Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 10, 1 October 2014 — OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON OUR KEIKI [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON OUR KEIKI

The future of Hawai'i depends on how well we prepare our keiki for the challenges they will face in the future. Preparing them

depends on a strong 'ohana, dedicated eommunity and a strong education. That is why investing in early childhood education, and specifically preschool, is so important - more than 90 percent of a child's brain is formed by the time they are 5 years old. This understanding and commitment | bv our school and

the trust is why it is important that we look beyond our traditional boundaries for ways to expand preschool experiences for more keiki in our state - and why voting YES on ballot question No. 4 this coming general election is so important. Passing ballot question No. 4 will provide an option to our state to deliver preschool and early learning experiences to more of

our4-year-olds. This vote is mueh bigger than politics - it is about ensuring our keiki receive highquality preschool so they ean excel in kindergarten; it is about not waiting decades for services to

reach our middleclass families, it is about doing what is pono, now. Every year we wait to expand preschool to a child, is another future that is ehallenged. W o r k i n g together - to kōkua - to make preschool a reality to more keiki is a commitment we must make to our future. I hope you will ioin me

in furthering the legacy of learning by voting yes in the general election for ballot question No. 4. Learn more at www.yeson4hi.org - a campaign for preschool for our keiki. ■ Dee Jay Mai.Ier, former CEO of Kamehameha Schools, is a member of the Good Beginnings AHi.ance's Yes on 4 steering eommi.ttee.

QUESTI0N: "Shall the appropriation of puhlie funds be permitted for the support or benefit of private early childhood education programs that shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex or ancestry, as provided by law?'

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By Dee Jay Mailer