Maui Principals Steve Franz (left) of King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Lahaina and Bruce Anderson of Maui High School in Kahului are two of the 13 principals nominated for the award this year.

LAHAINA – Principals Steve Franz of King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Lahaina and Bruce Anderson of Maui High School in Kahului were named finalists in the Island Insurance Foundation 2015 Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award.

One Hawaii public school principal will receive $25,000 – a $10,000 personal cash award and $15,000 toward a school project of his or her choice.

The recipient of this year’s award will be announced at the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation dinner on April 30 in Honolulu.

The award, which is named after Island Insurance founder Masayuki Tokioka, is underwritten by the Island Insurance Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Island Insurance Companies.

Thirteen public school principals from across the state are finalists for the award that recognizes outstanding school principals across the state and their efforts to provide high-quality learning opportunities for their students.

Franz has been an educator at King Kamehameha III Elementary School for 19 years, with six years as principal of the school.

He believes it is important to share in the ownership of a student’s success with his or her teachers. Upon becoming principal, Franz hired a curriculum coordinator to focus on curriculum improvements and instructional practices, and expanded the school’s teaching staff to include art, music, physical education and drama teachers.

He then developed an Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) comprised of a teacher representative from each grade level and department.

These practices have greatly impacted students’ success, the Island Insurance Foundation noted, and given Franz and his teachers the time to collaborate, share in the responsibility of creating academic plans and discuss new initiatives.

Anderson has been an educator for nearly 35 years. As principal of Maui High School for the past three years, his focus has been to give students the support and opportunities to attain their college and career readiness goals.

This was accomplished through the development of various support systems that include after school tutoring, extensive credit recovery programs (both during and after school) and a summer bridge program for freshmen students to address the transition to high school.