{"id":9987,"date":"2023-10-03T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T19:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=9987"},"modified":"2025-03-24T10:13:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:13:55","slug":"2023-leilehua-high-schools-jackie-freitas-named-2024-hawai%ca%bbi-state-teacher-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/2023-leilehua-high-schools-jackie-freitas-named-2024-hawai%ca%bbi-state-teacher-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Leilehua High School\u2019s Jackie Freitas named 2024 Hawai\u02bbi State Teacher of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2024 Hawaii Teacher of the Year - Jackie Freitas\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/872007939?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hawai\u02bbi State Department of Education (HIDOE) named Leilehua High School\u2019s natural resources teacher Jackie Freitas the 2024 Hawai\u02bbi State Teacher of the Year. Freitas received the state&#8217;s top teaching award from Gov. Josh Green and Superintendent Keith Hayashi during an awards ceremony at Washington Place this afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The honor is presented annually to a classroom teacher selected from more than 13,000 HIDOE educators. Freitas was among\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/hidoe-names-finalists-for-the-2024-hawai%ca%bbi-state-teacher-of-the-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">15 Complex Area Teachers of the Year and the Charter School Teacher of the Year<\/a>\u00a0recognized today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s clear that Jackie\u2019s passion and innovative teaching methods allow students to reach new horizons,\u201d Superintendent Hayashi said. \u201cShe is a prime example of a teacher leader in our state \u2014 pioneering new curriculum to ensure that students are globally competitive, initiating community programs that connect student work with real-world challenges, and connecting with colleagues to support future teacher leaders. We are grateful to have teachers like Jackie, who do so much to help elevate our Hawai\u02bbi public school system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freitas is the natural resources teacher and Future Farmers of America advisor at Leilehua High School \u2014 her alma mater and where she has taught her entire 13-year career. Leilehua\u2019s Natural Resources program runs one of the state\u2019s largest high school agricultural farms, which includes a 3.5 acre farm lab with a hydroponic greenhouse, traditional farm land, bee apiary, animal husbandry, floriculture and agriculture technology farmbots and vertical towers. The farm, which requires year-round maintenance, is where Freitas can often be found not only during the school year but during summer months, weekends and holidays, making sure that crops, plants and animals are maintained and cared for.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Affectionately known to students, staff and the community as \u201cAunty Jackie,\u201d Freitas constantly keeps up with the newest technology and techniques in natural resources so that she can not only implement them into her lessons, but also lead professional development workshops for colleagues. She has developed and expanded the school\u2019s animal husbandry program to incorporate more hands-on learning for students, and has introduced different agriculture tech equipment into her curriculum \u2014 like Zspace, smart farms, farm bots and off the grid Aeroponic Vertical Towers \u2014 to teach students how to grow produce through coding and stem research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freitas expands her lessons beyond the classroom, helping to establish the school\u2019s \u201cBuy 1, Give 1\u201d program where&nbsp;students curate a produce box to sell within the community. For every box that was sold one would be donated to a family at another school within their complex. Students had to plan and grow the crops, coordinate with the school, prepare the boxes, market them and distribute them. She even helped to set up the school\u2019s now annual fall festival, where Career and Technical Education students can celebrate their work with the community.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have been consistently impressed by [Jackie\u2019s] dedication, passion and effectiveness in the classroom and in the field,\u201d Leilehua High School Principal Jason Nakamoto said. \u201cShe has a deep understanding of good agricultural practices and uses innovative teaching methods to help engage her students\u2026 She beams pride and exemplifies the Leilehua Way of Leadership, Humility, and Service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI just love what I do\u2026 but everything I do is for my students,\u201d said Freitas, who was surprised by the recognition. \u201cThe students give me the passion, my family is there to back up everything I do. This is a very rewarding experience&#8230; This is not what I was expecting at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Freitas will represent Hawai\u02bbi in the National Teacher of the Year program. A national winner will be named in the spring. Today&#8217;s Teacher of the Year ceremony included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Monetary awards to each Complex Area and Public Charter School Teacher of the Year by The Polynesian Cultural Center, the Teacher of the Year program&#8217;s corporate sponsor for over 30 years, and an additional $1,000 award to the State Teacher of the Year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A one-year lease of a 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer LT courtesy of the Hawai\u02bbi Automobile Dealers Association and Cutter Chevrolet to the State Teacher of the Year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u4eca\u5929\u7372\u734e\u7684\u6c7a\u8cfd\u5165\u570d\u8005\u5b8c\u6574\u540d\u55ae\u5982\u4e0b\uff08\u6309\u5b57\u6bcd\u9806\u5e8f\u6392\u5217\uff09\uff1a<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Laurie Chang, Kaimuk\u012b-McKinley-Roosevelt Complex Area, Ali\u02bbiolani Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Laura Cummings, Castle-Kahuku Complex Area, Sunset Beach Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pinky Grace Francisco, Ka\u2018\u016b-Kea\u02bbau-P\u0101hoa Complex Area, Ka\u2018\u016b High &amp; P\u0101hala Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>David \u201cKawika\u201d Gonzales Jr., H\u0101na-L\u0101hain\u0101luna-Lana\u02bbi-Moloka\u02bbi Complex Area, Kaunakakai Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Marina Higa, \u2018Aiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area, Major General William R. Shafter Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jennifer Ilaban, Honoka\u2018a-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena Complex Area, Kahakai Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gregory Kent, Kailua-Kal\u0101heo Complex Area, Kailua Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kara Kitamura, Kapa\u02bba-Kaua\u02bbi-Waimea Complex Area, Kapa\u02bba High<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jessica Peterson, Pearl City-Waipahu Complex Area, August Ahrens Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Christopher Pike, Hilo-Wai\u0101kea Complex Area, Chiefess Kapi\u2018olani Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Norman Ray Sales, Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area, Governor Wallace Rider\u00a0Farrington High<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John \u201cParker\u201d Sawyer, Public Charter Schools, Ka\u02bbohao School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Donna Soriano, N\u0101n\u0101kuli-Wai\u02bbanae Complex Area, Wai\u02bbanae Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Melanie Teraoka, Baldwin-Kekaulike-K\u016blanih\u0101ko\u02bbi-Maui Complex Area, Waihe\u2018e Elementary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ariel Villanueva, Campbell-Kapolei Complex Area, \u2018Ewa Makai Middle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The ceremony honored 16 teachers of the year representing complex areas and Public Charter Schools.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hawai\u02bbi State Department of Education (HIDOE) named Leilehua High School\u2019s natural resources teacher Jackie Freitas the 2024 Hawai\u02bbi State Teacher of the Year. Freitas received the state&#8217;s top teaching award from Gov. Josh Green and Superintendent Keith Hayashi during an awards ceremony at Washington Place this afternoon. The honor is presented annually to a [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":15,"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":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":21,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Chanel Honda","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/author\/chanel-hondak12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":308,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":308,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 13:05:19","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}