Julie Powers, Professor and Program Coordinator of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Social Science Department Chair, won the 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award from University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. Courtesy photo

Regular readers of this column may remember that one of the many highlights of last month’s commencement ceremony was the awarding of our 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award to Julie Powers. It is the latest in an armload of awards and degrees she has earned over her five-plus decades as a dedicated educator, administrator, mentor, and author. Around here, she is the wearer of multiple hats — Professor and Program Coordinator of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Social Science Department Chair.

Julie has traveled a long way from the self-described “undisciplined 15-year-old” who entered a community college in Tucson and found her “joy in the company of young children.” That was also where her philosophy of ECE took shape and has guided her tenure with us since arriving at UHMC in 2006.

“Young children learn best through hands-on experiences so it’s the teachers’ job to provide rich play opportunities and assist children in interpreting their experiences,” Julie explains. “They also need to learn about their social and physical environments including the natural environment and the cultures of their community. They can learn about the rest of the world more easily later if they have these foundations,” she continues. Another ECE focus needs to be on the social and emotional skills children will need when they grow up – self-regulation, empathy, confidence, cooperation, and kuleana. Making children compliant to adult rules can inhibit them from learning how to make good choices when adults aren’t around to tell them what to do. “Finally, ECE teachers need to work with families with the same caring and intention we give to children. Children’s primary teachers are, in fact, their families,” says Julie.

In addition to teaching, Julie has written two books for RedLeaf Press — “Parent Engagement in Early Learning” and “Nature-Based Learning for Young Children” — that help spread her basic ECE philosophy. She has developed and directed curriculum for a wide range of preschool programs including public schools, nonprofits, for-profits, and a campus lab school. She has consulted for a number of nature-based programs and the U.S. Air Force and was the Director of the UH Mānoa Children’s Center.

A much-praised mentor herself, Julie credits two colleagues as her invaluable mentors. “My professor Betty Jones at Pacific Oaks College modeled student-centered teaching. And my Program Coordinator here at UHMC, Elaine Yamashita, taught me about the Maui community and our students. I carry the work of both of them,” she says.

One large part of our mission here at UHMC is to serve the wider Maui Nui community. Julie beautifully describes how our ECE program does just that.

“I see a circle of support for our community. We support adult students to become knowledgeable, responsive teachers. Teachers support children to develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they will need to contribute to our community when it is their turn to be responsible adults,” explains Julie. “Teachers also support families in their important work of raising children. When families have support, they can contribute to their community through their jobs in the workforce.”

A tireless advocate, Julie is clear-eyed about the state of ECE today. “We have both wonderful opportunities and struggles. “As a field, we know more about how young children learn than ever before. We better understand the needs of our families and have more resources to meet those needs. At the same time, we are experiencing a shortage of early childhood teachers. Our community preschools need teachers with Associate Degrees in ECED. Our new public/charter PreK programs need teachers with Bachelor’s degrees and teacher licensure. We now have great opportunities for both,” she explains.

Our college has a new grant to support ECE majors and, as a result, we are able to offer free tuition and textbooks — for required Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 courses — to anyone joining our Early Childhood Education Program as a degree or certificate seeking ECE major this fall. We hope this will support students who have struggled due to financial challenges to complete their degrees and jump start new students on the pathway towards becoming preschool teachers. UH Mānoa now has smooth pathways for our UHMC graduates to complete their Bachelor’s degrees without leaving home.

If you or someone you know is interested in making a big difference in children’s lives, you can find information here https://Maui.Hawaii.edu/programs/eced/information For complete information about UH Maui College, please visit http://Maui.Hawaii.edu/

Dr. Lui K. Hokoana is Chancellor of the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. Ka’ana Mana’o, which means “sharing thoughts,” is scheduled to appear on the fourth Thursday of each month. It is prepared with assistance from UH-Maui College staff and is intended to provide the community of Maui County with information about opportunities available through the college at its Kahului campus and its education centers.