Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 8, 1 August 1998 — The roots and the wings [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The roots and the wings

fAR TOO many Native Hawaiian children are labeled "at risk." After decades in the schcx)ls, I know that this description is usually not based on the intelligence and talent these pōki'i are born with, but on their unfortunate circumstances. Often the "risk" is anchored in poverty, the instability of troubled or abusive families and chronic health conditions. Such problems ean lead to indifference, despair, even anger. The result ean be the inability to eope and insubordination in the classroom. The situation facing our "at risk"pōki'i has only worsened with the state's funding cutbacks and the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate trustees" decision to eliminate outreach programs. The efforts of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to offer intervention, then, are important because the need is so urgenL By funding signifīcant pilot projects, OHA is effectively maintaining the example of what ean be achieved when someone cares. Many of these programs are well-established - OHA's 'Aha

'Ōpio leadership training held in June; OHAfunded counseling at Castle High School, now in its third year; and OHA

scholarships toward university degrees. Among the most successful and perhaps least known of OHA's efforts is "Nā Pua No'eau," a program for tal- :| ented and gifted Hawaiians, initiated in Hilo and funded under the federal Native Hawaiian Education Act. With OHA's assistance, this program has expanded to Maui, O'ahu and Kaua'i. "Nā Pua" is sp>ecial because it assumes eaeh Hawaiian child is a gift and seeks to unwrap both known and potential talents. When our children are overlooked or allowed to

underachieve, our future eultural authorities, future doctors and future business leaders "slip through the cracks." Nā Pua No'eau is a nationally recognized

leader in minority education. By linking the past and the future, Nā Pua No'eau provides both "the roots and the wings" neces-

sary to aspiration and achievement among our pōki'i. Students gain academie strength and self-esteem from Hawaiian traditions of excellence, as they train for mastery of skills and service to others. The success of Nā Pua participants also depends on student and parent support services. Emphasizing the importance of 'ohana and the needs of the entire family, Nā Pua fosters mutual support and shared pride in education. These programs include a series of "Super Saturdays," half-day events

held throughout the year and open to students in kindergarten through grade nine. They take plaee on a campus of the University of Hawai'i and feature courses such as ehem-

istry, celestial navigation or anthropology. Both students and their families learn to feel comfortable within a university setting. Nā Pua's creative materials and methods are shared with selected elementary schools; students at Nā'ālehu, Pāhala, Pāhoa and Keonepoko on Hawai'i have already benefitted. For older students in grades six to 12, two-week summer institutes are offered at Hilo, Mānoa, Maui and Kaua'i community colleges. Course offerings range from astronomy and cartography taught on the decks of the voyaging eanoe Hōkūle'a, to script-writing and dance for a ministage production, to volcanology and seismology with overnight camping at Volcanoes National Park. All Hawaiian students are gifted with our eulture. OHA funds, combined with their teachers' dedication and their families' love, allow Nā Pua No'eau students to join oli and math, mo'olelo and science, haku mele and chemistry. The keys of our Hawaiian heritage open the doors of the future. Onee through those doors, with the roots and the wings of our tradition, our pōki'i will know success. ■

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TRUSTEE MESSAGES

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