Get to know the Kamehameha Schools kumu who are inspiring haumāna and helping shape the future of our lāhui.

Meet Roxanne Kala, KS Hawaiʻi

What inspired you to become a kumu at KS?
Teaching is in my ʻohana. I come from a family of educators; my mom was a teacher and my auntie was a teacher principal, so I look at all my kūpuna as teachers.

I got interested in teaching when I started working with my mom in ninth grade. She was a public school teacher and she said that I could come and be her EA. That was my first experience with younger students. I remember this one student was playing with the water hose and then he started to swing it. I was standing there going, “What do I do?” and my mom was like, “You step in and tell him to stop.”

So that kind of got me interested and just recognizing the way kids learn and what makes them smile and excited — that got to me.

Tell us about a time you saw your haumāna use what they’ve learned to make a difference. What did that mean to you?
We just sent home a survey to get parents’ manaʻo — how they’re feeling, where they see their child’s growth and areas of need. I was impressed with the things that they shared — their genuine aloha, appreciation and recognition of their child’s growth.

This year in fourth grade, we focused on the theme of ʻāina momona — how our ʻāina thrives and how our kānaka and land management work together. We took that concept and tried to bridge it into our classroom environment — how do we make our classroom momona? How do we find balance, communication, clarity, and ownership? With my teaching partner, rather than being two separate classrooms, we’ve blended it as one grade level. And we bridge the concept of ʻāina within classroom learning through math and language arts.

Our keiki are truly able to articulate not just the words of ʻāina momona, but they’re able to show it through their work. They’re able to look at their data, understand their progress and share that with their ʻohana. Reading the surveys, I was touched that the work that we’ve invested in building this system has really paid off.

What is something your haumāna have taught you about yourself?
One of the things that I’ve come to know is not being afraid to fail. I like the term that one of my co-partners shared with me: failing forward.

Early in my career, I came to KS and felt this standard of excellence and wanting to achieve that. In my perspective, excellence was perfection. But I’ve come to learn that excellence is not perfection, and failing forward is a value. It’s how you recognize areas to grow and improve.

Trying something new, not knowing what the outcome will be, and not having the plan up front, and moving with the flow — and recognizing when I fail forward and how I can lift myself up — has been the most rewarding. Especially now with changes in technology and education, it’s not the same as when I first started teaching. So how do I move forward with that development, but also hold true to the identity of who we are as ʻōiwi kānaka?

Where do you see Pauahi’s legacy most in your work?
I see her legacy in the keiki and how they articulate their learning through writing or speaking. When former keiki, whether they’re in high school or beyond, recognize me in the store or their ʻohana recognizes me, they’ll say, “Kumu, you helped me to see this.” They tell me about their experiences and what they’re doing and how they’re applying it. It’s good to see former keiki who are now kumu speaking about what they remember.

So for me, I feel like I’m investing and building her legacy into our keiki currently and the fruits of my labor come out when I see the results of these haumāna, who are now mākua or adults. 

Shout out a fellow kumu who empowers their students every day!
Leayne Highfill-Patch. She’s my coach and she is very inspiring. I think the ways that I lead are influenced by what I see in my coach. Corrinna Kay, Danielle Sanchez, Keala Neumann — they’re doing some fabulous things!

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TAGS
ks hawaii, keaau campus, kumu appreciation, our employee ʻohana, employee ʻohana

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Kaipuolono Article, Regions, West Hawai’i, East Hawai’i, Themes, Culture, Employee ‘Ohana, Ka ʻohana Kamehameha, E Ola!, Hawaii Newsroom, KS Hawaii Home, Newsroom, Hawaii, Alumni, Hawai’i, Featured articles, Education, Hawaii campus

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