Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2013 — OHA's Ad Hoc Committee on Hawaiian Longuage Immersion Education [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA's Ad Hoc Committee on Hawaiian Longuage Immersion Education

Aloha from Kaua'i and Ni'ihau! M a h a 1 o this month to Trustee Carmen Hulu Lindsey, our Maui tmstee, for kicking off the Board of Trustees' Neighbor Island Community and BOT meetings back in May. This is the opportunity that we trustees have to visit with our beneficiaries throughout Hawai'i

nei so they ean share issues that they think need our attention. We also had time for two informative site visits: a short stop at Pae Loko and then a brisk hike to the Swinging Bridges in Waihe'e. She even squeezed in a community meeting to discuss the future of Palauea, the cover story in last month's Ka Wai Ola. And her legendary Hawaiian food spread was amazing: beef stew, kālua pig, squidlū'au - so 'ono! Hulu has definitely set a high bar for the other island trustees this year. While we were on Maui, many of our beneficiaries pointed out the problems with the admission lottery at Pā'ia Elementary School's Hawaiian Immersion Program. This is an issue OHA has been monitoring for several years. So I - along with Trustee Bob Lindsey of Hawai'i Island and Sterling Wong, OHA's Public Policy Manager - was appointed by Chair Colette Machado and confirmed by the Board of Trustees to the Ad Hoe Committee on Hawaiian Language Immersion Education. Our basic goal is to find ways to support and sustain Hawaiian immersion efforts in Hawai'i's schools. The Ad Hoe Committee on Hawaiian Language Immersion Education will report to the Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis, through September 2014, when the Ad Hoe Committee is scheduled to complete our work. The committee's purview includes: • Ensuring the fundamental right of a child in Hawai'i to a Hawai-

ian language immersion education because the Hawaiian language is one of two official languages of the state. • Advocating for the development of laws, administrative rules and policies to better support and resource the Hawaiian language immersion program to ensure the program thrives. • Consulting with the appropriate and neces-

sary individuals and organizations, especially the Hawaiian language community and support program including, but not limited to: 'Aha Kauleo, 'Aha Pūnana Leo, UH-Mānoa, UH-Hilo and Kamehameha Schools. • Researching legal/administrative actions that ean be supported by OHA to ensure access to Hawaiian language immersion education for all children. • Recommending policies and a plan for BOT consideration and approval to ensure the foregoing. As a longtime educator, I am honored to serve as chair of the Ad Hoe Committee and look forward to working with Trustee Lindsey and Sterling to tackle this important issue. With the support and involvement of the Hawaiian and Hawaiian immersion communities, we ean continue efforts to E Ola Mau Ka 'Ōlelo Hawai'i! Finally, I want to send a shout-out to a group from Kaua'i's Kanuikapono Charter School (kanuikapono. org) from Anahola. These dozen people - 10 sixth graders and their two chaperones - eame to OHA's Honolulu office on a visit to O'ahu. I really enjoyed having them visit - and a ehanee to resume my educator role as I taught them about OHA, our mission, our work, our assets and the great needs of our Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Although if you ask them, I think they would say they enjoyed our little pū-blow-ing competition the most. Mahalo nui loa! ■

Dan Ahuna

TrustEE, Kaua'i aud Ni'ihau