Kamakaʻāina (Jessica) Seipp is Radford High School’s new Hawaiian Studies teacher. Currently, she is working towards her teaching license, but she has her degree in Hawaiian Studies. Kumu Kamakaʻāina’s ultimate goal as a teacher is to have her students find a sense of belonging within the culture and have them form a connection with the land.
“I’ve been working in the Native Hawaiian community for the last 20 years,” Kumu Kamakaʻāina said.
While she was in college, she worked for Hālau Kū Māna Charter School, which introduced her to waʻa (sailing canoes and voyaging culture). She eventually went on to work for the Polynesian Voyaging Society to support their voyaging efforts. She returned to Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy (KVA), where we would take school groups sailing on Kānehūnāmoku, a double-hulled coastal sailing canoe.
“At KVA, I was also the Program Coordinator for Hālau Holomoana, a 30-day vocational program for high school juniors and seniors. The program gave them a foundation in waʻa and voyaging culture while introducing them to careers in the maritime industry,” Kumu Kamakaʻāina said.
This culminated in a 10-day voyage aboard the Makani ʻOlu, a 96-foot, three-masted schooner.
Kumu Kamakaʻāina said, “Our first cohort was the first youth group permitted to sail into our kūpuna islands, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.”
When she was younger, she used to view the classroom as suffocating. Now, she thinks of it more like a lab because there are controlled factors that allow her to experiment with different approaches to teaching and learning.
“I want my students to see the classroom as a space where we can test ideas, make mistakes, and grow—and then take those lessons outside to connect with the land and community,” said Kumu Kamakaʻāina.
She is planning field trips at the beginning of quarter three, and she hopes to bring in guest speakers later in the year.
Kumu Kamakaʻāina is passionate about taking her students out of the classroom and into hands-on experiences. She wants her students to form a bond with Hawai‘i’s land and culture. She strives to give her students opportunities to experience Hawaiian culture firsthand, create meaningful memories, and build a lasting connection to Hawaiʻi’s land and history.