Jim Shon


James T. Shon, Ph.D
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives
from the 24th district
28th (1984–1992)
In office
1984–1996
Preceded byReynaldo Graulty
Succeeded bySam Aiona
Personal details
BornSyracuse, NY
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceHonolulu, Hawaii
Alma materSyracuse University
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa


Jim Shon is a writer, former school administrator, former state representative,[1] and activist in Hawaii.[2] He served in the state house as a Democrat first elected in 1984.[3] He lost his seat in the 1996 election.

He was born in Syracuse, New York[4] and graduated from Jamesville-DeWitt High School and Syracuse University with a degree in music education.[5] Before moving to Hawaii, he served in Korea with the Peace Corps, teaching English as a second language on Jeju Island.[4][5] In 1973, Shon enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as a graduate student in Korean history.[5]

Shon has written several novels.[4] He is also writes newspaper columns[6] and wrote a book about overseeing the establishment of Hawaii's Charter School system.

Shon led Hawaii's nascent Charter Schools program until he was fired from the post in 2006.[7][8] He served as director of the Hawaii Education Policy Center.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Did Unions' Lack of Support Spell Trouble for School Superintendent?". Honolulu Civil Beat. March 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Jim Shon | HuffPost". www.huffpost.com.
  3. ^ "Shon looks to Education". The Honolulu Advertiser. 26 December 1984. p. 3. Retrieved 28 May 2022.Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c "Interview with Jim Shon". October 15, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Interview with Jim Shon". Author Voices. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  6. ^ "Pardon Our Interruption". muckrack.com.
  7. ^ "Charter School Director Reacts To Firing". hawaiinewsnow.com. 10 September 2006.
  8. ^ "starbulletin.com | News | /2006/09/12/". archives.starbulletin.com.