They've graduated from Princeton and Harvard and Stanford and Yale, gone to private schools and award-winning magnet schools, been prepared for medical school and business school and, in some cases, already completed graduate degrees.

But this week the 55 young Teach For America teachers who are coming to Hawai'i for a two-year commitment to underperforming schools stood in a verdant lo'i in a remote corner of Wai'anae listening to Eric Enos talk about the roots of the Hawaiian culture and the children who have sprung from them.

The 55 learned to strip wauke bark to make kapa, ate laulau and taro and sweet potato, and sang in Hawaiian.

But they also heard about the dark side of Hawai'i. Earlier, Enos joined other members of the Wai'anae Coast community to discuss the challenges these young teachers face, including the ice epidemic that has devastated their community, the growing issue of homelessness along the coast and the breakdown of families and the role of fathers.

"Eric reminded us that if you go diving, a shark can sense your fear," said John Chock, a Punahou graduate who recently graduated from Stanford with a master's degree in biology before joining the Teach For America corps and coming back home.

"And he said children are a lot like sharks. They'll sense if you're nervous. So relax."

As the first group of Teach For America teachers finished up a week in Hawai'i on Saturday before leaving for Houston and five weeks of intensive teacher training in preparation for the fall, they brought with them energy, enthusiasm and high expectations. During a bus tour of Wai'anae, those hired by the high school raised a hearty cheer of "Go, Seariders" as they passed their new school.

Diane Robinson, TFA executive director for Hawai'i, said she has already had principals thank her for having Teach For America come to Hawai'i. Gerald Okamoto, assistant superintendent in charge of the Office of Human Resources for the DOE, said he has heard similar comments.

"The principals were excited about these kids," said Okamoto. "They said these young teachers are engaged, excited, intelligent, articulate and committed."

While two years spent as a teacher in schools in a rural and predominantly disadvantaged area could look good on a resume, that's not what's motivating this group.

"These kids can be earning three times the salary we're paying them," said Okamoto.

They're also expected — by contractual agreement — to move their students as much as one-and-a-half to two grades forward in the first year. Teach For America signed a contract with the DOE to that effect, and if some of the teachers have difficulty, it's the national TFA organization that's expected to provide the extra mentoring or other help needed.

Far from being intimidated, the new teachers relish the challenge.

"It's great to have a tangible, measurable set of metrics to judge your teaching skills, and a goal to work toward," said Ajith "A.J." Nagaraj, 23, who had to choose between starting a doctorate at Harvard Business School or this program.

He picked this program and hopes to be able to write grants and set up special programs for his school, perhaps through his Harvard network. He has a master's degree in higher-education leadership and has already started a couple of businesses.

"It's also great to be part of a larger social movement," he said, noting that he was surrounded by former Teach For America corps members in his Harvard master's program.

Already he's thinking about creating much more awareness of technology at his school, including creating a wireless network. If there aren't enough computers or laptops, he figures he'll write a grant proposal to get them.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kate Carcaterra, a 24-year-old New York native who has worked on the TV show "Law and Order" as well as on several movies, is excited about heading the drama department at 'Aiea Intermediate, where she'll also teach English.

"We just feel so welcomed by Hawai'i and the people here and can't wait to get started and get teaching and become a part of this community," she said.

"I could see myself staying here beyond the two years," said Carcaterra, who has also worked with the renowned Storefront School in Harlem. "Knowing you made an impact on a person's life, it's the most rewarding experience."

Midway through the week, 40 corps members had already been hired at Wai'anae and 'Ewa Beach schools, and by Friday the remainder were in interviews with other principals.

Wai'anae High alone hired eight — four of them who are strong in the sciences — said vice principal Ryan Oshita.

"They were real eager and excited to explore teaching as a profession," said Oshita, who gave offer letters on the spot. "The four we had lunch with said they had a car and wanted to drive out and go visit the coast and see the schools. They were so eager I had to draw them a map on the back of a napkin."

Oshita said the difficulties his school often faces is seeing teachers come from the Mainland, stay two or three years and then leave, either because they miss life on the Mainland or haven't passed the mandatory licensing exam in the required time period.

"I told them that we spend a lot of money on training, and professional development in terms of our school reform and getting them on board, and when we invest all that time and money and then they leave, we go back to square one again," said Oshita.

"So ideally we'd want them to stay until they retire."

But even without a long-term commitment, Oshita said the enthusiasm he felt from these young people is going to make a difference.

"They just seemed so eager to go into teaching and it's like their calling."

Superintendent Pat Hamamoto also made a pitch to keep the new teachers in Hawai'i longer, telling them there would be places for them to move up the ladder in education in the state if they chose that.

"She said it's our hope to establish a long-term relationship where they move within the teaching ranks but also into administration," said Okamoto.

While the Teach For America program has been criticized for the participants' lack of teaching credentials at the beginning, and for its stop-gap approach to the nationwide teacher shortage, participants counter that the program retains as many as 60 percent of its alumni in the field of education and shows significant gains among its students.

Several studies have shown that students served by these young teachers make bigger strides than those served by other groups of young teachers as well as all teachers.

"The mission is to create educational leaders, not necessarily lifelong teachers," said Chock. "Some of us go on to be lawyers or doctors or go into industry and you take the insight you learned wherever you go after this."

For Moloka'i's Loni Yonemura, who was still writing final exams this week at the University of Oregon before she joins her corps group in Houston today, just the challenge of preparing each of the students for the next step in their lives is what has brought her to Teach For America.

"I just want to be able to prepare them for the next challenge they're going to face in their lives," she said. "Whether it's the next grade in school or after school or whether they're going on to college or to get a job. I just want to help get them ready for their next step. When I had to choose between grad school and giving back to the community, this was my priority."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.