UH Hilo School of Education celebrates first-year grad students, now ready for teacher licensure
The School of Education’s Closing Celebration honors first-year master of arts in teaching candidates who can now apply for teacher licensure.
By Susan Enright.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s School of Education held its 2025 Closing Celebration on May 15. The event celebrates first-year master of arts in teaching candidates who can now apply for teacher licensure. Those who continue in the program and complete year two will graduate with the master’s degree.
As part of the community celebration, each cohort member was called up to present themselves along with their family members, cooperating (mentor) teacher, field supervisors and anyone else of their choosing. “We do this to honor the individuals who have supported the candidates along the way to this milestone,” says Tobias Irish, director of the School of Education.
Cohort members presented a kīhei tying ceremony (ceremonial kīhei cloth are placed over one shoulder and tied in a knot), oli (chant), multiple musical performances, poetry performances, a hula performance, a recital of the individual commitments to the principles of the profession, and a commemorative slide show.
In addition to friends and family, guests included UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin who gave opening remarks, Interim Vice Chancellor for Academics Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Bitter, and principals from the schools that hosted the candidates this year.
The licensure year
Called the “licensure year,” this first year of the two-year teaching program is a milestone for the grad students because with the completion of their teacher-preparation coursework, field work, and student teaching, they are now eligible to apply for teacher licensure through the Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board, interview for teaching positions, and begin their first year of teaching in their own classrooms in August.
Through their coursework over the past school year, each member of the cohort learned about child development, classroom management, lesson planning, instructional strategies, educational technology, assessment for learning, educator ethics, and more.
Next steps
During the second year of the program for those who continue, the cohort will sharpen their teaching skills through action research, which is a form of research that enables them to establish baseline data on student performance, teach their students in specific content areas, and measure student progress, as well as their own teaching effectiveness, over time.
The next cohort, number 13 of the program, starts their two years of studies this summer.
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
