From The Philippines To Lanai: State Hopes New Teaching Recruits Will Fill A Gap…Three Filipina teachers are working on Hawaii’s smallest inhabited island, while a fourth is on Oahu after a journey initially interrupted by COVID-19.
LANAI CITY, Lanai — Ninez Abonal paces the length of her classroom, laptop cradled in one arm, as she leads a lesson on linking verbs. Six students are seated at their desks behind clear plastic partitions, some peering over their own laptops as they follow along.
The third-grade teacher, who teaches math, science and English language arts, moves and speaks with assurance, a sign of 15 years of teaching experience back in the Philippines. In this Lanai Elementary classroom, however, the veteran teacher is still new, still adjusting to the U.S. curriculum.
Abonal is one of three Filipinas who arrived on Hawaii’s smallest inhabited island late last year, part of a first-ever international teacher recruitment initiative by the state Department of Education as it seeks to ease a major shortage in educators, particularly in remote, rural areas.
