Name: Jen Fordyce
School: Hawaii Technology Academy
Subject: English / Language Arts
Grade: 9th – 11th
Island: Maui
“We always hear about self-care in terms of our health and mental well-being, but taking care of our professional passions is nearly as important.”
Jen’s deepest hope for her students is that they may discover the joy in learning, allowing them to become lifelong learners. A charter school teacher at heart, she has been teaching in a large, traditional DOE high school for several years. Here, she has facilitated an array of engaging and creative projects for her students, quite of few of whom, she says, consider dropping out in the ninth grade. Some of these projects have included a film inspiring other teens to get involved in the efforts to save Honolua Bay; speaking out and protesting the arrest of Kaleikoa Ka-eo for using Hawaiian language in court; restoring Io’i, growing kalo and studying its significance. She holds a MAT from Brown University and a BA from Goucher College.