Devoted teachers empowering students: 3 Big Island educators honored for earning national certification

Three Hawai‘i Island teachers are among 25 Hawai‘i educators recently honored for their professional commitment, but most importantly their devotion to be the best they can be to empower their students to do the same.

John Crommelin is a teacher at Ha‘aheo Elementary School in Pāpa‘ikou, Andrea Wilson teaches at Pa‘auilo Elementary and Intermediate School and Leilani Yamauchi is a teacher at Waiākea Elementary School in Hilo.

They and the other 22 are now part of an elite group of nearly 540 teachers statewide who are national board certified through the nearly 40-year-old National Board for Professional Teaching Standards after completing its rigorous certification program.

“The certification is strictly voluntary and shows the serious commitment of these educators to their profession,” said Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green in an announcement about the certifications. “We are proud to have such a high caliber of dedicated educators in our state.”

Green, Hawai‘i Department of Education Superintendent of Schools Keith Hayashi and Hawai‘i Education Association President Joan Lewis honored the now national board-certified teachers earlier this month during a luncheon and ceremony at Washington Place in Honolulu.

The certification program consists of four components:

• ASSESSMENT of content knowledge.
• REFLECTION on student work samples.
• VIDEO and ANALYSIS of teaching practice.
• DOCUMENTATION of the impact of assessment and collaboration on student learning.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, established in 1987, is an independent nonprofit that works to advance accomplished teaching.

It has five core propositions — developed by practicing educators based on research and expertise — that describe what teachers should know and be able to do to have a positive impact on student learning.

Core propositions are:

• PROPOSITION 1: Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
• PROPOSITION 2: Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
• PROPOSITION 3: Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
• PROPOSITION 4: Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
• PROPOSITION 5: Teachers are members of learning communities.

The propositions — what the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards compares to its version of medicine’s Hippocratic Oath — lay out a vision for accomplished teaching.

Together, they are the basis of all national board standards and foundation for national board certification.

Hayashi said achieving national board certification is a testament to an educator’s professional excelence and dedication to lifelong learning.

The state Education Department is proud of the new national board certified teachers, who go above and beyond to elevate their profession while deepening the impact they have on their students.

“Their commitment reflects our shared mission to empower every student with a high-quality education and opportunities for success,” Hayashi said.

Along with Crommelin, Wilson and Yamauchi, 20 teachers from O‘ahu, 1 from Maui and 1 from Kaua‘i were recognized for earning national board certified.

Bryan Silver, who has taught for 25 years at Kalani High School in Honolulu, was also named 2024 National Board Certified Teacher of the Year. Silver teaches engineering and leads all of the school’s after-school robotics programs, including FIRST Robotics, FIRST Tech Challenge, VEX and Drones.

His robotics team was the only U.S. team to qualify for a recent regional competition in Taiwan.

He was named 2025 Hawaiʻi State Teacher of the Year, an award presented annually to a classroom educator selected from among more than 13,000 Hawai‘i Department of Education teachers.

He also became the first Hawaiʻi recipient of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, winning $50,000 for Kalani High School’s robotics programs.

Hawai‘i Education Association President Joan Lewis said it’s exciting to see more teachers pursuing national board certification each year.

“They are an inspiration to the next generation of teachers,” said the leader of the nonprofit dedicated to professional development for educators and encouraging students to pursue teaching as a profession.