Mew Thinks Globally For Niu Valley
By .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS | Share
Del.icio.us
|
Niu Valley Middle School principal Justin Mew was honored recently at the inaugural “Teachers We Love” gala at the Kahala Resort.
Presented by Learning for a Lifetime, the event celebrated Mew as an educational inspiration to the community. Just beginning his second full year as Niu Valley principal, Mew is in the process of launching several new programs that should allow his students to thrive with a world-class education.
“I want to provide all the learning opportunities that make sense for students at this age so that they can excel academically or artistically and athletically,” he said.
To that end, Mew is working to make NVMS the first Hawaii public middle school to be accredited by the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.
“I am putting into place all the pieces that are necessary for a team from the International Baccalaureate to come to Niu Valley to basically authorize us as a world school,” he explained.
Accredited schools must go through a three-year process to prove their academic standards and curriculum are international in nature. Mew believes Niu Valley has the potential to reach and sustain world-class status.
“We’re on our way. We also made changes for next year’s schedule so the course offerings that we have will be International Baccalaureate caliber.”
In addition to language arts, social studies, math, science, technology, P.E. and the arts, Niu Valley will add world languages, including Japanese and Mandarin, next year.
“I want our students to become global thinkers,” Mew said. “It’s not just the United States, it’s not just Hawaii, but when you see the connections with the community, within our state, and nationally and internationally - it’s the hope that we have.”
Mew said raising the school’s academic standards has attracted the interest of many families in the school. For example, enrollment has nearly doubled since Mew arrived - from 460 two years ago to 793 today in grades 6 to 8.
“When we prepare our students, their attitudes and their dispositions for their future will certainly aim up to the college level and beyond. They have a responsibility to their community, to their state and to their country.”
It is this sense of responsibility that Mew has for Niu Valley that makes him an inspiration to others. Yet, he is humble about the “Teacher We Love” honor. “I’m doing this for the students, I’m doing this for the community that we live in. It’s a natural thing to do.”
Organizers declared the gala a success. It benefited at-risk youths through the Kids Talk Story literacy program, providing them with a chance to write and publish their life stories.
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
