Bruce I Naguwa

Bruce Naguwa has spent twenty-two years serving as a principal in Hawaii at the elementary, middle and high school levels, and worked for two years as Deputy District Superintendent of Leeward School District. When he arrived at Kapolei Middle School four years ago, this large, multi-track school with almost 1,500 students had the second lowest middle school scores in Hawaii with zero growth index points in both reading and math. After implementing a number of new initiatives the following year, Kapolei received a maximum 90 points for growth in math and 64 points in reading, moving from the bottom fifth percentile to the upper twenty-fifth percentile of schools in the state. Naguwa’s understanding of school culture and the dynamics of navigating the educational system helped Kapolei make tremendous school-wide strides. He set out purposefully to make strategic and systematic changes, working closely with the School Improvement Team and empowering teachers to build leadership capacity to ensure positive change. Described by the District Superintendent, “his commitment to excellence in education is exemplified by his words ‘not under my watch,’ referring to anything that falls short of exemplary teaching and learning.” Naguwa has been involved in Hawaii’s administrative leadership training program for over twenty-five years, mentoring a generation of administrators including nine vice principals who have gone on the become principals. He holds a B.Ed. and a M.Ed. from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

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