{"id":178571,"date":"2023-06-05T11:07:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T21:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=178571"},"modified":"2024-03-15T12:48:25","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T22:48:25","slug":"2022-teacher-of-promise-sproule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/05\/2022-teacher-of-promise-sproule\/","title":{"rendered":"Special education teacher, Leeward CC<\/abbr> alumna named Teacher of Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"woman
Ritela Sproule, 2023 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Miliken Teacher of Promise<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Red Hill Elementary special education teacher Ritela Sproule, a Leeward Community College<\/a> alumna, has been recognized as the 2022 Teacher of Promise<\/a> by the Milken Educators of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a>. The annual award recognizes outstanding teachers within the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Department of Education and comes with a $2,000 cash prize.<\/p>\n

\"Ritela<\/p>\n

Sproule, a 2020 graduate of Leeward CC<\/abbr>, was presented with her award and check in March. She is known among her peers as a hard worker and innovator who is motivated by her dedication to her students.<\/p>\n

“When I see my kids with different needs, I know I\u2019m here for a reason. To see any progress in my kids makes a difference in my life,” Sproule said. “I always say, ‘You don\u2019t learn by the way I\u2019m teaching, I\u2019m teaching by the way you learn.’”<\/p>\n

As an English language learner, Sproule had to overcome her own set of challenges that included working full-time in the classroom while earning her advanced professional certificate in special education (SPED<\/abbr>) at Leeward CC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“We knew she was a total rockstar. She did all the hard work\u2014we just provided a flexible and accommodating pathway to her final destination,” said Leeward CC<\/abbr> SPED<\/abbr> Coordinator Christina Keaulana. “We are honored to have been part of her journey.”<\/p>\n

Thanks to the support she received while at Leeward CC<\/abbr>, she was able to validate her classroom practice.<\/p>\n

“Leeward\u2019s program served its exact purpose of building highly qualified special education teachers to enter the field,” Komarey Moss, Red Hill Elementary principal, said. “[Sproule\u2019s] practices are influential in getting students to make progress with their goals.”<\/p>\n

Since it began in spring 2018, Leeward\u2019s SPED<\/abbr> program has licensed 139 special education teachers, with 83% currently working in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s public schools. Learn more about the teacher education program<\/a> at the Leeward CC<\/abbr> website.<\/p>\n

The Milken Educators of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> organization is made up of past winners of the prestigious Milken Educator Award in the state.<\/p>\n

—By Tad Saiki<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leeward CC<\/abbr> alumna Ritela Sproule is the Milken Educators of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 2022 Teacher of Promise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,679,204,65,933,71,1626],"class_list":["post-178571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-education","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-teacher-education","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t