Aloha,

This week Governor Josh Green recognized the 2025 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year — Kalani High School teacher Bryan Silver — in an award ceremony at Washington Place.
 
“Thank you, teachers, for setting the standard. Thank you for caring,” Governor Green said. “We’re grateful that you stayed in education. Mahalo for all your work and caring for our keiki.”

On Tuesday, the state Department of Education announced that Silver has been awarded the 2025 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year — an honor given annually to one of the more than 13,000 DOE teachers across the state.

With 24 years of teaching experience in the Honolulu district, Silver currently teaches career and technical education with a focus on engineering within the Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani complex.

At Kalani High School, Silver launched an engineering Career and Technical Education course, where many of his students have gone on to earn scholarships and pursue careers in STEM fields.

Through his robotics program, he secured $283,000 in grants and established three student-run businesses to help sustain the initiative.

Over the summer, Silver also volunteered in South Africa, leading weeklong STEM and robotics workshops for 600 teachers.

In addition to these accomplishments, Silver won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2015, achieved National Board Certification in 2023, and recently became the first Hawaii educator to receive the 2024 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, winning $50,000 for Kalani High School's robotics program.

Silver was selected from a group of finalists for the 2025 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year, a group that included 15 teachers from both charter and DOE schools — and will now represent Hawaii in the National Teacher of the Year Program in Washington, D.C.

The selection process focused on criteria such as inspiring students from diverse backgrounds and abilities, earning respect from students, parents, and colleagues, contributing to the school and community, and demonstrating strong communication skills and the ability to manage a demanding schedule.

During the ceremony, Governor Green expressed his gratitude toward educators, highlighting the vital role they play in nurturing children — especially in classroom settings.

Josh shared that he had a slow start in life due to being born deaf and not speaking until the age of two, and how — after his hearing was restored — his teachers supported his growth and development throughout his years in public school.

If you support Josh’s efforts to strengthen Hawaii’s schools and recognize our best teachers, please chip in a small donation today.

Thank you for supporting Josh and being a part of Team Green.

Mahalo,

Team Green