Majuro Cooperative School's Marshallese Language Arts Teacher Jennifer Elcar Wins 2010-2011"Teacher of the Year" in the Marshall Islands!

Co-op's Jennifer Elcar Named RMI Teacher of the Year in 2011 The Ministry of Education chose Marshallese Language Arts Teacher Jennifer Elcar as the Teacher of the Year to represent all teachers in the Marshall Islands at the Pacific Educators Conference (PEC) in Pohnpei in July 2011.

This summer’s PEC theme: “The Pacific Child: Cultivating and Preserving the Pacific Identity” is a perfect motto to describe what Jennifer does for her students and the Majuro Cooperative School community. In a school that uses a U.S. curriculum and nearly all American teachers, Jennifer stands out as a strong and unwavering force to make sure the education Co-op provides is being offered through a Pacific lens. Jennifer is a fierce advocate for making sure Marshallese culture is present throughout the year, not just during Manit Week in September. She offers a Manit Moment at regular staff meetings, during which time she explains how Marshallese sayings and phrases can be used in classes or how different cultural values could be emphasized.

Jennifer is not just an advocate for Marshallese values and culture because it is a part of her job as a Marshallese Language Arts teacher; she does it because she is a proud product of the Marshallese educational system and a “home-grown” example that Marshallese children who work hard and stay committed to their beliefs can meet their life goals. Jennifer attended Marshall Islands High School, where she stuck out as a responsible student. She then went on to the College of the Marshall Islands, where she completed her Associate’s Degree in Elementary Education. At that time, she completed her Student Teaching Practicum at Majuro Cooperative School in the Special Education Department.

As a Marshallese Language Arts teacher, Jennifer has worked to develop appropriate curriculum to meet the needs of native Marshallese speakers as well as her students who come from backgrounds as diverse as Taiwan, Ethiopia, Thailand, Australia and Kirabati. Perhaps more than anyone in the Marshall Islands, Jennifer represents Marshallese culture to children from all over the Pacific region and the world.

Last summer, in a proud moment working alongside the Ministry of Education, Co-op staff attended the ceremony in which Marshallese teachers were awarded their Teaching Certificates for the first time in the nation's history. Only two private schools had submitted their paperwork and were represented. Of the teachers in those schools, Jennifer Elcar was the only Marshallese teacher on the list to earn a Professional I Certificate.

Jennifer represents the very best of Co-op School and we congratulate her on this monumental accomplishment of being selected as the RMI Teacher of the Year!