104. An Educator and Leader of Great Promise, Esther Kwon

The Milken Family Foundation (https://www.milkeneducatorawards.org/educators/view/esther-kwon) writes, "Esther Kwon has worn many hats in her years at Daniel K. Inouye Elementary (https://www.dkies.org) School. Currently an assistant principal, Kwon looks for innovative ways to enhance students’ educational experience in and out of the classroom. As assistant principal, she is an integral part of the school’s administrative leadership team, helping to drive the instructional program and meet overall academic goals. Last year she piloted the Pineapple Academy (https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/08/these-central-oahu-schools-have-joined-forces-to-offer-distance-learning/), a distance learning option for 12 area elementary schools. Kwon’s fifth graders started each day with 'Pineapple Talk Time,' where they chatted, listened to music played by 'DJ Kwon,' and set their intentions for the day with one of the four classroom norms: be present, be respectful, be curious, be responsible. Students served as co-teachers, helping to summarize learning and share key ideas in the online chat panel. Kwon encouraged students to follow their passions, pairing them with high school students to create projects for the state’s elementary STEM fair. In the program’s inaugural year, 100% of Kwon’s students showed growth on diagnostic assessments, with 80% meeting or exceeding grade level targets in language arts. Kwon shared her learning practices with peers and invited state leaders into her online classroom to showcase what effective virtual instruction looked, sounded and felt like." Editing for this episode is provided by the talented Evan Kurohara. Our theme music comes from the vast catalogue of music by master pianist, Michael Sloan (https://open.spotify.com/artist/13fQfOrSW6Xv9zQXKEgboj). Please support this show by giving us a rating and writing a review wherever you get your podcasts!