Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 1995 — Hawaiian immersion intermediate school opens [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian immersion intermediate school opens

'For the sake of the lanauaae'

by Jeff Clark This is Hawai'i. ... Hawaiian should be spoken here. The state Department of Education (DOE) continues to support that ideal, and, along with 'Aha Pūnana Leo, has made another step toward fulfilling it by establishing the state's first Hawaiian-only public school. 'Aha Pūnana Leo rents the space and the DOE provides the teachers. Now that the 'Aha is purchasing - with the help of OHA (see story page 1) - Henry 'Opukaha'ia School in Puna, the program will eventually move to that location. For the past few years the state has offered Hawaiian Ianguage immersion programs - Kula Kaiapuni - within regular Englishspeaking elementary schools. Mueh has been written about the success of these linguistic oases, but other than the private Pūnana Leo preschools, Hawaiian language immersion students haven't had a school of their own.

Until last September. That's when the first classes were held at Ke Kula 'o Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u, an intermediate school where the business of the day is conducted entirely in Hawaiian. Named after the late teacher, writer, legislator and Hawaiian newspaper publisher Iosepa Kaho'oluhi Nāwahlokalani'ōpu'u, the school is located on the third floor of an office building in central downtown Hilo.

The DOE's Pat Bergin, district superintendent, is quick to insist that Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u is technically not a school, but rather a "satellite project." Call it what you will, it fits Webster's definition of the word "school" as "an institution for teaching and learning."

Forty students in grades 6-8 attend Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u. Teachers are: Lehua Veincent (homeroom, science, language arts, art, physical education), Kauanoe Kamanā (homeroom, social studies, language arts, art, physical education), Alohalani Housman (homeroom, mathematics), and Māhealani Jones (heahh, basic practical arts). Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u falls under the admin-

istration of Hilo Intermediate. "I think they're doing a terrific job, and they work very hard on curriculum," Principal Shirley Kitamura said of the cadre of teachers. "My only fear is that they '11 burn out. Sometimes I go by and they're still there at 8:30 at night." Parents are active, too. "The parents are very committed and give of their time and effort - they and the teachers are really partners," Kitamura said. Right behind the teachers is 'Aha Pūnana Leo, whieh rents the school's space in the Hilo Plaza Building. "The DOE supplies the basics, but it's not enough," Kitamura said. Bergin said the district had urged the program's participants to locate at Hilo Intermediate, in whieh case Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u would have been classified as a "school within a school." "We had space for them at Hilo Intermediate, but they had wanted a separate facility," she said. "'Aha Pūnana Leo provides the space, and the DOE provides staffing, equipment and everything else. It's kind of a partnership." Taking time in between classes one recent school day, Veincent explained that the teachers, parents and students wanted to have a separate facility because when immersion students have frequent contact with students outside the program, "there's a tendency to jump into the English." They wanted to be on their own, he said, "for the sake of the language."

"'Aha Pūnana Leo provides the space, and the DOE provides staffing, equipment and everything else. It's kind of a partnership." - Hilo lntermediate Principal Shirley Kitamura