Changing of the Guard

Sharon Beck and Tiffany Pratt

KHPES principal retired, new hire has taken the reigns

By Drew Foster and Katherine Ramirez-Martinez (KHPES Junior)

After 20 years at the helm of Kaʻū High and Pāhala Elementary School (KHPES), Sharon Beck retired in June, but the longtime principal isn’t disappearing from local classrooms.

Beck envisions her next act in education as a volunteer at Nāʻālehu Elementary School, possibly teaching reading or assisting students who need extra help.

“I am so excited to be part of the community as a hands-on helper,” Beck said. “I want to figure out a way to give back to the schools.”

Taking Beck’s place in Pāhala is Tiffany Pratt, most recently principal-in-residence at the state’s New Principal Academy. Previously, she served as principal of Kaūmana Elementary School in Hilo for over three years, and as vice principal of Pāhoa High and Intermediate School. Pratt grew up on Oʻahu. She graduated from Castle High School and attended Windward Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s in special education.

“I’m a proud lifer of the Hawaiʻi Department of Education and our education system here,” Pratt said.

Reflecting on two decades leading Kaʻū High and Pāhala Elementary, Beck said she has watched scores of students grow from kindergarteners to seniors, with several returning to the school professionally as teachers and administrators.

“It wasn’t a career,” Beck said, “it was a family to me.”

New Principal Mrs. Tiffany Pratt

Originally from Alaska, Beck graduated from Northern Arizona University and began teaching special education at Kaʻū High in 1992. While earning her master’s degree in Hilo, she worked as a resource teacher across the island—from Hoʻokena to Kohala, and later from Kaʻū to Pāhoa. In 2003, she became vice principal of Nāʻālehu Elementary, and three years later was hired to lead Kaʻū High and Pāhala Elementary.

“What made it special was that I was a teacher there first,” Beck said.

Pratt shares a similar sentiment.

“I’m very hands-on,” Pratt said. “My gift is student-centric, student-focused. I make it a point to really pause and get to know students. I’m a teacher at heart. I love being in the classroom.”

Pratt was nominated for the 2024 Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award, a distinction Beck won in 2023. Beck also earned honors from the Hawaiʻi branch of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and represented the state nationally.

Since her first day on June 2, Pratt’s goals have included bringing professional development to Kaʻū so educators don’t have to travel off-island for training. She aims to advance the school’s use of the Hawaiʻi Multi-Tiered System of Supports for early student interventions and to focus on fidelity checks to support classroom teaching strategies.

Pratt also hopes to address an Ocean View student busing issue caused by a driver shortage last school year. She said the state DOE and school bus service Ground Transport Inc. (GTI) are working to hire more drivers, and she encourages anyone interested to reach out to GTI for driver training.