{"id":14020,"date":"2025-05-21T08:29:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=14020"},"modified":"2025-10-09T09:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:54:11","slug":"2025-staff-spotlight-phyllis-nakama-kawamoto-executive-office-on-early-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/2025-staff-spotlight-phyllis-nakama-kawamoto-executive-office-on-early-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Va'aiga Aufaigaluega: Phyllis Nakama-Kawamoto (Ofisa Fa'atonu i A'oa'oga Amata)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Phyllis<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Phyllis Nakama-Kawamoto<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Igoa: <\/strong>A'oa'oga Amata Faia'oga Ofisa a le Setete
Nofoaga o galuega: <\/strong>Ofisa Fa'atonu i le ofisa o le Early Learning i Kuhio Elementary School
Tausaga i le HIDOE: <\/strong>40 tausaga
Tausaga i le tulaga: <\/strong>10 tausaga<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F: Fa'amatala fa'apuupuu lou ala faigaluega.
<\/strong>A: <\/strong>Na matua'i fa'amanuiaina lava a'u i le fa'afaigaluegaina o a'u o se faia'oga aoga fa'ata'ita'i ina ua fa'au'u mai le Iunivesite o Hawai'i i M\u0101noa. O lo'u tulaga faiaoga muamua sa i Aoga Tulagalua a N\u0101n\u0101kuli<\/strong>. Sa ou fiafia i lo\u02bbu 10 tausaga iina. O tamaiti ma o latou aiga sa matua faauo ma talileleia! Ona ou agai atu lea i Mililani Mauka Elementary<\/strong> faiaoga i le aoga faataitai mo le valu tausaga. I lo\u2019u taimi i Mililani Mauka, na liliu ai lo\u2019u malosi e aoao atili ai e uiga i le aoaoina o le matematika i fanau laiti. I le taimi lea, sa ou mauaina le 2001 Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching awardee. Ose fa'aaloalo mata'ina ma na fa'amausaliina ai la'u tautinoga i le lagolagoina o tomai fa'a-matematika lelei mo tamaiti laiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I le 2004, na ou maua ai le avanoa e avea ai ma se vaega o le aufaigaluega o le a tatalaina se aoga fou e ta\u02bbua Mililani 'Ike Elementary<\/strong>. O se avanoa fiafia ma le popole tele lena a o ou amataina lo'u tulaga fou aoga faataitai e faiaoga pea i le lotoa o Mililani Mauka. Talu ai e le'i mae'a le lotoa fou o le a'oga, sa matou fa'aalu le semesa muamua e fa'asoa ai falea'oga ma Mililani Mauka. Va'ai faalemafaufau o lo'o i totonu o se lua feavea'i ma faiaoga aoga lua, 20+ tamaiti mo i tatou ta'ito'atasi, leai ni vaeluaga ma leai ni faleta'ele lata ane. Afai e tatau ona ou toe faia, o le a ou faia! Na ou a\u02bboa\u02bboina pe fa\u02bbafefea ona fetuutuunai, maufetuuna\u02bbi ma su\u02bbe "nuanua" i tulaga uma. O Mililani 'Ike o se a'oga ta'avale ma o se fa'ata'ita'iga fou lea mo a'u ma sa 'ou fiafia i ai. Na mafai ai ona ou fausia ma atiina ae sootaga tumau ma au tamaiti aoga ma aiga. Ina ua mavae le ono tausaga i le potuaoga, sa ou laa ese mai le potuaoga ma avea ma se taitai faamaopoopo mataupu aoaoina mo le aoga. O le taimi lea na ou toe fo'i ai i le a'oga e maua lo'u fa'ailoga matai i a'oa'oga mai le Iunivesite o Hawai'i i M\u0101noa ma avea fo'i ma Faia'oga Fa'amaonia a le National Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I le 2014, na talosagaina ai a\u02bbu ou te auai i se ofisa fou e ta\u02bbua, The Executive Office on Early Learning. Na matua fa'amalieina a'u ina ua talosagaina a'u e talosaga ae sa ou matua fiafia lava ona o le a fa'ataunu'uina se taumafaiga a tamaiti laiti. Saosaoa i luma 10 tausaga, o loo ou i ai pea i le ofisa o se faiaoga ma faufautua. Sa ou laa ese mo le tusa ma le ono masina e lagolago ai le Ofisa o Curriculum and Instructional Design o se faiaoga o le ofisa tulagalua. Ou te matua manuia lava e lagolagoina uma o'u tuinanau o aoga amata ma le matematika. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


F: Na fa'apefea ona e sao i lea matafaioi?
<\/strong>A:<\/strong> Na ou alu i lenei matata ona sa ou fiafia e galulue faatasi ma tamaiti, aemaise lava tamaiti laiti. O se tasi o a\u02bbu galuega muamua o le tausi tama ona ou ta\u02bbita\u02bbia lea o Summer Fun i o\u02bbu tausaga a\u02bboga maualuga. O lo\u02bbu tina o se faiaoga tulagalua ma o lea ou te masalo e mafai ona e fai mai sa siomia a\u02bbu e faiaoga i lo\u02bbu olaga atoa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Q: O a ou tiute autu?
<\/strong>A: <\/strong>O o'u tiute autu o se faiaoga ma faufautua e aofia ai le tuuina atu o le lagolago, taiala ma le atinaeina o tomai faapitoa i faiaoga amata. O le mea taua i lo\u02bbu tulaga o le fausiaina ma le fa\u02bbaleleia o mafutaga fa\u02bbalagolago ma faiaoga ma fesoasoani tau a\u02bboa\u02bboga. E lu'itau le faia o suiga i lau faiga fa'aa'oa'oga pe a e le fa'atuatuaina le faia'oga\/faufautua. O le mea lea, e taua tele le fa\u02bbaalu o le taimi e fa\u02bbafeiloa\u02bbi ai le faiaoga ma le fesoasoani fa\u02bbalea\u02bboa\u02bboga ma fa\u02bbalogo i o latou popolega ma luitau fa\u02bbapea foi ma le fa\u02bbaalia o latou malosi ma gafatia. E taua le fa'afailele ma fa'amalosia feso'ota'iga matala, fa'alavelave fa'alavelave ma le tuputupu a'e fa'apolofesa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O le isi o'u tiute o le tu'uina atu lea o mat\u0101'upu ma fesoasoani fa'aa'oa'oga i totonu o le fa'avae o le Fa'ata'ita'iga talafeagai. E mafai ona ou fesoasoani i le fuafuaina o mataupu aoaoina, faatinoga ma iloiloga. Ou te fa'asoa atu fo'i ma fa'ata'ita'i ta'iala mo le fa'aauaina o fanau i fegalegaleaiga anoa e lagolago ai le tuputupu a'e o tamaiti i vaega uma o le atina'e.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ou te tu'uina atu fo'i avanoa fa'apolofesa fa'aa'oa'oga e ala i sauniga fa'aa'oa'oga fa'apolofesa. O lenei avanoa e mafai ai e faiaoga ona feiloai o se vaega toalaiti ma mafai ai ona aoao faatasi ma le tasi ma le isi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Q: Vaega e fiafia i ai e uiga i le galuega?
<\/strong>A:<\/strong> O la'u vaega e sili ona ou fiafia i ai o le galulue faatasi ma faiaoga ma tamaiti i totonu o potuaoga. O le i ai i totonu o le potuaoga e mafai ai ona ou avea ma se vaega o le pisi ma le pisi o se aso aoga. Ou te fiafia pe a ou vaai atu ua susulu foliga o tamaiti ona e lei soloia o latou poloka poloka po o le fiafia i le iloaina o le mea e tupu pe a e palu faatasi le vali samasama ma le mumu. O "tala a tamaiti" na ou te faila i la\u02bbu pusa manatua. Ou te faatumulia foi i le olioli pe a ou vaai i faiaoga o taumafai i ni manatu fou na latou aoaoina mai a matou aso o aoaoga faapolofesa i nuu. E manaomia le lototele e faataitai ai mea fou ma naunau e manatunatu i lena aoaoga fou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Q: Vaega sili ona luitauina e uiga i lou tulaga?
<\/strong>A:<\/strong> O se tasi o luitau o lenei tulaga o le i ai lea i le malaevaalele i le itula e 4:30 i le vaveao e pu\u2019e ai le malaga muamua mai Honolulu. O le faia o lena lua i le tolu aso sosoo e mafai ona matua vaivai lava. O le isi luitau o le taumafai lea e asiasi soo i faiaoga taitasi tusa lava po o le a le umi na latou i ai i la tatou polokalama. O nisi taimi tatou te manatu ai ona o se faiaoga ua \u201cmalamalama,\u201d latou te le manaomia ai se lagolago tele. O faiaoga uma e tusa lava po o le a le tele o tausaga na latou a\u02bboa\u02bbo ai e mana\u02bbomia lava se fesoasoani fa\u02bbaa\u02bboa\u02bboga. I le avea ai ma se faiaoga tuai, e tatau ona ou faia ni talanoaga fa\u02bbapitoa ma se paaga. O nisi taimi o le i ai i totonu o le potuaoga e mafai ona vavaeeseina ma e le tatau. Tatou te mana'omia uma lava le faia o talanoaga fa'atasi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Q: O le a sau fautuaga mo tagata e mafaufau i lenei tulaga?
<\/strong>A:<\/strong> E tatau ona e fetuutuunai, onosai ma maua se uiga malie i lenei tulaga. E i ai aso e mana\u02bbomia ai e se tasi le pivot ma e mana\u02bbomia ona sui lau talanoaga fa\u02bbaa\u02bboa\u02bboga. E mana\u02bbomia le onosa\u02bbi ona o le lagolagoina o suiga i a\u02bboa\u02bboga a se tasi e mana\u02bbomia le taimi. Ma a le manuia mea uma, saili se mea e talie ai ma vaavaai mo taimi fiafia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


F: E fa'apefea ona lagolagoina e lau matafaioi le manuia o tamaiti aoga?
<\/strong>A: <\/strong>O la'u galuega e lagolagoina tamaiti aoga e ala i le lagolagoina o faiaoga e faaleleia a latou faiga i potuaoga. E ala i le fa'aa'oa'oina o tagata ta'ito'atasi ma talatalanoaga manatunatu, e mafai ai e faia'oga ona tomanatu i a latou fa'atinoga ma la'asaga o lo'o soso'o mai ina ia maua ai se si'osi'omaga lelei a'oa'oga e mafai ai e tamaiti uma ona olaola e tusa lava po'o a latou talaaga ma tomai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phyllis Nakama-Kawamoto Title: Early Learning State Office TeacherJob site: Executive Office on Early Learning office at Kuhio Elementary SchoolYears in the HIDOE: 40 yearsYears in the position: 10 years Q: Briefly describe your career path.A: I was extremely fortunate to have been hired as a kindergarten teacher after graduating from the University of Hawai\u2018i at M\u0101noa. My first teaching position […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hoohaaheo","category-staff-spotlight"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":22,"label":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo"},{"value":58,"label":"Staff Spotlight"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Kim Yuen","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/author\/kimberly-yuenk12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":22,"name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","slug":"hoohaaheo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":67,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":22,"category_count":67,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","category_nicename":"hoohaaheo","category_parent":0},{"term_id":58,"name":"Staff Spotlight","slug":"staff-spotlight","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":58,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":22,"count":28,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":58,"category_count":28,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Staff Spotlight","category_nicename":"staff-spotlight","category_parent":22}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 02:24:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14020\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/sm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}