Academy at the school she’s run for the past six years.

“(The award) is not really about me, it’s about my whole staff and community,” said Javar, a lifetime resident of Ka’u. “At first, I didn’t even want to participate. I don’t need personal recognition. I’m a worker bee, I’d rather be behind the scenes and let my kids shine and my teachers shine.”

The NTA focuses on the professional development of incoming teachers to help them do just that — shine — from the moment they start working with Hawaii Island youth.

Several students who come through Naalehu Elementary live in rural areas across the Ka’u district, many of whom grow up facing challenges like geographic isolation and poverty.

Part of the purpose of the NTA is to educate teachers on the homes and lives of the students with whom they’ll work, which can help to cultivate within those teachers a love of the area and its culture that Javar has held her entire life.

“It’s about how we support the teachers so they can support the kids,” Javar said. “We put different pieces in place throughout the last several years, so it’s not even just about this one moment in time. It’s about the many years prior and all the different people who have worked to make Naalehu a collaborative working environment so teachers can impact kids.”

Tyler Tokioka, president of the Island Insurance Foundation, said the award presented annually to a “public school principal who is visionary, community-minded and has an entrepreneurial spirit” is about recognizing inspirational leaders in public education, as well as their ideas.

“Principal Javar exemplifies the type of leadership that can transform our public schools into model learning institutions,” he said in a press release. “By recognizing outstanding principals such as Darlene, it is our hope that her accomplishments will inspire others in public education.”

Javar received more than just a plaque and a few kind words Thursday. She was also the recipient of $25,000, of which $15,000 will be spent to expand, enhance and transform Naalehu Elementary’s He Keiki Aloha Na Mea Kanu garden project.

Many of her students live in the middle of lava fields and have no opportunity to take horticulture home with them. But she has bigger plans than simply supplying each student with a seedling and a container full of potting soil so they can do some gardening in small space at home — although some of the money will go toward that endeavor.

“What I want is to think about the diverse ways of gardening,” Javar said. “I’m trying to move away from (just going) to the garden and planting something. Let’s look at it as what are the engineering aspects of hydroponics? Or maybe students can do soil studies. As the kids get older the gardening projects need to be more rigorous.”

The rest of the money will be used for campus beautification, some redesigns to the school’s garden and enhanced curriculum for teachers so they can provide a unit on the gardening program.

The remaining $10,000 is a personal award for Javar to do with what she likes. While she’s still entertaining options for the money, it, too, seems destined to be used for educational purposes.

“I’ve always wanted to celebrate the academic achievements of my own kids,” Javar said. “As a mom, one of my bucket list items was taking my girls to Europe when they graduated college, so I’m exploring that idea.”

She also mentioned using some of the money to celebrate her son, who is about to graduate from the engineering program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, or maybe taking her granddaughter to Washington D.C. to experience the nation’s capitol.

“I just can’t help it,” Javar said. “I’m a teacher everywhere.”