Waipahu High School Principal Patricia Pedersen, right, celebrated yesterday with Lahainaluna High Principal Michael Nakano, left, and Campbell High Principal Gail Awakuni.
Waipahu High principal
honored for leadership
Waipahu High School Principal Patricia Pedersen, who has helped students link their schoolwork to the broader world, won the $25,000 Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award from the Island Insurance Foundation yesterday.
The new prize, named after the late founder of Island Insurance Co., honors public school principals who are visionary, community-minded and entrepreneurial.
"By recognizing outstanding public school principals such as Patricia, it is our hope that her leadership will inspire others in public education," said Colbert Matsumoto, chairman of the Foundation.
Pedersen, principal at Waipahu since 1997, received a $10,000 cash award and another $15,000 for a school project of her choice. Semi-finalist principals Gail Awakuni of Campbell High School and Michael Nakano of Lahainaluna High School each earned $2,000 awards at the Public Schools Foundation Dinner at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
"Through Pat's leadership and determination to produce students who are prepared for the real world, she encourages her teachers to be risk-takers and to create and implement teaching methods which will inspire student achievement," said Darrlyn Bunda, executive director of the Waipahu Community Association.
The Focus-on-Freshmen curriculum at Waipahu allows students to identify their interests and develop skills for success in life and careers.
Students can also earn college credits in information technology through partnerships with Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training and Cisco Systems.
"Pat has always believed in 'E Pupukahi I Holomua,' which is a Hawaiian phrase meaning 'Pulling together to move forward,'" said Cesceli Nakamura, school improvement resource teacher at Waipahu High. "We see her commitment to those words in her actions. Pat's office door has always been open to anyone who needed support, or had a good idea they wanted to implement in their classrooms or school-wide."
