Whatever’s in the water at Washington Middle School, the state Department of Education needs to bottle it and pass it around.

Earlier this month, its principal, Michael Harano, was recognized as Hawaii’s 2017 National Distinguished Principal, selected to represent the state, in a prelude to the National Principal of the Year for 2017 to be announced later this month.

Then on Friday, the school’s math teacher Sung Park, who also is math team coach, was named 2017 State Teacher of the Year, a title the Department of Education bestows upon its top educator.

It was heart-warming, indeed, to hear Harano praise Park on Friday: “He’s able to translate this idea that education means opportunity in your life. And the kids believe. He has a track record — we have kids in Yale, Harvard, MIT. All his former students, they come back and encourage the current students.”

Outlook for local UH sports fan is bright

For University of Hawaii sports fans following their teams on the road in California, it was an upside-down weekend.

Long Beach State, boasting its biggest crowd in 15 years, upset the 12th-ranked Rainbow Wahine women’s volleyball team in a five-set thriller Saturday. But in San Jose, the UH football team won its second conference game in a row, beating the Spartans 34-17. The Warriors are 2-0 in the Mountain West for the first time since it joined the conference.

While the results were mixed, the prognosis for local sports fans isn’t: Our two favorite teams are strong, competitive and worth checking out when they come home.