Work Ethic, Leadership Earn Waialua Principal Top Honors

Randiann Porras-Tang

Waialua High and Intermediate School principal Randiann Porras-Tang, has been named the 2012 MetLife/National Association of Secondary School Principals Hawaii High School Principal of the Year.

Porras-Tang was honored at a special awards banquet last month at the Hale Koa Hotel by the Hawaii Association of Secondary School Administrators.

She will travel to Washington, D.C., along with finalists from other states Sept. 19-22 to be honored at the Principal’s Institute and Awards Gala.

“(She is) a true model of collaborative leadership who recognizes, appreciates and serves the needs of a diverse and proud community,” said her Waialua vice principal Virgilio Basilio.

Glenn Lee, the 2011 Hawaii Milken Award winner and WHIS teacher/coordinator for the school’s national award-winning robotics team, also commented on PorrasTang’s work ethic, stating that her demand for excellence, collaboration among all complex schools to provide a seamless kindergarten-through-12th grade educational curriculum, and her grassroots approach in working with colleagues makes her worthy of praise.

According to MetLife, the award recognizes outstanding secondary leaders like Porras-Tang for their ability to provide high-quality learning opportunities for students, as well as exemplary contributions for their profession.

Porras-Tang joined the staff at WHIS in 2007, and since then has been a catalyst in reshaping the school into the first Hawaii high school to achieve adequate yearly progress, under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, in 2010 and 2011.

Also in 2010 under her supervision, WHIS adopted the SpringBoard curriculum developed by the College Board and led the way for the rest of Hawaii’s public schools.

This curriculum raises the level of rigor for every student and is aligned to the new Common Core State Standards, according to the College Board.

The school educates about 650 students in grades 7-12.