Name: Charlene Yamashiro
Age: 49
Position: Teacher, Baldwin High
Education: Eastern Oregon College
Pastimes: Bowling

"She worked really hard," Yamashiro said.

Her mother's example apparently has not been lost on Yamashiro, recently selected as the Maui District's Teacher of the Year.

Baldwin High School Principal Wallace Fujii says Yamashiro works long hours, tutoring students before and after school and during recesses.

"She's a real hard-working teacher, and she's a very enthusiastic person," Fujii said.

Yamashiro, 49, has helped to develop a program to ease the transition from intermediate to high school for students. Teachers keep parents of ninth-graders closely informed about their children's academic performance and attendance.

Over the years, Yamashiro has adjusted her teaching style. When she began teaching in 1969, she delivered lectures and expected students to listen and take notes. Her classes now involve more dialogue with students, who learn to work in teams.

"Now they can talk with one another, help one another," she said.

Yamashiro said she decided to become a mathematics teacher after taking a class from Baldwin teacher Katsue Shishido.

"She wanted you to learn and she was willing to give her all to do it," Yamashiro said.

Fujii says Yamashiro's the same way.