It’s true that the Hawaii Department of Education is casting a broad net in its attempt to fill an anticipated 1,600 teaching vacancies next year. It’s true that stories about their efforts have gone viral. It’s true that the average salary for licensed teachers is around $54,000/year. And it’s true that a transplant like me can find a home in Hawaii as a public school teacher.

You might wonder why the DOE anticipates so many openings next year. You might wonder why the DOE is looking to the mainland to fill those openings. And you ought to wonder why this is an ongoing problem. If you’re contemplating a move, I sincerely hope that you are wondering those things, for your sake and for the sake of our keiki.

As a public school teacher, I see firsthand the way our long-­running teacher retention problem impacts students, and it isn’t pretty. Turnover is high. Routines are routinely disrupted. Unlicensed substitutes teaching long term in core subjects are a fixture. And the kids suffer.

If you come to Hawaii to teach and you can’t make it work, you are part of the problem (and you bear some responsibility). So I want to write you a reality check, gratis, so you can make informed decisions.

Make no mistake, I love doing what I do where I do it. This is not a case of sour grapes. I am here for the long haul, and if you choose to join us, I want you to be, too. For that to happen, you need a realistic picture of what it means to teach in Hawaii — some hard facts.

• The average salary for a licensed teacher may be about $54K, but you won’t make that for a while. I came “highly qualified,” with an M.A., licenses in two subjects and 14 years teaching experience. After four years, I still don’t make $54K, much less what I was making in California. If you aren’t a licensed or “highly qualified” teacher, you will make a lot less.
• While $54K (or even less) may sound good from your perspective, the cost of living here is high. When adjusted for cost of living, Hawaii teacher pay is the lowest in the nation. Many teachers hold second and even third jobs and/or have roommates (housing is expensive — everything is expensive!).

We desperately need good teachers, teachers who are in it for the keiki and for the long haul — who want to be a part of this noble undertaking and this great place.

• In order to make it here, you may need to downsize. I live much more simply and modestly than I did in California, and I’m happy, but if you aren’t prepared to embrace simplicity, you may struggle. The good news is that life here lends itself to rich simplicity.
• Local culture is quite different from what you may be used to or expect. Hawaii is uniquely itself. If you aren’t prepared to appreciate and assimilate into local society, you may find yourself lonely, isolated and homesick. Because I chose to make my home on Maui (arguably, Hawaii chose me), I don’t suffer homesickness. If you think of yourself as temporary you may not assimilate, you may never be comfortable and you may ultimately return to what’s familiar.
• All the things that frustrate teachers elsewhere can be found here. Toxic standardized testing? Check! Imposed academic standards (Common Core State Standards)? Check! Mandated curriculum? Check! So­-called “teacher accountability” systems that require you to spend many tens of hours yearly providing documentary evidence that you don’t suck? Check! Three years of probation even for highly qualified teachers? Check! And Hawaii public schools are chronically underfunded statewide (just like everywhere else).
• On the upside, the Hawaii State Teachers Association (the state teachers’ union) is awakening to its potential to make changes that benefit students and teachers, and your active membership is welcome. Google “Schools Our Keiki Deserve” for a glimpse of the vision that is forming.

We desperately need good teachers, teachers who are in it for the keiki and for the long haul — who are already here or come with their eyes wide open, who embrace all that is unique and wonderful about Hawaii, who want to be a part of this noble undertaking and this great place. We need to keep the good teachers we have (the union is working to mitigate those factors that contribute to high turnover and discourage local prospective teachers from even starting), and we need more good teachers. We don’t need test drivers or dilettantes or dabblers or working vacationers.

Maui has been very very good to me. Maybe Hawaii will be as good to you. But if your expectations are romanticized or otherwise unrealistic, it won’t be — you will be disappointed, you will flee, and you will help perpetuate the problem of high teacher turnover. It will be bad for you and worse for us.

I look forward with eager anticipation to welcoming those colleagues who, like me, sink roots deep in the soil of Hawaii and intend to savor the sweetness in the midst of our many challenges. Will you be one?