Page 4 - MidWeek West - May 11, 2022

4 MAY 11, 2022
Waipahu Elementary’s Principal Earns Distinguished Honor
Big news to come out of Waipahu Elementary School: its principal, Aaron Tominaga, has been named the state’s 2022 National Distinguished Principal.
able to communicate his vi- sion and passion to his stu- dents, community, parents and stakeholders,” Hayashi adds. “He is a catalyst for change and always brings people together for the sake of helping the students.”
math progress to help ac- celerate support.
Tominaga was surprised with the recognition at a complex area leadership meeting at the end of April. His wife, Lisa, who is a vice principal at Kanoelani Elementary School, was also in attendance.
Tominaga credits his success to the feedback and contributions of his school community. The former Lehua Elementary and Pearl City High prin- cipal regularly meets with his staff and teachers, and communicates with fami- lies through monthly coffee hours and newsletters.
“The things that our school has been able to accomplish in such a short period of time is because of the people,” states Tomina- ga about his award. “If not for them, the school doesn’t operate. All of us put in the work, time and heart to do what’s best for the students and with everything going on right now, everyone re- ally deserves to be recog- nized.”
“Principal Tominaga has been an outstanding lead- er at Waipahu Elementa- ry School,” states interim superintendent Keith Ha- yashi.
One of his greatest ac- complishments has been the development of a com- prehensive system to track and monitor students’ En- glish language arts and
Tominaga received $2,000 from HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union and is invited to Washington, D.C., where he will be rec- ognized for his excellence in leadership along with other national awardees in October.
“In all his work, he has always embraced the lead- ership qualities that we val- ue in our schools — having high integrity and being
Waipahu Elementary School’s Aaron Tominaga has been named the state’s 2022 National Distinguished Principal.
PHOTO COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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