Science educator at Hilo Intermediate School to be inducted into National Teacher Hall of Fame

During 37 years of teaching at Hilo Intermediate School, Dr. Pascale Creek Pinner has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching and the 2008 Hawaiʻi State Teacher of the Year.

But while wearing lime green pajamas and “lei stacked up to my eyeballs” during teacher’s dress-up day, she learned she was going to receive an even bigger honor. She was named as one of this year’s five inductees into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

She is the first female teacher from Hawaiʻi to receive this recognition.

“It was a big surprise and was really neat to get the plaque in front of my students,” said Pinner, who now teaches earth and space science to eighth graders at Hilo Intermediate.

She also has taught math, writing and health, and has directed the Gifted and Talented program at the school.

“I love the environment of the school. I love my colleagues. And, I really enjoy the kids,” Pinner said. “They come from backgrounds that are similar to mine and I appreciate teaching them.”

The mission of the National Teachers Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor exceptional career teachers, encourage excellence in education, and preserve the rich legacy of the teaching profession in the United States.

Established in 1989, the Hall of Fame honors career teachers from public, private and parochial schools across the country. To be eligible, nominees must have at least 20 years of full-time classroom teaching and go through a rigorous selection process including essays, recommendations and interviews.

Pinner also has spent a large part of her career educating teachers and students across the Big Island.

“She does a great job, not only for our students, but for students at our feeder schools and even outside Hilo,” said Hilo Intermediate Principal Travis Toriano. “Her work helps foster an early love for science.”

Toriano said Pinner also has hosted professional development workshops for teachers at elementary schools in rural communities and shown them different teaching methods for science that new teachers may not have yet.

Pinner has procured several grants, including a federal Math Science Partnership Title II, Part B grant, which she used to develop a curriculum and host workshops for elementary, middle and high school teachers.

To continue the work, Pinner secured funding in 2019 to create Envelopes of Science Awesomeness Project to develop curriculum units for 3rd to 9th grade classes in Hilo and Kaʻū.

Envelopes of Science gives teachers the opportunity to meet with Pinner to select lessons, order materials and go through the lesson plans themselves before teaching students.

Last year, she worked with 54 elementary school teachers in Hilo and Kaʻū, impacting 2,300 students.

“On a Saturday, we will all meet and go through unit plans lesson by lesson as if they are the students, because a lot of these subjects are foreign to elementary teachers,” Pinner said. “Once they go through everything, they gain the confidence to teach the lessons to the students.”

She added: “They also are able to talk to peers teaching the same grade at other schools, which is hugely enriching for everyone. The relationships form organically and they have time to talk through challenges they face together.”

Pinner’s ability to develop curriculum and teach other educators was used during the only year she did not teach at Hilo Intermediate, when she was selected as a Fellow for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program and served in the Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Through her fellowship, she made connections with another educator who started an all-girls physics summer camp at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Pinner is able to annually send five to seven girls to the camp from Hawaiʻi for free.

“We’re all excited for Pascale, and this award is well deserved. It’s a testament to her career and all she’s done for her community,” Toriano said. “As a faculty member and school, she brings a strong presence to campus and raises the bar for us when it comes to serving our students.”

Pinner also was excited to learn about the trip to New York that came with the award.

This year’s inductees were flown to the Big Apple, where they were revealed to the nation with an interview on CBS. The five inductees hold a collective 135 years of classroom experience spanning from New Jersey to Hawaiʻi. Along with Pinner, the inductees include:

• Michael Dunlea III, fifth-grade teacher at Kenneth R. Olson Middle School in Tabernacle, New Jersey;
• Tom Jenkins, retired STEM and science teacher at Greenon Junior Senior High School in Enon, Ohio;
• Dr. Valerie Camille Jones Ford, middle school math teacher and mathematics department chair at Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia;
• Michelle Pearson, social studies teacher at Century Middle School in Thornton, Colorado.

“Recognizing great educators is not just a celebration — it’s a statement about what we value as a nation,” said Maddie Fennell, executive director of the National Teachers Hall of Fame. “These five outstanding teachers embody excellence, compassion and commitment to students.”

Next month, the 2025 inductees will travel to Emporia, Kansas — home of the National Teachers Hall of Fame — for Induction Week. Activities will include touring the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, participating in a panel discussion, receiving a city proclamation, and participating in other media events.

On June 20 at 10 a.m., they will participate in the rededication of the National Memorial to Fallen Educators by laying wreaths at the monument. That evening, their formal induction ceremony will be held at Emporia State University.

“Iʻm excited for the experience and it’s even nicer since its my husbandʻs and my 38th anniversary,” Pinner said.

Pinner was nominated by her colleague Joel Truesdell, who was inducted last year for the impact he had on students at Kamehameha Schools in Keaʻau and on Oʻahu. The only other teacher from Hawaiʻi to be recognized is John Gillentine on Oʻahu.

“We (inductees) have spent our life doing everything we can to help our kids get everything they can from school and help them to enjoy learning. That is my ʻwhy,ʻ” Pinner said. “Iʻve been doing this for 37 years, and times have changed, but they are still kids. They still get that look of awe and amazement and that is what gives me joy and energy to this day.”

She added: “It is pretty much the reason why I do what I do and why I will always do so much.”

To learn more or to nominate a teacher for the Class of 2026, visit the National Teachers Hall of Fame website.