KAILUA-KONA — Joy Personius is in her third year as the Department of Education West Hawaii Complex Area Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resource Teacher, where part of her work is guiding teachers in the implementation of restorative practices in classrooms.
Ninty percent of restorative practices is focused on relationships and giving students opportunities to work on building positive relationships. Joy’s work is not limited to school relationships. She has also connected to community, industry partners, care providers and nonprofit organizations.
Relationships are a big part of the “Strengthening our Community Educational Film Series,” sponsored by the SEL and Community Engagement teams.
Why this film series?
Through the years Joy has built an understanding of the impact trauma and adverse childhood experiences have on an individual. Based on SEL, the films are open to the public and aim to educate parents and community and connect them to support resources. It takes a lot of work, but for Joy it’s the right thing to do.
Joy’s passion for SEL stems from her belief in educating the whole child. Students need emotional stability to access and benefit from classroom instruction. Though Joy misses working directly with students and witnessing the growth that comes with self-esteem, efficacy and confidence, her current role enables her to help educators strengthen relationships and social emotional wellness.
We live in a social world. Equipping students with skills to appropriately respond to situations and others is something they’ll take with them into adulthood and strengthen families and communities. Thank you, Joy, for your work that contributes to building a thriving community.
Joy was born and raised in Kona and graduated from Konawaena High School. Her favorite teacher was also her first teacher, her mom, Judy Personius.
Joy saw the importance of developing and maintaining relationships as the basis for students to access learning. The relationships she witnessed at an early age confirmed she wanted to be a teacher — to care and support students and watch them progress. She received her elementary teaching degree from UH Manoa and began her teaching career at Kealakehe Elementary.
Joy was given an opportunity to step into a counseling position where she fell in love with the work. She returned to school and received her counseling degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. In her free time Joy loves coaching and playing soccer, working out at the gym, and spending time with family and friends.
Teacher Feature is a monthly column highlighting educators that appears in West Hawaii Today in partnership with the Department of Education West Hawaii Complex Area, Hokupaa, and Delta Kappa Gamma Rho Chapter.