KEKAHA — The state Department of Education and the state’s top lawmakers have honored a Westside educator.
Theresa Malone, a fifth-grade teacher at Kalaheo Elementary School, was named the DOE’s Kaua‘i District Teacher of the Year late last year.
The state Legislature celebrated Malone and other educators’ achievements again this month, during its annual Education Week.
“It was shocking, surprising, but I’m grateful,” Malone said in a recent interview. “I just feel more shocked, because there are so many great teachers on the island.”
But Malone’s principal, Brian Godsill, and the parents of her students know she deserves the award.
Her dedication to students is palpable, according to Godsill.
“When you step foot into her classroom, you can just feel the sense of community that she builds with our students,” he told The Garden Island.
Malone’s strengths were especially evident when her class switched to pandemic-related periods of remote learning. She built relationships with her fifth-graders and ran community-care projects to collect blankets for the houseless, contact isolated kupuna and create comfort bags for families in need.
Godsill became the leader of Kalaheo Elementary School in January.
Typically, he said, a brand-new principal would not nominate a candidate for teacher of the year.
However, Godsill found an exception was necessary.
“I got such a compelling letter from one of our parents … I felt it was my responsibility to nominate this person,” the principal explained. “The parent commented that, during a time when so many students are having so many challenges or failing, or they’re feeling helpless during a pandemic, Ms. Malone empowered her son.”
Other parents also wrote emails praising Malone’s positive influence on their children during the pandemic.
The Kaua‘i District Teacher of the Year’s classroom is one where each day brings new lessons and discoveries.
“I can go in and those kids just make me laugh, or take my mind somewhere else where we’re totally intrigued in what we’re talking about or learning about,” Malone said. “It just makes my day better every time.”
Soon, an entire school may receive the benefit of Malone’s influence.
The teacher is entering the Hawai‘i Certification Institute for School Leaders’ summer sessions. If Malone passes the program, she will enter a vice-principal-training position in the next school year.
“She embodies the teacher-leader,” Godsill said. “She’s got a bright future ahead of her.”
Correction: This story was updated at 9:55 a.m. on Monday, March 28, 2022, to correct where Ms. Malone teaches. She is a teacher at Kalaheo Elementary School, not Kekaha Elementary School.
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Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
