🎤 ✏️ Welcome to our 2024 Elevating Teacher Voice discussion series, hosted by Jan Iwase. The format is simple. A guest educator will read out loud one of their blogs or essays, and then open up the session for discussion. No pre-work, no homework, no fuss, just deep listening, conversations and fellowship. At this gathering, Jan's guest will be WSCB Member, Kim Dempsey. 🦋

Kim is in her third year of teaching Introduction to Computer Science, a course offered on the elective wheel for 6th graders, at Kealakehe Intermediate School, in Hawaiʻi.  She also teaches HSE (High School Equivalency) at the Kona campus of Waipahu Community School for Adults and has previously taught ESY at Konawaena High and Kealakehe Intermediate. Originally from Ohio, Kim has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University, masters coursework in Human Resources Counseling at University of Dayton and most recently completed the CTE program at Windward Community College in May 2020. Kim entered the education field as a substitute teacher for 15 years in Ohio and Hawaii.  Prior to education, Kim worked in Human Resources for a nationwide hospitality company and served as an event planning & fundraising consultant for a non-profit agency.  The switch from substitute teaching to wanting to teach full-time came when she felt that she had found a "home" at KIS.  Kim is passionate about providing her middle school and adult learners with a supportive space for learning and providing students with skills to help them succeed at school and beyond.