HONOLULU (HI Now) - Real change in public schools does not come from quick fixes, it comes from people who choose to stay in the fight for the long haul. Teach For America Hawaiʻi is built on finding, developing, and supporting locally rooted leaders who will transform education and expand opportunity for all children.
That lifelong commitment is front and center in this HI Now Daily conversation with Trever Asam, TFA Hawaiʻi Advisory Board Chair and attorney at Cades Schutte, alongside Jim Scott, a TFA Hawaiʻi Advisory Board Member and retired President of Punahou School. Their story starts with a pivotal career crossroads, when Trever weighed different teaching paths and Jim encouraged him to choose Teach For America for the challenge, the growth, and the perspective it could unlock beyond familiar settings.
Trever’s years teaching seventh and eighth grade at Paul Junior High School in Washington, D.C. became the kind of experience that shapes everything after it. Leading a classroom pushed him to grow fast as a communicator, mentor, and leader. Even as he moved into law, the work stayed personal, turning into public school advocacy and a deeper sense of responsibility to students and communities.
Now, as Teach For America Hawaiʻi marks 20 years, Trever and Jim are focused on what is next, strengthening locally led partnerships, fueling educational equity, and inspiring more people to serve in every lane, from classrooms to policy to community leadership. It is a career launchpad, but the bigger why is building a generation of leaders who keep showing up for Hawaiʻi’s kids.
Learn more at https://www.teachforamerica.org/hawaii and follow along on Instagram @tfahawaii.
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