Teacher of Year
makes history sing
For 'Elly' Tepper of Keolu
By Crystal Kua
Elementary, music plays a
major role in the classroom
Star-BulletinWhen she was a child, Ella "Elly" Tepper assumed the role of teacher while playing school.
Now, Tepper, a third-grade teacher at Keolu Elementary in Enchanted Lake, is Hawaii State Teacher of the Year.
The state Board of Education gave her the award yesterday.
Described also as an artist, musician, singer and storyteller, Tepper thanked her students, who she said have taught her a lot on a journey that began when the native New Yorker saw a brochure with the invitation to "come and teach the children of paradise."
Music is an important part of her classroom teaching, her supporters said.
"She uses music to teach history, tolerance at Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and just for the pure joy of singing," parent Jeri Whiting said in a nomination letter.
Tepper is a graduate of New York City's High School of Music and Art. In 1969, after teaching on the mainland, she moved to Hawaii.
The honor brought Tepper $2,000 from the Polynesian Cultural Center and the use of a red Volkswagen Jetta for a year.
Like many public-school teachers, Tepper uses her money to buy classroom materials, and she said the $2,000 will help her buy more books. She said having the prize car in the parking lot will be a symbol that the award honors the entire school.
Tepper noted that having the Polynesian Cultural Center honor her with song and dance was also ideal because she taught for 20 years in Hauula and used the center as a classroom.
Other district teachers vying for the top honor were Violet Chang of Moanalua Middle School in the Central District, Kelvin Y.S. Chun of Nuuanu Elementary School in the Honolulu District, Art Fillazar of Lahainaluna High on Maui, Adrian Galvez of August Ahrens Elementary in the Leeward District, Michael Springer of Waiakeawaena Elementary on Hawaii, and Dwayne Kong of Kauai High and Intermediate.
