Envisioning Endless Possibilities

Midge Jambor, K-8 Principal

“Hi, Ms. Jambor!”

"Are you coming to lunch, Ms. Jambor?”

Members of HPA’s class of 2023 greet Midge Jambor as they file past her on their way to the dining hall. Their faces light up when they see their new school principal sitting outside on the lanai. She is beaming right back at them.

After almost two decades, Midge Jambor is home. The veteran educator and administrator taught English, history, and Spanish at the Village Campus from 1979 to 1993, when she moved to Saratoga, California for a middle school teaching position at St. Andrew’s School. Two years later, she was tapped for an administrative position at St. Andrew’s and decided to make the transition out of the classroom and look more broadly at how education can be designed.

Her decision was driven by the opportunity to “drive the passion that is in my midst.”

Already armed with a master’s degree in English and Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Oregon, Jambor obtained a second master’s degree in Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University while teaching full-time.

“It was a fabulous experience,” she said. “Really a highlight of my career.”

Jambor served as assistant head of school and directed the K-8 program at St. Andrew’s for three years before accepting a principalship at Fammatre Charter Elementary School in San Jose, a K-5 public school with 500 students. Among her many accomplishments there, Jambor designed and monitored a standards-based educational program. In 2008, she received the California Distinguished School Award.

But Hawai‘i continued to beckon this local girl home.

“Even when I left, it was with the idea that I would return,” she said. “Little did I know that it would take so long!”

Jambor occasionally checked the HPA website to see what was going on back home. After several months had gone by, Jambor checked in one day. A position was open.

“The deadline was in about seven days,” she said laughing. “I decided to apply and I was honored to get the job.”

Jambor clearly is enjoying being home at the Village Campus.

“It’s fun when former students come up to me with their kids at HPA and share their memories of being in my class,” she said. “I think, ‘Wow, that’s why I went into teaching.’ That’s what happened to me to make me go into education…somebody made a difference.”

Growing up, Jambor was no stranger to a life in education. Her father was a graduate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Hawai‘i—Manoa and “there were education people around us all the time.” Her mother also was extremely active in her children’s education, volunteering at their schools. Jambor attended Aina Haina Elementary School, Niu Valley Intermediate, and graduated from Kalani High School on O‘ahu.

“My parents really valued education and I think that made a huge difference in my life,” she said. “I also had some fabulous teachers. Just watching them in action working their magic with my friends and me and really embracing learning—that was inspiring.”

Jambor and two of her three siblings have devoted their lives to education—her older sister is a principal in Seattle and her younger sister is an administrator in early childhood education.

“We really all tucked ourselves into the educational world quite happily,” she said.

Jambor appreciates the legacy of education.

“It’s humbling,” she said. “There’s always a legacy at a school because education is generational and the more solid and amazing a school is, the bigger the legacy…at HPA, the sense of belonging is so strong.”

Although this is Jambor’s first year back at the Village Campus in nearly two decades, there is much that is familiar to her.

“I know a lot of people, which is delightful, for example, Hope Soo, who taught both of my children in kindergarten and remembers them!” she said. “People tend to stay here, but new people also come in and they are embraced for their ideas and energy and excitement about what they can offer. I think this speaks highly of what HPA is about—a nice blend of old and new.”

Program-wise, Jambor is pleased to see Theme Week, electives, and the advisory programs continuing to thrive.

As for things new, Jambor is impressed by the current programs and said the addition of a counselor is “a super asset.” She describes technology at the school as “phenomenal.”

“It’s fabulous to have two tech labs, SmartBoards, and the teachers really engaged in using that technology to drive creative instructional practices,” she said.

The growth of the performing arts also is impressive.

“Georgia [Poláková] and Barbara [Kopra] have really grown a program that the kids love,” she said. “The children are so confident as musicians and performers.”

Jambor’s short-term goal to is to “really get to know the rhythm of the school.”

“I enjoy being in classes,” she explained. “I really try to get into as many classes as I can, as often as I can. That’s where I think I’m best suited—to be in classrooms; to see what’s working so I can better support our teachers, our students, and their needs.”

One of her long-term goals is to work collaboratively with teachers to ensure that the academic program is extensive and cohesive, i.e., skills learned in each grade build and continue seamlessly with skills learned in the next.

“The school is on a good track,” she said. “The teachers are so passionate and caring about the children they come in contact with—whether they are in their class or not. The energy and creative drive that move the program forward are, I think, amazing.

“There also is a phenomenal effort to incorporate the community in the program—a community collegiality—whether it’s participating in a coastal cleanup, volunteering at the Ironman, or working with our friends at Small World Preschool. We are visible as stewards in our community; we’re teaching our kids that we’re bigger than just the Village Campus.

“That’s one advantage of an independent school—having the flexibility to make more spontaneous decisions about things. We can look at something and see it as an opportunity; if we really feel it is something of value, then we can jump on it.

“The possibilities are endless here.”

Published: MKK Winter 2010-11