State teachers union endorses Ige for Governor race

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii State Teachers Association officially endorsed Gov. David Ige to keep his seat for a second term on Saturday.

"It is a privilege of the HSTA to recommend Gov. David Ige for four more years as governor because he has been a leader for human and civil rights as well as a strong advocate for Hawaii's public schools, teachers and keiki," said HSTA President Corey Rosenlee, in a news release.

According to the HSTA, Ige worked with 3,000 teachers and community members, to develop a task force that created a new Blueprint for Education.

One of the task force's key recommendations was to move to shift to project-based assessments instead of standardized tests. According to HSTA officials, Ige has worked with the DOE to apply to be one of seven states in the country to move away from bubble tests to assessments that require higher-level thinking.

Ige will be going up against Hawaii U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa and former senator, Clayton Hee in the upcoming race for Hawaii Governor.

"I have always believed that investing in our people will result in creating a thriving innovation economy for Hawaii," Ige said in a release responding to the endorsement. "Improving our schools and empowering the faculty and staff to utilize forward-thinking methods has made a dramatic difference."

"Our state can feel confident that our children will have a meaningful direction for career options and future leadership," Ige said.

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