2023 Legislative Session Recap
In the six years since I founded HawaiiKidsCAN, many bills have been signed into law to improve educational outcomes for the ...
About HawaiiKidsCAN
HawaiiKidsCAN is a nonprofit education advocacy organization to empower, mobilize and collaborate with everyday Hawaiians to advocate for a high-quality education system. We are a part of 50CAN: The 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now, a nonprofit organization that works at the local level to advocate for a high-quality education for all kids, regardless of their address.
Believe in Better
As we seek to recover, rebuild and renew our commitment to education, our students deserve MORE than a return to normal, they deserve to… Believe in Better.
As we seek to recover, rebuild and renew our commitment to education, our students deserve MORE than a return to normal, they deserve to… Believe in Better.
David Sun-Miyashiro
Executive Director
David is a proud fourth-generation Hawaii resident who was raised in Windward O‘ahu. After graduating from Brandeis University in Massachusetts, he returned to Hawaii to teach special education language arts at Wahiawa Middle School through Teach For America-Hawai‘i, also earning his master’s degree in in special education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The frustration he felt as a teacher during the infamous Furlough Fridays debacle—during which budget constraints closed public schools for 17 Fridays, reducing instructional time for what was already one of the shortest school years in the country—inspired him to pursue a master’s in education policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He worked in politics and government as press secretary for U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono in Washington, D.C. and communications director for the Ann Callis for Congress campaign in Illinois. He returned to Hawaii and Teach For America in 2015 to manage communications, media and public relations for the region and provide support to the executive director.
Contact Us
For all MEDIA inquiries, contact Ned Stanley, Vice President of Communications, 50CAN.
For all OTHER INQUIRIES, contact David Sun-Miyashiro, Exective Director, HawaiiKidsCAN.
Learn more about our Goals & Wins
Priority bills become law!
Thanks to the incredible partnership and support we've had this year, we can officially celebrate that several of our prior...
2022 Legislative Session Moves the Needle for Kids
HawaiiKidsCAN is proud to announce that three of our top priorities successfully passed this legislative session, as well as ...
2022 Policy Goals
After two years of disrupted learning and immense challenges for Hawaii’s keiki and families, we have the opportunity to bu...
2019 Policy Goals
Goal 1: Introduce legislation to exempt internships in public schools from the state procurement process.
Goal 2: Introduc...
2021 Policy Goals
We know this is a challenging time for our state, schools and families and it will take a community-wide effort to fight lear...