Hawaii Wants to Expand Career-Based Learning but It Needs More Teachers

This article was originally published in Honolulu Civil Beat.

About 500 educators will be receiving up to $8,000 in bonuses this month, but some school leaders aren’t convinced it will be enough to solve Hawaii’s shortage of career technical education teachers.

CTE teachers lead courses ranging from broadcast media to engineering in middle and high schools across the state. The classes, which emphasize hands-on learning and projects, provide students with skills and training they can use in their careers.

While CTE isn’t new to Hawaii, it’s gained traction in recent years, especially under the leadership of Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi. But as schools expand their CTE offerings, the teacher workforce may be unable to keep up due to low pay and barriers to licensing.

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The DOE said it doesn’t collect data on the CTE teacher shortage, but approximately 25 positions remain unfilled for the 2024-25 school year. Last month , the Hawaii State Teachers Association said it received estimates from DOE that half of CTE classes in Hawaii schools are taught by teachers who don’t have a corresponding license in the subject area.

Hawaii licenses educators to teach CTE classes in six areas: arts and communication, business, health services, industrial and engineering technology, public and human services and natural resources.

The DOE is now providing one-time bonuses to CTE teachers that range from $2,500 to $8,000 based on individual qualifications. Lawmakers also passed a bill this year that would ease teacher licensing requirements and allow those with a high school diploma and relevant work and education experience to qualify for a CTE teacher license.

Kimberly Saula, vice principal at Farrington High School, said she’s hopeful these initiatives will grow Hawaii’s CTE teacher workforce. But, she added, many CTE teachers have years of experience in fields like healthcare or auto mechanics, and it’s challenging to convince these professionals to make the move to the classroom.

“It’s difficult to make teaching high school students appealing,” Saula said.

“The Shortage Is Huge”

Keala Swain worked in tourism and hotel management for 10 years before coming to Waimea High School on Kauai. Swain, who now teaches CTE classes in computer science and information technology, said he loves working with students and sharing the knowledge he gained from the technology courses he took in college.

But, he said, leaving his career in the hotel industry required him to take a pay cut of roughly $20,000 in his first year as a teacher.

Because CTE courses can require specialized knowledge in fields like architectural design or nursing, schools try to recruit industry professionals to teach their classes. But switching to teaching can result in a significant drop in workers’ salaries.

“The shortage is huge,” Waimea High School Principal Mahina Anguay said, adding that she recently lost a CTE teacher to a job at the Navy base that could likely pay twice his teacher salary.

The lengthy process for licensing may also deter those considering a CTE teaching job.

The pathway to receiving a teacher license in CTE can vary depending on a person’s educational background and work experience, said Erin Yagi, who oversees Leeward Community College’s CTE licensure program.

Individuals need to show relevant experience or coursework in the CTE licensing field they’re pursuing and take approximately three to four semesters of coursework preparing them for teaching, Yagi said. Many people seeking their CTE licenses are working adults who need to balance their coursework with other responsibilities, she added.

“It is challenging to be a full-time employee and go through a program,” Yagi said.

LCC is one of three programs in Hawaii that can prepare teachers for CTE licensure. Last school year, the college recommended 10 students for licensure.

Some Hawaii schools are feeling the direct consequences of the teacher shortage.

Baldwin High School Principal Keoni Wilhelm said he hopes his Wailuku campus will become a wall-to-wall academy by 2025, meaning that all students will be on a college or career-focused pathway with classes and internships preparing them for jobs in culinary arts, business and more.

But Wilhelm said it’s been difficult to recruit teachers as the school expands its CTE offerings. For example, he said, Baldwin previously had a healthcare pathway and took advantage of its close proximity to Maui Memorial Medical Center. But when the health diagnostic teacher left in 2021, the school had to dissolve the pathway and hasn’t been able to find a replacement since.

“It’s not for a lack of trying to recruit,” Wilhelm said.

Potential Reforms On The Way

When DOE announced it would issue bonuses for CTE teachers this spring, Swain was caught off-guard. He hadn’t expected the extra money, he said, although he appreciates the extra $4,000 he’s receiving this month.

But he’s not sure if the bonuses of up to $8,000 will be enough to attract more people to teaching.

This isn’t the first time DOE has used monetary incentives to address the state’s ongoing teacher shortage. In 2020, the department introduced bonuses for educators who taught special education or Hawaiian immersion classes or were in schools located in hard-to-staff areas.

Special education teachers received the largest bonus of $10,000 each year. For the first two years after the bonuses began, the recruitment and retention of special education teachers improved.

But Andrea Eshelman, deputy executive director and chief negotiator of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, is skeptical of DOE’s strategy to address the CTE teacher shortage. Currently, the bonuses are only one-time payments for individuals who taught CTE classes in the 2023-24 school year.

In the state supplemental budget , legislators appropriated $2.5 million to continue CTE bonuses in the 2024-25 school year, but Gov. Josh Green has yet to sign the bill.

Most teachers aren’t willing to change their jobs based on the uncertain possibility of receiving a salary boost in the future, Eshelman said.

“Do we think it’s going to move people? Perhaps,” she said. “But for now, they were told it’s just a one-time thing.”

Legislators also passed a bill this session that could make it easier for industry workers to transition to teaching.

Currently, prospective teachers need at least an associate’s degree to earn a CTE license. Under Senate Bill 2257 , those with a high school diploma and relevant education and experience in their respective industry could also be considered for a CTE license.

Not all trades require a college degree, and the change in requirements could provide more opportunities for more industry workers to become teachers, said Felicia Villalobos, executive director of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.

If the bill becomes law, she said, individuals would still need to take classes on the principles of education and teaching in order to receive a CTE license. HTSB would also need to define what level of industry experience and training could qualify an individual for licensure.

Green has until July 10 to veto bills or sign them into law.

At Waimea High School, building and construction teacher Dante Casillas said it took him about 18 months of classes and teaching observations to receive his CTE license. Teaching CTE classes for the past two years has been rewarding, he said, adding that his students are leaving a legacy on the school by building risers and picnic tables that their classmates and the community can use.

“Having that kind of impact and be able to say, ‘I did this,’ that’s a cool thing for everybody,” Casillas said. “The kids are just proud of their work.”

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.

This story was originally published on Honolulu Civil Beat .