Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 1990 — Punana Leo seeks input from community [ARTICLE]

Punana Leo seeks input from community

Ke ola nei ka 'olelo Hawai'i na kamali'i o na Punana leo. (The Hawaiian language lives in the children of Punana Leo) Punana Leo is considering the addition of new sites to its Hawaiian language immersion program for children ages 3 to 5. To best serve the needs of the community, Punana Leo staff wants information from the publie as to where these schools could be located to best serve the children. Carlos Andrade, director of Hale Kako'o Punana Leo, prepared the following information based on the most-asked questions about the Hawaiian language immersion program offered for pre-school children by Punana Leo. What is Punana Leo? Punana Leo is a preschool system in whieh children participate in preschool educational activities and Hawaiian is the only language spoken by teachers and staff with the students. Within a very short time the children ean communicate in Hawaiian and after several months they ean understand and converse fluently in Hawaiian. Who is Punana Leo? Punana Leo is an organization comprised of children, parents, teachers, aides and supportive people from all over Hawai'i. It is financed by tuition paid by parents, fundraising projects, and contributions from people interested in supporting the revival of the Hawaiian language. Why is Punana Leo? Punana Leo was founded on the belief (supported by research data) that the best time to learn a language is at a very young age; that without our youth learning our language it would pass into extinction with the passing of our kupuna and would spell the death blow to our culture; that immersing children in the language would be the best and most efficient way for them to leam our native Hawaiian language (also substantiated by internat-

ional research). Where is Punana Leo? At the present time, the Punana Leo preschool system has sites in Hilo on Hawai'i, Paia on Maui, Kalihi on O'ahu and Puhi on Kaua'i. Punana Leo is now in the process of identifying communities that would like to support a Punana Leo preschool. What about English? Although the Punana Leo students are taught entirely in Hawaiian, they are fluent in English as well as Hawaiian. Who ean be part of the Punana Leo movement? Although the students accepted are from 3-through-5-year-olds, Punana Leo is initiating programs for expectant mothers with younger children. However, there are also ways for people without children of preschool age to help and be a part of this movement to revitalize our native Hawaiian language. Will there be more Punana Leo schooI sites available and where will they be? Punana Leo schools ean be started in any eommunity that has a site, enough parental support, community commitment and enough pupils. Where do the children go after Punana Leo? Nearly all of the graduates of Punana Leo have gone on to Hawaiian language immersion classes at one of the four DOE (public school) sites currently in operation on the four major islands. Hawaiian immersion programs are at the elementary school sites of Keaukaha, Hilo, Hawai'i and Waiau, O'ahu; these two programs have been in plaee since 1987, and have classes from K-3 (K-4 in 1990). This year at Kapa'a, Kauai and Pa'ia, Maui, kindergarten classes were started. The DOE is currently projecting a total of seven schools whieh will have such Hawaiian language programs in plaee within the next 10 years, with the program running from kindergarten through sixth grade (K-6) at eaeh of the sites.