2013 Teacher of the Year
2013 Teacher of the Year William Sankey
Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School has a financial literacy and economic education champion in teacher William Sankey. “Mr. Sankey has been an outspoken advocate for improving financial literacy and has worked to grow the number of students taking economics,” said Radford High Principal, James Sunday. “He has grown the economics program from an after school class with only a handful of students to this year having two sections of economics and 54 students. In addition, we’re opening up two Advanced Placement courses in economics for the next school year.”
And teaching wasn’t even Will’s first career. It wasn’t his second career either. Will started out in the ocean. After an honorable discharge from the United States Navy, Will led a team as Senior Pilot at Atlantis Submarines. It was during his time at Atlantis Submarines that he had the opportunity to visit with students while on their field trips to the submarine dives. After many years of interacting with the students, Will decided to pursue a degree in education.
Since beginning his teaching career, Will has been at Radford High School where he has taught courses ranging from Advanced Placement US Government and Politics to Honors Modern History of Hawaii, Hawaiian Studies, and of course, Economics.
Will’s personal educational philosophy is to “lead them to growth in all aspects of their life.” He sees his role of educator as one who leads them to knowledge, opening doors, creating interest, and allowing the student to take the available steps towards growth. “My personal goal is to have a beneficial role in my community,” Will said. “This is achieved when I stay on course professionally within the classroom. I stay aware of current trends and developing areas of knowledge to keep my classroom up to date with technology and new finds. As a teacher, I will never stop learning. As a teacher, I see myself as a role model and a leader in the community that students are likely to see around town whose life is honest, hardworking and physically active. I will teach with the same passion in which I have lived and worked all my life.”
Will is currently the Radford High Social Studies Department Chair where he has ben able to establish a current Economic class program at Radford High – something that has not been done before. To deepen his economic education involvement, Will is a member of the HCEE Economic & Leadership Cadre program, the teacher advisor for the HCEE Stock Market Simulation and the Economics Challenge, and an inaugural member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Education Advisory Council.
When not in the classroom Will is the Head Coach for the Radford High Boys Junior Varsity Basketball team, and he likes to golf, hike, mountain bike, and paddle.
Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School has a financial literacy and economic education champion in teacher William Sankey. “Mr. Sankey has been an outspoken advocate for improving financial literacy and has worked to grow the number of students taking economics,” said Radford High Principal, James Sunday. “He has grown the economics program from an after school class with only a handful of students to this year having two sections of economics and 54 students. In addition, we’re opening up two Advanced Placement courses in economics for the next school year.”
And teaching wasn’t even Will’s first career. It wasn’t his second career either. Will started out in the ocean. After an honorable discharge from the United States Navy, Will led a team as Senior Pilot at Atlantis Submarines. It was during his time at Atlantis Submarines that he had the opportunity to visit with students while on their field trips to the submarine dives. After many years of interacting with the students, Will decided to pursue a degree in education.
Since beginning his teaching career, Will has been at Radford High School where he has taught courses ranging from Advanced Placement US Government and Politics to Honors Modern History of Hawaii, Hawaiian Studies, and of course, Economics.
Will’s personal educational philosophy is to “lead them to growth in all aspects of their life.” He sees his role of educator as one who leads them to knowledge, opening doors, creating interest, and allowing the student to take the available steps towards growth. “My personal goal is to have a beneficial role in my community,” Will said. “This is achieved when I stay on course professionally within the classroom. I stay aware of current trends and developing areas of knowledge to keep my classroom up to date with technology and new finds. As a teacher, I will never stop learning. As a teacher, I see myself as a role model and a leader in the community that students are likely to see around town whose life is honest, hardworking and physically active. I will teach with the same passion in which I have lived and worked all my life.”
Will is currently the Radford High Social Studies Department Chair where he has ben able to establish a current Economic class program at Radford High – something that has not been done before. To deepen his economic education involvement, Will is a member of the HCEE Economic & Leadership Cadre program, the teacher advisor for the HCEE Stock Market Simulation and the Economics Challenge, and an inaugural member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Education Advisory Council.
When not in the classroom Will is the Head Coach for the Radford High Boys Junior Varsity Basketball team, and he likes to golf, hike, mountain bike, and paddle.
Copyright © 2017 Hawaii Council On Economic Education. All rights reserved.