Waiakea High School teacher Shari Kojima was named the state Department of Education 2006 State Teacher of the Year last week.

Kojima thanked her family; the staff of Waiakea in Hilo; the business community; and especially her students.

Kojima and the other six district teachers of the year assembled at Radford High School on O'ahu for a recognition ceremony before the Board of Education that included a cultural presentation by the Polynesian Cultural Center, a proclamation from Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona and the distribution of prizes including new cars that the seven teachers will get to drive for one year.

Kojima became a teacher in 1991, teaching business education at Hilo High School and Laupahoehoe High School before moving to Waiakea, her alma mater.

Kojima received national recognition from the federal government's Making It Happen program for a partnership with Meadow Gold that led to the first school milk and juice vending machine. The class store sells nutritious selections such as cereal cups, breakfast bars and lower-fat and -calorie frozen meals. Students market the food through school media, as well as television and radio.

Hilo, Hawai'i

Population: 40,759

Median age: 38.6

Children: 10,519

65 and older: 6,823

Total households: 16,026

Married-couple households: 7,498

Average number of people per household: 2.70

Average family size: 3.19

Homeownership rate: 91%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau