After 33 years, Kauai educator steps away after facing a tough decision

News admin June 16, 2026 0 Comments

After 33 years, Kauai educator steps away after facing a tough decision

KAPA’A, KAUA’I (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Garden Island community is rallying behind a longtime educator who will no longer be in the classroom next school year.

Education vs. experience is at the core of the issue after the family of Hawaiian Studies Kumu U’ilani Gutierrez says she was forced to make a difficult decision.

For 33 years, Gutierrez has taught generations of students Hawaiian culture and language at Kapa’a Elementary School.

“She’s affected so much people and it’s like, how can you remove that from the school, you know? How can you remove that from the families?” her granddaughter Shayna Rapozo-Kamoku said.

Gutierrez was was employed on campus under the Hawaii State Department of Education’s Kupuna Program, which bridges community elders, kumu, and practitioners with subject knowledge to teachers and students.

But the department says that program is considered a casual, part-time position, adding that employees there are “hired on a temporary basis and are not guaranteed continued employment from year to year.”

Her family says she was recently pushed into one of two options: return to college to obtain a bachelor’s degree or lose her job. She opted to step away for the time being due to time and financial restraints.

An HIDOE spokesperson said, “The school has determined that its instructional needs for the upcoming school year require a full-time teacher position to support the ʻIke Hawaiʻi, or Hawaiian Studies, program,” adding the issue is not related to her years of service, but rather qualification requirements.

“Yes, school is important. Always, always go to college, always take the opportunity to go to school. But again, respect your elders. They have far more experience within the workplace, especially being 33 years in that area,” her granddaughter added.

A petition started by the family to honor Gutierrez’s years of service has gotten over 600 signatures from the community. Click here to view it.

The family says she’s hopeful another teaching role opens up elsewhere as they move on from this unfortunate situation.

“She felt so unappreciated and I wanted to show her like, grandma, this whole island loves you. Everybody loves you. Everybody’s gonna see this and they’re gonna think … this is crazy what the school has come to making this decision,” Rapozo-Kamoku said.

In their statement, the HIDOE did express appreciation for Kumu’s many years of service, saying they understand the strong feelings of the school community. They also remain committed to supporting the program while meeting staffing requirements.