LIHUE — Leah Aiwohi from Kauai High School has been selected as one of 30 educators from across the U.S. for the first PBS Digital Innovator All-Star Program. Aiwohi is a 28-year veteran of Hawaii’s public schools.
The Digital Innovator All-Stars were selected from a cohort of educators doing innovative work in their schools and districts, and were previously recognized as part of the PBS Digital Innovator Program, which began in 2013.
“With a passion for empowering her Kauai students to adopt an innovator’s mindset, along with arming them with vital modern literacy skills, Leah represents the best of Hawaii education,” said Leslie Wilcox, PBS Hawaii president and CEO. “We congratulate her for being selected as a PBS Digital Innovator All-Star, and applaud her continued efforts as a Hawaii public school educator to prepare our keiki for a successful future.”
The PBS Digital Innovator All-Star program expands on this work, deepening these educators’ roles as leaders in integrating technology and digital media into the classroom — supporting students’ learning through increasingly important media literacy skills.
Aiwohi’s Kauai High School students hone their media literacy skills, as well as crucial workforce and life skills, through their participation in PBS Hawaii’s flagship statewide student news network, HIKI NO. She and several of her students were also featured in PBS Hawaii’s inaugural live broadcast last fall of “KAKOU — Hawaii’s Town Hall,” which explored truth in today’s information-heavy world.
Kauai High School will be among 18 Hawaii schools in Nashville, Tennessee, attending the Student Television Network Convention, an annual, national student video competition. Last year, Hawaii schools took home 39 of the 196 prizes — about 20 percent of the on-site contest awards.
Through the PBS Digital Innovator All-Stars program, Aiwohi will spend the 2018-19 school year deepening engagement among students, families, educators, schools and PBS Hawaii staff. As an exclusive part of the program, she will have access to virtual and in-person events to connect and learn with peers and station representatives from across the country.
The PBS Digital Innovator All-Stars were chosen based on a variety of criteria, including passion for their role as an educator, outcomes from their time as PBS Digital Innovators, connections to their communities and service to under-resourced families.
