Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 2008 — MUSIC FOR EDUCATION [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MUSIC FOR EDUCATION

Tenth Ho'omau to benefit all O'ahu Hawaiian-language immersion schools

By Sterling Wūng Benefit concerts have been critical to the survival of Hawaiian iniinersion

schools since the beginning of the movement to save Hawai'i's native language from near extinction. When the movement was in its fledgling stages some 20 years ago, nearly every immersion school throughout the state organized its own benefit eoncert. But the problem with this was that the schools on O'ahu ended up competing with eaeh other for the same Hawaiian musicians and went through the same work of putting on virtually the same event, with many of the concerts sharing the same name, Ho'omau, whieh means to persevere. In 1998, all the schools on O'ahu finally decided to pool their resources together to create ' Aha Mele o Ho 'omau, a nonprofit group dedicated to organizing a single Ho'omau concert, held at WaikM Shell, to benefit the entire Hawaiian language immersion movement on O'ahu. On Feb. 17, Ho'omau will celebrate its 10th concert, with the 2008 event benefiting all of 0'ahu's 11 immersion schools, whieh eomhine to serve nearly 1,000 students from preschool to high school.

Language nearly lost

While the state's 1978 Constitutional Convention established Hawaiian as one of Hawai'i's two official languages, by the early 1980s, many feared the language would be lost forever. The number of native speakers was quickly dwindling, and few keiki under the age of 18 were fluent in the language. A small group of educators intervened and created an

immersion program, called 'Aha Pūnana Leo, in whieh young ehildren were taught completely in Hawaiian, with no English. There were many challenges along the

way, most notably having to repeal an 1896 law prohibiting Hawaiian from being spoken in schools. Despite the setbacks and funding shortages, however, the Hawaiian language education movement on O'ahu has made great strides in the last 20 years. The first Hawaiian immersion school on O'ahu, Pūnana Leo o Honolulu Preschool, opened its

doors in 1985, and this year's Class of 2008 will mark the 10th high school graduating class. A lot has changed since the days when eaeh school held its own concert. "We used to all book the top bands in Hawaiian music," says 'Aha Mele o Ho'omau president Kau'i Keola, who has been an immersion school parent since 1987. "So in one year, there could be four concerts, and Mākaha Sons would be headlining eaeh one. Then we would hit up the same people to buy tickets for eaeh concert. And back then the

Hawaiian language coimnunity was a lot smaller than today." Back then, there was also mueh more of a sense of urgency. At the time, parents were expected to raise money to pay for basic school infrastructure, like teacher salaries. "It was all about survival," Keola says. "They'd tell us we needed 'X' amount of dollars by the end of the month or

our school would close. So we'd throw together a bake sale or sell Portuguese sausage. There was no burn out back then. If you burned out, your school burned out." Continuing funding shortages While school administrators have heeome savvier about obtaining grants and other finaneial assistance to cover basic school infrastructure, grassroots fundraising is still as important to the Hawaiian iimnersion movement as ever. The difficult part about immer-

sion schools is that they are inherently at a disadvantage from conventional schools in terms of funding. Because a Hawaiian iimnersion school's entire curriculum is taught in Hawaiian, teachers cannot just piek up a nonnal school catalog and purchase textbooks. hnmersion schoolbooks need to be translated or developed. Oftentimes, the schools or parent groups also need to pay for teacher positions or professional development courses for school staff. That's where Ho'omau comes into play, filling in the funding gaps. This year's concert will feature the

Hilo-based Hawaiian rap group Sudden Rush, Nā Hōkū Hanohano award winners Maunalua, Pilioha, Hema Pa'a and 'Ike Pono, as well as perfonnances from Hawaiian innnersion school keiki. Ho'omau 2008 will also serve as the launeh for the new Hawaiian language website of go! Hawai'i's Low Fare Airhne, the presenting sponsor of this year's concert. Other sponsors for the event include Kau Inoa, and Royal Hawaiian Center/ Kamehameha Schools. For more information on Ho'omau, visit hoomau.org. Editor's note: Sterling Wong is aformer publications editor of Ka Wai Ola o OHA and is currently volunteering on Ho'omau. His oldest daughter attends Pūnana Leo o Kawaiaha'o Preschool. I

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HANANA • EVENTS

Students of Pūnana Leo o Kawaiha'speakinogoto will not only benefit from this month's Ho'omau concert — they'll peiform too. - Photos: Sterling Wong