2019 Teacher of the Year:

Mathieu Williams

School
Kealakehe Intermediate
Subject Area
Technology/Digital Media
Grade Level
6, 7, 8
More about Mathieu Williams

Born and raised in Hawai’i, Mathieu Williams was taught the value of hard work and the mindset that only when we serve others do we find true fulfillment and purpose. The opportunity of serving the community through education became available to Williams through Teach for America in 2012 as an inclusion special education teacher at Kealakehe Intermediate School. It is through this early experience with his students and co-teachers that he formed his fundamental belief in the vision that relationships are the heart of all learning. This vision guides him on the mission to strive each day to empower all students to lead from every chair, challenge their limits, and work from the heart. 

Currently Williams is the technology and digital media teacher at Kealakehe Intermediate where he innovatively uses the tools of technology to facilitate student learning that inspires them to chase their best self by the development of their online and offline global brand. Guided by HĀ: Na Hopena A’o, Hawai’i’s socioemotional framework, and designed through the lens of digital media, Williams creates relevant learning experiences for his students and showcases these experiences to authentic audiences for students to be better equipped to create sustainable solutions for local and global challenges. From his diverse and rich professional development from Association of Middle Level Educators (AMLE), Kamehameha Schools, Oceanit, Hope Street Group, Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program (Fulbright TGC), and Teach for America, Williams actively seeks new opportunities to connect his student’s greatest passions with the world’s greatest needs. 

Williams holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Walla Walla University and a Master of Education in Educational Administration from Chaminade University.
 

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