{"id":19260,"date":"2026-04-01T15:39:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T01:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=19260"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:25:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:25:28","slug":"2026-kapolei-middle-teacher-of-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/2026-kapolei-middle-teacher-of-promise\/","title":{"rendered":"Kapolei Middle School teacher named Milken Educators of Hawai\u2018i\u2019s 2026 Teacher of Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAPOLEI \u2014 Kapolei Middle School agriculture teacher Ashley Fuerst was honored today with the 2026 State Teacher of Promise award. The award is granted annually by the Milken Educators of Hawai\u2018i<\/a> \u2014 a select group of Hawai\u2018i educators who have been recognized by the nationally renowned Milken Family Foundation<\/a> \u2014 to a classroom teacher who demonstrates outstanding commitment and potential during their first three years with the Hawai\u2018i State Department of Education (HIDOE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuerst, a proud graduate of both Kapolei Middle and High Schools, has made a significant impact in just her sixth semester of teaching. She was honored for her innovation in establishing the middle school\u2019s thriving agriculture program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She received a $4,000 cash prize sponsored by HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union for professional development during a surprise presentation at a faculty meeting Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAshley\u2019s passion for teaching and her ability to turn vision into reality truly embodies what it means to be a Teacher of Promise,\u201d Superintendent Keith Hayashi said. \u201cThrough her leadership, students are gaining the knowledge and skills to become globally competitive while remaining locally committed in their responsibility to care for our communities and our \u02bb\u0101ina. To establish a dynamic agriculture program that connects learning to real-world application, sustainability and culture in meaningful ways in just her first two years of teaching is truly inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to launching the school\u2019s agriculture program, Ashley secured more than $45,000 in grants and donations to fully fund the program\u2019s development \u2014 including an aquaponics garden and modern agricultural systems \u2014 without cost to the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her classroom emphasizes hands-on, place-based learning, where students engage directly with sustainability practices, cultural knowledge and STEM concepts. Through projects like aquaponics and tower gardens, students explore real-world applications of science and agriculture while developing a deeper connection to \u02bb\u0101ina-based education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuerst has also cultivated strong community partnerships to expand student opportunities, working with organizations such as Ko\u02bbolau Farmers, M\u0101lama Learning Center, KUPU, Ho\u2019opili Ai and local agricultural partners to provide field experiences, mentorship and resources. These collaborations support student learning while connecting classroom instruction to future career pathways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAshley sets herself apart through her initiative, resourcefulness and passion for creating meaningful, real-world learning opportunities for her students,\u201d Kapolei Middle School Principal Daryl Agena said. \u201cIn a short time, she has built a high-impact agriculture program from the ground up \u2014 securing resources, cultivating partnerships and creating a lasting learning pathway rooted in sustainability and \u02bb\u0101ina-based education. Her work is already leaving a lasting impact on our students and school community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuerst\u2019s commitment to professional growth further distinguishes her as an emerging leader. She has completed specialized training in \u02bb\u0101ina-based education, sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship, consistently applying new learning to strengthen her program and expand opportunities for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just feel so absolutely shocked,\u201d Fuerst said upon receiving the honor. \u201cI feel so honored to be considered for something like this\u2026 I just feel like I had so much support getting to where I was, so I wish everyone along the way could be honored also.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in 2006, the Teacher of Promise award alternates annually between elementary and secondary teachers, with the state winner selected from a group of HIDOE complex area honorees. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAPOLEI \u2014 Kapolei Middle School agriculture teacher Ashley Fuerst was honored today with the 2026 State Teacher of Promise award. The award is granted annually by the Milken Educators of Hawai\u2018i \u2014 a select group of Hawai\u2018i educators who have been recognized by the nationally renowned Milken Family Foundation \u2014 to a classroom teacher who […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":19265,"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":"856,888,893,1022,1619,1622","_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":[32,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-homepage","category-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":32,"label":"Featured - Homepage"},{"value":21,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ashley-Fuerst-and-Principal-Agena-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Stanley Lee","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/author\/stanley-leek12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":32,"name":"Featured - Homepage","slug":"featured-homepage","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":32,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":32,"category_count":1,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Featured - Homepage","category_nicename":"featured-homepage","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":305,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":305,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 07:14:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19260"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19266,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19260\/revisions\/19266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}