DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Roberta Zarbaugh, left, was congratulated by fellow teacher Jamie Kahalewai, the Central District Teacher of the Year from Radford High, after being named State Teacher of the Year at yesterday's ceremony at Stevenson Intermediate School.
And the Hawaii Teacher Kapaa Middle School's Roberta Zarbaugh, who pushes herself as hard as her students, has been named Hawaii's State Teacher of the Year.
of the Year is ...
... Roberta Zarbaugh, a Kapaa language arts
teacher who is passionate about literacyBy Genevieve A. Suzuki
gsuzuki@starbulletin.com"She's driven, that's what she is," said Zarbaugh's husband, Kent. "She's always a can-do person. If there's a problem, fix it."
Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto gave Zarbaugh, a language arts teacher at Kapaa Middle School, the award at yesterday's Board of Education meeting at Stevenson Intermediate School.
Hamamoto recited the Kauai educator's personal daily affirmation as she introduced her: "Trust your own literacy. ... Take charge of your own literacy and teaching. Shape it by your own hand and vision. ... Listen to and value your own voice. You are a teacher."
Zarbaugh, 50, said she enjoys teaching middle school because she thinks she can still make a difference at that stage of the students' lives.
"They accuse me of being crazy, zany," Zarbaugh said. "I said, 'Well, I have to be zany to be here with you.' "
Zarbaugh goes on to compete in the National Teacher of the Year, the winner of which takes a year off from the classroom to serve as a national advocate for the teaching profession.
Kauai Complex Area Superintendent Daniel Hamada said he was not surprised by Zarbaugh's award.
"Deep down, I knew she was very deserving of it," he said.
Hamada said Zarbaugh serves as a mentor at her school. "She's the model for what we want for a quality educator," Hamada said.
Zarbaugh said she purposely uses bigger words with her students to force them to broaden their vocabulary.
"My school is in a special-needs area," she said. "We are a Title I (high poverty) school, so I just push, push."
Keeping her students involved is important to Zarbaugh, who said she changes activities during the day to keep the students' attention and posts daily agendas so that everyone knows what is going on in class.
Zarbaugh encourages her students to submit their essays and poems for publication. "Any opportunity that I have to get students' works out there," she said. "I really emphasize that you write to be read."
Zarbaugh said she is also involved in Kauai's Celebrate Teen Read program, which is holding its festival April 25.
"It's just another activity where they can sit around and talk about a book they've read together," said Zarbaugh, who returns to Kauai today to attend a meeting for the program.
Zarbaugh's mother, Ronni Moore, said her daughter has always been in love with school. "She's always been a good student," Moore said, beaming at her daughter.
The Polynesian Cultural Center gave Zarbaugh several gifts, including $1,000. The district winners already received $500 from the center.
The district Teachers of the Year are Gail Teshima, Farrington High; Susan Miyashita, Konawaena Elementary; Jamie Kahalewai, Radford High; Marlene Bourke-Faustina, Waianae Intermediate; and Margaret Almony, Ahuimanu Elementary. All the teachers received the use of a car for a year from the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association.
Dara Lukonen, a teacher at Kualapuu Elementary School on Molokai, turned down the award for Maui District Teacher of the Year because it was not also awarded to her team-teaching partner Victoria Newberry.
State Board of Education
