Kaimukī High School teacher Chu Hong, who stepped into a new field and built the school’s agriculture program into a hands-on learning experience connecting students with sustainability, entrepreneurship and future careers, has been named the 2027 Hawaiʻi State Teacher of the Year.

The 22-year Hawaiʻi public school educator received the state’s top teaching honor from Acting Lt. Gov. Keith Regan and Superintendent Keith Hayashi during an awards ceremony at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi on Monday. Hong was selected from among 15 Complex Area Teachers of the Year and the Public Charter School Teacher of the Year, representing more than 13,000 educators statewide.

“Every single day, you are committing yourselves to supporting the future of Hawaiʻi by educating our youth,” Acting Lieutenant Governor Keith Regan said. “You truly are setting the foundation for the future of the state. Every single day you’re asked to make selfless choices to support our kids and you do that with incredible grace and incredible love and care for the students that are in your classrooms… On behalf of the Governor and the entire state of Hawaiʻi, mahalo for all you do and congratulations.” 

“Chu has shown what is possible when an educator steps outside of her own experience to create new opportunities for students,” Superintendent Keith Hayashi said. “She has transformed Kaimukī High School’s agriculture program into a place where students are growing crops, developing products, running businesses and exploring future careers. Through these hands-on experiences, she is helping students discover what they are capable of and allowing them to see new possibilities for their future.”

After years of teaching mathematics and language arts, Hong took on an entirely new challenge when she moved into agriculture at Kaimukī High two years ago. With no formal background in the field, she sought out training and expertise to develop the school’s Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources pathway and expand its garden into a Smart Farm. Students now operate vertical hydroponic towers and grow crops including orchids, anthuriums, turmeric and lilikoi.

Through her W.O.R.M.S. (We Offer Rich Moist Soil) program, students apply what they learn through agriculture and entrepreneurship, from diverting food waste and producing compost to growing crops, developing value-added products, managing budgets and operating businesses. Their work has earned first place in the state’s Young Entrepreneurs Program Challenge for two consecutive years — first for strawberry gummies and most recently for turmeric and lilikoi products made from crops grown on campus. 

Hong has also secured more than $200,000 to expand agriculture, sustainability, entrepreneurship and career-connected learning opportunities for students, while building partnerships with local businesses, retired educators and community members to provide mentorship and real-world expertise. Her work has created a learning environment where students can explore agriculture, science and entrepreneurship while developing skills that can support their college, career and community goals.

Principal Lorelei Aiwohi described Hong as an innovative educator whose commitment to learning, collaboration and student success has made a lasting impact at Kaimukī High School.

“Ms. Hong is an exceptional educator who has transformed our agriculture program by connecting classroom learning to real-world opportunities,” Aiwohi said. “She has brought together students, families, colleagues and community partners to create meaningful experiences that build students’ skills, confidence and understanding of what they can accomplish.”

In accepting the award, Hong credited her fellow Teachers of the Year, school leaders and community partners, and reflected on the role educators play in helping students recognize their own potential.

“Our job is to stay with our students through the waiting, through the mundane, through the mistakes, and through the dark, until they finally look up and see their own light,” Hong said. “And when they do, let’s help them shine it toward someone else. That’s how we build a constellation, that’s how we build a school, and that’s how we build a community.”

Hong will represent Hawaiʻi in the National Teacher of the Year program. A national winner will be named this spring in Washington, D.C. Today’s Teacher of the Year award prizes included:

• Monetary awards to each Complex Area and Public Charter School Teacher of the Year provided by the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Teacher of the Year program’s corporate sponsor for over 30 years.
• A one-year lease of a 2026 Nissan Sentra SV courtesy of the Hawaiʻi Automobile Dealers Association and King Windward Auto Group to the State Teacher of the Year.

The full list of teachers honored today are, in alphabetical order:

• Troy “Leven” Abshire Jr., Makawao Elementary (Baldwin-Kekaulike-Kūlanihākoʻi-Maui Complex Area)
• Haley Agbayani, Pāhoa Elementary (Kaʻū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa Complex Area)
• Fahri Arik, Kūlia Academy (Public Charter School)
• Tammy Carvalho, Kapaʻa Elementary (Kapaʻa-Kauaʻi-Waimea Complex Area)
• Keao Cockett, ʻEwa Makai Middle (Campbell-Kapolei Complex Area)
• Paul Dela Balazs, Henry J. Kaiser High (Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area)
• Chu Hong, Kaimukī High (Kaimukī-McKinley-Roosevelt Complex Area)
• Shawn Patrick Kalani, ʻAiea High (ʻAiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area)
• Robert Livermore, King Kamehameha III Elementary (Hāna-Lahainaluna-Lānaʻi-Molokai Complex Area)
• Chezerae Lurbe, Kaʻaʻawa Elementary (Castle-Kahuku Complex Area)
• Matthew Moustakas, Kealakehe Intermediate (Honokaʻa-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena Complex Area)
• Bao Nguyen, Mililani Uka Elementary (Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Area)
• Kileigh Sanchez, Waiʻanae Intermediate (Nānākuli-Waiʻanae Complex Area)
• Chad Shishido, Pearl City High (Pearl City-Waipahu Complex Area)
• Cheriesse Tolu, Kailua High (Kailua-Kalāheo Complex Area)
• Adam Tuifagu, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Elementary (Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area)