Exploring Cecilia Chung, Hawaii’s Epic Teacher of the Year: What School Could Be in Hawai’i

This is an episode from Josh Reppun’s “What School Could Be in Hawai’i,” a podcast on the people, technology and methodologies pushing the mantle of education in the 50th state. This episode features an interview with Cecilia Chung, Hawaii’s 2020 State Department of Education Teacher of the Year.

In this fifth on-the-road episode, Cecilia Chung (or CC for short) and host Josh Reppun dive deep into her thoughts on Ted Dintersmith’s film, Most Likely to Succeed, her remarkable education journey, how she became an EdTech Jedi coach, her views on student data, student voice, teacher collaboration and celebration, intentional school design, and the meaning of her selection as Hawaii’s teacher of the year.

CC currently teaches and learns with an awesome group of sixth graders at Kaimiloa Elementary School in Ewa Beach, Hawaiʻi. She has also worked as a technology integration coach for grades K-6. She is a proponent of student voice and agency for (all) students and loves dialoguing about this topic with others. CC is passionate about working with other educators; she leads and facilitates a variety of workshops for and with the education community.

An alumni of the Hope Street, Hawaii State Teacher Fellow program, she has facilitated education-related data collection and focus groups and worked as one of the planning leads for a Hawaiʻi complex-wide teacher conference called Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching (ECET2). CC is a strong believer in the importance of elevating and celebrating teachers, encouraging teachers to tell their stories via platforms like Twitter and blog posts.

She most recently wrote, “Teachers: You Could Be Anywhere Else,” published on Medium. She is President-Elect for the Hawaii Society for Technology in Education (HSTE). She has monitored and provided content for her school Twitter and Instagram handles. She is a self-proclaimed foodie, an accessible introvert and a bookworm! Her Twitter handle is @MSChung808. Oh yes, and she is Reppun’s former student, a now very special friend.

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

customer movement
Bonfire Branding: How Solo Stove Sparked a Customer Movement with Liz Vanzura (Episode Three)
January 22, 2026

As audiences tune out polished ads and lean into trust, brands are being forced to rethink how they show up for the customer. Research consistently shows that consumers rate peer-created content as more credible than traditional brand messaging, and algorithmic discovery is increasingly rewarding authenticity over polish. With AI reshaping how people search and…

Read More
supply chains
Why the Best Careers Are Designed Like Resilient Supply Chains
January 22, 2026

What do supply chains and community have in common? They both deliver value—when managed with purpose. At their best, they show how intentional systems, meaningful connections, and consistent action turn effort into lasting professional growth. This week on Professional Quotient, listeners hear from Nathan Chaney, founder of Supply Chaney, whose insights bridge the mechanics…

Read More
brand
Bonfire Branding: How Solo Stove Sparked a Customer Movement with Liz Vanzura (Episode Two)
January 22, 2026

As people seek relief from constant digital noise, the backyard has quietly become a modern “third space” in everyday life. Outdoor living, fire pits, and at-home hosting continue to grow as consumers prioritize connection, ease, and experiences that feel meaningful without requiring more complexity. Brands that understand this shift aren’t just selling products—they’re offering…

Read More
Image
The Retrofit Advantage: B2B Renovation Strategies Powering Retail, Healthcare, Sports, IoT, Energy, ProAV, Engineering, and Construction
January 20, 2026

Innovation is no always a new build. In B2B, the fastest return often comes from upgrading existing facilities without pausing operations for months. Renovation and retrofit projects have become a core business lever because they influence measurable outcomes: energy consumption, staff productivity, customer throughput, uptime, safety, compliance, and lifecycle maintenance costs. Below is a B2B…

Read More