HONOLULU - Waimea High School Principal Mahina Anguay was honored Thursday night as The Island Insurance Foundation's 12th annual Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award winner at the annual Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation Dinner.
Named for Island Insurance Company Ltd.'s founder, the award includes a gift of $25,000 — a $10,000 personal cash award and $15,000 to go towards a school project of the principal's choice. The honor is given to a public school principal who is visionary, community-minded, and has an entrepreneurial spirit — qualities of leadership that Tokioka exemplified in his own company and in the business community.
"Principal Anguay exemplifies the type of leadership that can transform our public schools into model learning institutions," said Tyler Tokioka, Island Insurance Foundation President. "By recognizing outstanding principals such as Mahina, it is our hope that her accomplishments will inspire others in public education."
The Island Insurance Foundation also presented a $2,000 cash award to the top two semi-finalists, Principal Christine Kinau Gardner of Kahala Elementary School and Principal Alma Souki of Heeia Elementary. The other principals nominated for their excellent leadership were:
- Chris Bachaus, Kula Elementary School, Maui
- Jamie Dela Cruz, Kaelepulu Elementary School, Oahu
- Steve Franz, King Kamehameha III Elementary School, Maui
- Alison Higa, Fort Shafter Elementary School, Oahu
- Jan Iwase, Daniel K. Inouye Elementary School, Oahu
- Bruce Naguwa, Kapolei Middle School, Oahu
- Michael Nakasato, Pearl City Highlands Elementary School, Oahu
- Michelle Payne-Arakaki, Pahoa Elementary School, Big Island
- Lenn Uyeda, Maemae Elementary School, Oahu
Each received $1,000 and a commemorative plaque, which were presented to them at a recognition ceremony on April 2nd.
Anguay has been principal of Waimea High School for nearly three years. She believes the school has a responsibility to prepare each student to be college, career and community ready after graduation. One of her first objectives as principal was the implementation the school's STREAM (Science, Technology, Resources, Engineering, Art/Humanities and Math) program. Each pathway within the STREAM program is tasked with creating a product or service that will directly benefit the community. Linking classroom lessons with post-secondary education or training, various businesses in the community mentor both staff and students, utilizing their actual sites as labs for the students use. Students are then given realistic industry tasks to perform as their final exam.
Anguay plans to utilize the prize money to expand the school's Summer Bridge Program for incoming ninth grade students, as well as fund on-campus Kauai Community College partnerships and programs for each of the school's five Career Technology Education (CTE) pathways. In addition, Anguay plans to expand the school's Early College course offerings (beyond the current tuition free Math 130, 140, 205 and 206 that are currently offered at the school), which enable students to graduate with up to 12 college course credits.
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About the Hawaii State Department of Education
The Hawaii State Department of Education is the ninth-largest U.S. school district and the only statewide educational system in the country. It is comprised of 256 schools and 34 charter schools, and serves more than 180,000 students. King Kamehameha III established Hawaii's public school system in 1840. To learn more, visit HawaiiPublicSchools.org.
