Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 6, 1 June 2005 — Molokaʻi immersion graduates [ARTICLE]

Molokaʻi immersion graduates

On May 25, Moloka 'i High School graduated its first class of seven students taught through a Hawaiian language immersion-based curriculum. It marks the first time in over a hundred years that a puhlie school on Moloka'i has graduated students who have been taught through a Hawaiian medium. The Hawaiian immersion program at Moloka'i High School, called Hinaikamalama, was established in 1999. It is one of 18 such programs around the state serving about 1,694 students. In 1999, Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u on Hawai'i island and Ānuenue School in Pālolo graduated the state's first classes of immersion students. Moloka'i's immersion program teacher, Manuwai Peters, said: "This is our year to show the world that the Hawaiian language is alive, valid and cherished by Moloka'i's young people. Our community is intensely proud of these students for deciding to live their culture through perpetuation of the Hawaiian language."