Rita Calvan
English Language Arts Teacher

One of the members of SEEQS's Founding Faculty, Rita Calvan has been teaching middle school students in Hawai‘i for 25 years. She is passionate about providing rigorous learning opportunities for middle school students. Rita was one of the founding teachers of Mililani Middle School, working with the staff to steer the curriculum, structure and culture of the school. Rita then moved (back) to the island of Hawai‘i to begin a ten year journey at West Hawaii Explorations Academy (WHEA PCS), a public charter school in the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. At WHEA, she developed a middle school program to match the successful project-based high school program, using the expertise of her master's degree in middle level education. During her ten year stint as the Lead Middle School Teacher at WHEA, she was responsible for steering the curriculum, developing structures that support middle school students, and providing professional development for the middle school staff.

"I work at SEEQS because I love middle school students and the flexibility that comes with working at a charter school. I love working at a school that gives teachers and students opportunities to build relationships through other experiences besides strictly academic work."​