Meri Okano is one of three curriculum coordinators at the school.

Okano’s career is centered around helping students, and although she misses “teaching students directly,” she is still “helping them indirectly as I work with teachers.”

She taught fifth and sixth grades, and also worked as a Gifted and Talented teacher at Pearl Harbor Elementary School.

Okano said, “In that position, I worked with students from various grade levels to provide them with enrichment opportunities they wouldn’t necessarily receive in their regular classroom,” such as “interdisciplinary project-based research” that involved “using a lot of technology.”

Although she said that being at Radford has been a big change, she enjoys “working with so many different people” and is “excited to see how everything we do as teachers from kindergarten to high school fit together.”

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in education at University of Hawaii.

When she isn’t working, she spends time with family, especially her nine-year-old daughter, and friends. “We shop, go to movies, try new restaurants, and travel when we have the chance.” Additionally, Okano leads an active lifestyle, as she participates in group exercise classes, runs recreationally, and does yoga.