For Chris Stapleton, Cultural Context Really Matters: What School Could Be in Hawai’i

On this episode of What School Could Be in Hawai’i, host Josh Reppun sits down with Chris Stapleton, who, as you will hear when you listen to this episode, is very passionate about education technology. Chris is the principal at a small campus on the North Shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaiʻi, known as the Asia Pacific International School.

He was an “early adopter,” which makes his voice particularly important to any discussion of technology in the classroom. He has “been there and done that” to a considerable extent, which means his insights are valuable as we experience a new wave of technologies, including VR, AI and AR.

He graduated from Wheaton College with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Before attending Wheaton College, he grew up in a missionary home in the Philippines where he anchored his faith in Jesus Christ. After graduating he received teaching licenses in Illinois and Colorado. After moving to Colorado to teach 6th grade, Chris furthered his education at the University of Colorado. At the university, he studied curriculum and instruction as well as technology, and he graduated with his master’s degree after two years.

He taught sixth grade for two years and fifth grade for two years. Since graduating from the University of Colorado, he was invited to become a part of their faculty. Chris has taught educational technology classes at the university as an adjunct professor. He has been an assistant coach to girls’ varsity volleyball and boys’ club volleyball for four years. In addition, he founded a media club, which has allowed students to practice logo design, animation, audio recording, and movie-making.

Chris believes that student engagement and attentiveness are vital for a successful education. He enjoys fusing technology with education to achieve greater engagement. Chris and his wife love to travel, play games, and build community.

Head here for more episodes of Josh Reppun’s What School Could Be in Hawai’i.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Education Technology Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!
Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

team
When Your Team Becomes the Bottleneck
February 25, 2026

In a candid take on organizational blind spots, Mollie Gaby, Principal at CG Infinity, highlights a hard truth many leaders avoid: sometimes your biggest pain point isn’t your technology or your strategy — it’s your staff. A common red flag is resistance to change. When team members are unwilling to explore new tools, automate…

Read More
asset visibility
Diagnosing Your Capital Asset Health: Why Asset Visibility Is the New Financial Imperative in Healthcare
February 25, 2026

Hospitals and surgery centers own millions of dollars in equipment — but owning assets and having actionable visibility into them are two different things. Most systems maintain inventories, yet many struggle with outdated records, fragmented tracking, and limited insight into useful life or service contracts. With nearly half of U.S. hospitals reporting negative operating…

Read More
CFO
From Public Accounting to CFO: The Leadership Wake-Up Call
February 25, 2026

The CFO seat is being rewritten in real time. Today’s finance leaders are expected to drive growth, lead enterprise-wide systems transformations, and shape AI strategy—while still keeping the close, controls, and capital story airtight. Gartner reports that 59% of finance leaders are already using AI in the finance function, underscoring how rapidly the role is…

Read More
restorative practices
Building Safer Schools Through Restorative Practices
February 24, 2026

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In this episode of Principals of Change, host Dr. Amy Grosso sits down with D’Jon Pitchford, Assistant Principal at Kelly Lane Middle School in Pflugerville ISD, to explore what school safety really means. Pitchford reframes safety as more than physical security—emphasizing trust, restorative practices, campus culture,…

Read More