Fifteen Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) principals, one from each complex area, were honored as the latest nominees for the 18th annual Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award. The award, which was established in 2004 and is underwritten by the Island Insurance Foundation. honors the late Masayuki Tokioka, founder of Island Insurance Company, Ltd. and a proud graduate of Hawai‘i public schools.
The 2024 nominees, who each received a $1,000 prize, include:
- Lynne Ajifu, Mililani ‘Ike Elementary School (Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Area)
- Tommy Cox, Kapaʻa High School (Kapa‘a-Kaua‘i-Waimea Complex Area)
- Allyson Doherty, Kailua Elementary School (Kailua-Kalaheo Complex Area)
- Eliza Loha Kanahele Kaka, Lā‘ie Elementary School (Castle-Kahuku Complex Area)
- Gary Kanamori, Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School (Hāna-Lahainaluna-Lāna‘i-Moloka‘i Complex Area)
- James Kau, ‘Aiea Intermediate School (‘Aiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area)
- Marc Kawahara, Kalihi Kai Elementary School (Farrington-Kalani-Kaiser Complex Area)
- Hannah Loyola, Kohala Elementary School (Honoka‘a-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena)
- Ty Ogasawara, Pukalani Elementary School (Baldwin-Kekaulike-Kūlanihāko‘i-Maui Complex Area)
- Sheldon Oshio, Waikele Elementary School (Pearl City-Waipahu Complex Area)
- Joseph Passantino, Keʻelikōlani Middle School (Kaimukī-McKinley-Roosevelt Complex Area)
- Tiffany Pratt, Kaʻūmana Elementary School (Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area)
- Wilma Roddy, Nāʻālehu Elementary School (Ka‘ū-Kea‘au-Pāhoa Complex Area)
- Kim Sanders, Ewa Makai Middle School (Campbell-Kapolei Complex Area)
- John Wataoka, Wai‘anae Intermediate School (Nānākuli-Wai‘anae Complex Area)
Next month a top winner will be named at the Public Schools of Hawai‘i Foundation dinner and receive $25,000 which includes a $10,000 personal cash award and $15,000 toward a school project of their choice. Two semi-finalists will each receive a $2,000 cash award.
Photo credit: State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education