Page 3 - MidWeek East - May 4, 2022

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many who continually in- spired me to be better.”
Music Festival in Sydney un- der his instruction.
In 2014, he founded Ha- waii Youth Percussion En- semble, a nonprofit organi- zation that brings aspiring musicians together to de- velop and share their love and appreciation of music by performing and working with well-known musicians and conductors.
my past and present learn- ers,” says Morita, an active member of HSTA who advo- cates for his fellow educators through various leadership roles. “We explore, innovate, fail, reflect, learn, grow and repeat. Our learning is messy. Sometimes my students don’t understand why we do cer- tain learning activities. But I truly believe that a person- alized learning environment is how we build confidence within our learners.
To earn the honor, Mor- ita embodied the following five facets of the S.T.A.C.Y. award: scholarship, teach- ing, advocacy, community and youth.
In 2018, Morita rallied the support of his school and community to win the “Farmers Insurance Dream Big Teacher Challenge Grant” of $100,000. He used the money to create a Mu- sic Olympic Invitational, an American-Idol-type compe- tition for students playing instruments, and now en- courages other teachers to apply for the grant.
“This award is represen- tative of a community of passionate educators inter- twined with one another. Several years ago, I reached a breaking point like other teachers may have had, but connection and communi- ty saved me. I’m fortunate, grateful and humbled by
Through ongoing person- al and professional learning, he incorporates an innova- tive instruction approach focused on the teacher and students being learners who are responsible for growing through collaboration.
“That really was a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring this passion proj- ect to life,” Morita says. “Now a group of students have formed an advisory board to organize the event, and as we emerge from the pandemic, we’re looking forward to building the pro- gram throughout the state.”
“There are so many people within education that, together, help build a strong public school sys- tem,” Morita says.
A music educator for 14 years, Morita remains a life- long learner committed to positively impacting student growth.
As the recipient of this year’s award, Morita will be HSTA’s nominee for the 2023 NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Ex- cellence.
He helps find special op- portunities for his students, including his school’s con- cert band performing at the 2019 Australian International
“It’s an honor to rep- resent our public school teachers who help students achieve a high-quality edu- cation,” he adds.
Zachary Morita with his HSTA S.T.A.C.Y. Award. PHOTO COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
17–19 MAY 2022 | HONOLULU, HI
MAY 4, 2022 3
East O‘ahu Music Teacher Receives Award From Hawai‘i State Teachers Association
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