Kudos to two teacher-training programs at Leeward Community College, which just won accreditation from the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation, a gold-standard of sorts for such credentialing. The seven-year accreditation puts the LCC certificates on the same elite status as major teacher-prep institutes such as Columbia University and New York University.

The accreditations are for LCC’s Alternative Certification for Career and Technical Education, to teach in fields from culinary arts to auto shop; and for the Advanced Professional Certificate in Special Education. In the latter program, about one-third of candidates has been Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander male, which helps to boost teacher-student cultural connections.

Hawaii represents at the Olympics

When the Olympics get underway next month in Tokyo, Hawaii’s athletes will be well represented. In the lineup for surfing: John John Florence and Carissa Moore, both holding world champ titles.

Also, three members of the U.S. men’s volleyball team, selected this week, are Hawaii high school alums — Micah Christenson (Kamehameha) and Kawika Shoji (‘Iolani) and Erik Shoji (Punahou). For all three, this will be the second Olympic games, after competing in the 2016 Rio event where Team USA took home the bronze. Surfing, meanwhile, is making its Olympic debut — nearly one century after surfing icon Duke Kahanamoku became a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming events.