About HawaiiKidsCAN

HawaiiKidsCAN is a nonprofit education advocacy organization to empower, mobilize and collaborate with everyday Hawaiians to advocate for a high-quality education system. We are a part of 50CAN: The 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now, a nonprofit organization that works at the local level to advocate for a high-quality education for all kids, regardless of their address.

Believe in Better

As we seek to recover, rebuild and renew our commitment to education, our students deserve MORE than a return to normal, they deserve to… Believe in Better. Here are our five promises to America’s students and families:

Education that’s right for you

A high-quality education system is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, it provides families with multiple options so they can find the learning environment that best meets the needs of their children. And it makes use of new technologies to allow teachers to create individualized learning opportunities for their students that aren’t just limited to their school building.

Learn More

Aim higher for a parent’s right to know what’s workin

A high-quality education system sets clear, rigorous standards for the knowledge, skills and abilities students need to have to succeed in the global economy. It uses trusted assessments to measure progress towards these goals. And it holds schools accountable for results.

Learn More

Cultivate talent - ensure every student has a caring adult

A high-quality education system creates an environment where America’s most talented teachers and leaders thrive. That means attracting great leaders to be principals and giving them more flexibility and support while also holding them more accountable for results. It also means attracting great teachers and giving them more freedom and support in their own classroom while rewarding them for meaningful outcomes like student performance.

Learn More

Reach everyone - college and career

A high-quality education system meets every child wherxe they are and brings them up to where they need to be by ensuring they graduate with all the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to be happy, healthy, productive adults who make the world a better place for all.

Learn More

David Sun-Miyashiro

Executive Director

David is a proud fourth-generation Hawaii resident who was raised in Windward O‘ahu. After graduating from Brandeis University in Massachusetts, he returned to Hawaii to teach special education language arts at Wahiawa Middle School through Teach For America-Hawai‘i, also earning his master’s degree in in special education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The frustration he felt as a teacher during the infamous Furlough Fridays debacle—during which budget constraints closed public schools for 17 Fridays, reducing instructional time for what was already one of the shortest school years in the country—inspired him to pursue a master’s in education policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He worked in politics and government as press secretary for U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono in Washington, D.C. and communications director for the Ann Callis for Congress campaign in Illinois. He returned to Hawaii and Teach For America in 2015 to manage communications, media and public relations for the region and provide support to the executive director.

Learn More about David

Learn More about the board