The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association recently honored Chayanee Brooks, a Kaʻū High English teacher, with its 2025 Pono Award and ʻāina-based Puna educator Nick Kālāmakani Francisco with its 2025 Friend of Youth Award.

 

Brooks earned the 2025 Pono Award for her exemplary work uplifting students in Kaʻū, a remote community in south Hawaiʻi Island.

The Pono Award, presented by HSTA’s Human and Civil Rights (HCR) Committee, is given to an exceptional member of the union who takes action in the pursuit of social justice. The honoree is not just an advocate but embodies the true meaning of “pono”—righteousness, fairness, and balance—by addressing critical issues that impact lives beyond the classroom.

Brooks has dedicated her work to creating safe and expressive spaces for students, ensuring they have a voice and a platform to share their stories.

During her acceptance speech, Brooks said, “My philosophy as an educator is simple: Empower students to connect with their community and their own potential through storytelling.”

Many of Brooks’ students come from Kaʻū, a remote community in south Hawaiʻi Island, far from service economies and economic opportunity. However, therein lies the opportunity Brooks discovered.

Brooks’ passion for storytelling has transformed lives. Through drama, journalism, and television, she provides her students with tools to process their experiences and find strength in self-expression.

Another educator from Hawaiʻi Island, Nick Kālāmakani Francisco, was also honored with HSTA’s Friend of Youth Award, which recognizes an outstanding individual who is not an HSTA member whose work has had a lasting impact on Hawai‘i’s young people.

As an ʻāina-based educator, Francisco dedicates his time and service to empowering and uplifting youth through meaningful, community-based initiatives.

Francisco can often be found at community gatherings, offering hands-on poi-pounding lessons. His work extends beyond mere instruction—it is a call to action, inspiring youth to embrace the values of mālama ʻāina (care for the land) and cultural responsibility.

Earlier this month, HSTA recorded one of his visits to Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island, where he’s been working with students to help them create poi pounding stones and boards since the fall.

 

Photos courtesy of Hawaiʻi State Teacher’s Association