Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 1997 — Pūnana Leo families pioneers of Kaiapuni Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pūnana Leo families pioneers of Kaiapuni Hawaiʻi

By Eric Kapono Alaka'i Ho'omohala, Hale Kōko'o Kaiapuni Hawai'i the result of Pūnana Leo families When the first classes graduat-

ed in 1986 from Pūnana Leo preschools in Hilo and Honolulu, the children were prepared to enter kindergarten in Hawai'i's public schools. However, 90 years after the ban on Hawaiian medium

education, Pūnana Leo families encountered the DOE's refusal to provide Hawaiian lan- I guage immersion programs similar to the Pūnana Leo. The fight for Hawaiian immersion was taken to the State Legislature, and those involved with reversing the ban on Hawaiian medium education found an ally in the Senate. "I remember in 1986 that Larry Kimura, Pila Wilson and Kauanoe Kamanā eame to visit...concerned that the Pūnana Leo children would have no plaee to go," says Charles Toguchi, now Chief of Staff for Governor Cayetano but who earlier served as Chair of the Senate Committee on Education. "I always believed that when you talk about retaining or perpetuating the culture, Ianguage is key, and you need to start early on with the kids. I am very pleased with what the Pūnana Leo has done and how far it has eome," he says. The Kaiapuni Hawai'i, whieh is the DOE Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, began under Toguchi who, as DOE superintendent in 1 987, allocated funds to initiate the one-year pilo

program at waiau tnementary on u anu ana Keaukaha Elementary in Hilo. The Kaiapuni HawaPi has since grown to a K-12 program at 13 sites on five islands with more than 1,100 students enrolled, many of whom are Pūnana Leo graduates. Keiki Kawai'ae'a. a Pūnana Leo o Honolulu Dar-

ent involved with the pilot program at Waiau, says, "Before Waiau, my daughter was treated as a foreign student at Kapālama Elementary because she was stronger in Hawaiian than in English, and they wanted us to stop speaking Hawaiian at home. Some at the school said she had learning difficulties because of her strength in Hawaiian, but when I evaluated her test results, I saw she was strong in her thinking and conceptualization skills. It's just that the mentality was that only English could be the medium of successful education." Today Kawai'ae'a serves as the Director of Curriculum Development and Teacher Training at the UH-Hilo Hale Kuamo'o Hawaiian Language Center. The center serves the needs of the Kaiapuni Hawai'i and wider eommimity-

Pūnana Leo Outreach to the Kaiapuni Hawai'i Parents of the first Pūnana Leo o Kona preschool graduates lobbied the Legislature and DOE for two years to secure classrooms and teachers for their keiki. They had the support of hundreds in their community. After talks with the principals of Hōlualoa, Hōnaunau and Kealakehe Elementary schools, the parents conducted kindergarten and first grade at the Pūnana Leo site. Since 1987, Punana Leo outreach has expanded to include a 5-year consor-

ium agreement with the Jniversity of Hawai'i, hrough the Hale Kuamo'o. rhe Hale Kuamo'o was ;stablished in 1989 as the primary state office responsible for support of Hawaiian as a first language of communication and its main focus is development of curriculum and teacher training for the Kaiapuni Hawai'i. Last year the Pūnana Leo assisted the Hale Kuamo'o in more than 38 eunieulum projects (for more than 15,400 pieces) and assisted in teacher training for more than 75 teachers. The Pūnana Leo supports Kula Ni'ihau o Kekaha, a Hawaiianmedium program * Cl II__ C 1-1 X T" /'l

gedrea J5ptcincauy rur tne i\ji īnau community on Kaua'i with curriculum materials and teacher hires. In addition, the Pūnana Leo has eontributed to bus transportation for Kaiapuni Hawai'i students on O'ahu, where families often reside great

distances from school sites. Ke Kula 'o Nāwahlokalani'opu'u Pūnana Leo outreach to the Kaiapuni Hawai'i includes the 1995 purchase of Ke Kula 'o Nāwahlokalani'opu'u on the Big Island, with finaneial assistance from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Formerly known as the Henry 'Opukaha'ia School, Nāwahi is located 10 minutes south of Hilo in Kea'au. Nāwahī and Ke Kula 'o Anuenue on O'ahu are the only two immersion schools that are not incorporated into an English language school. The Pūnana Leo contributed to a student exchange between HawaPi and New Zealand to experience the similarities and differences between Hawaiian and Maori language immersion, last month. The Pūnana Leo acts on many issues and interacts on many levels, but the underlying goal remains the same: survival of Hawaiian language. For more information on Pūnana Leo activities and how one ean help, contact the Hale Kāko'o Pūnana Leo Support Center at 1744 Kino'ole Street, Hilo, HI 96720, or,,phone (808)959-4979. In the next article, we will examine the role Pūnana Leo plays in ensuring a vital Hawaiian language in the next millennium and beyond. E ola ka 'ōlelo HawaPi.

Ke ala nu'ukia o ka Pūnana Leo ka 'i'ini eho^kimu' U° mai loko mai « kūlana mana o ka 'ōlelo HawaT7 ° n ei ke Hawai'i Iike 'ole. 'O n^ 'oh^ ' T k.aiapuni 'ŌIeI° Puni, a ma ke aloha akua i anake °laoia mau kaiaaloha 'āina a ^ ^ ,āhuialoha na auao e pono ai kākou.

Pūnana Leo o Hilo preschoolers at Ke Kula o Nōwahiokalani'opu'u, with t student guides.

Nō Maka o Ka^but?d Kaiapuni with the Pūnana Leo. ■