Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 3, 1 Malaki 2018 — Kaua'i keiki benefit from teacher's leap of faith [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kaua'i keiki benefit from teacher's leap of faith

EDUCATION

By TreenaShapiro Hāloalaunuiakea Early Learning Center preschoolers get early exposure to Native Hawaiian culture while getting mākaukau for kindergarten, says the school's director U'ilani Corr-Yorkman.

The preschool in Ele'ele, Kaua'i, serves 45 keiki from as young as 2 years, 8 months to 5-years-old, making sure they have all the skills needed for kindergarten - physically and mentally. "We want to mālama their

social and their emohonal side before we start getting them ready for academics," Corr-Yorkman explains. "We make sure we are raising a whole child and not just portions of a child." The school's curriculum is aligned with the Hawai'i Early Leaming Development Standards, and students are grouped by ability, rather than age, "We want to make sure they're leaming at the exactpace they need to be learning," explains CorrYorkman. "We challenge them when they need to be challenged, we nourish them, and we hold them back a little bit longer when they need to be." Working with kids and families ean be tiring, Corr-Yorkman admits, but Hāloalaunuiakea's students make it worth it. "I ean nin my business and just be super grateful by seeing them grow and see the things that they've learned, see the simple behavior changes and the academic changes," she says. She also gets by with help from 'ohana and very supportive teachers: "It's a very interactive job but when you see the children grow - you see the 'aha!' moments they have - it makes everything totally worth it." Corr-Yorkman knew she wanted to go into early childhood education when she was still a student at Kamehameha Schools. Kaua'i didn't offer degrees in early childhood development

though, so as a young mother eager to join the workforce, she earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education instead. "I was working for the State of Hawai'i, whieh was an awesome and rewarding job, it was stable and provided for my family, my 'ohana," she describes.

But after eight years of teaching in the state's public school system, she discovered her passion was still with the pre-kindergarten keiki. She wanted to open her own preschool and run a business according to her own rules. "I get to teach how I want to teach and run my program how I want to run my program. If I don't like something, I ean change it. If I like something, I ean keep it and run with it and grow on it," she points out. Kaua'i's commercial real estate market is

limited, says Corr-Yorkman, but fortunately her stepfather connected her with the owners of the building Hāloalaunuiakea is housed in. Since the building needed to be renovated, the owners told her not to start paying rent until she started eollecting tuition. With financing from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hāloalaunuiakea was up and running within eight months. The initial funding was critical. "We needed money for everything from the ground up. We had nothing," Corr-Yorkman describes. "We had no supplies. We had no outdoor playthings, like bikes, and we needed to fence our entire property. We needed bookshelves and books

and tables and chairs and anything and everything that you need for a typical classroom, but twice or three times the size of that." About Mālama Loans U'ilani Corr-Yorkman took advantage of OHA's Mālama Loan program to get everything she needed to open Hāloalaunuiakea Early Learning Center, whieh included renovating the building the school is housed in, fencing in the property and purchasing the furniture, learning materials and other school essentials. "We needed all of these staples, all of these things to start off with, and that's exactly what we used the Mālama Loan funds for. We could get everything going and open and give

our services to the public," she said. Prior to opening the preschool, CorrYorkman had a stable job teaching in the state Department of Education, but she knew she wanted to work in early childhood development, and be her own boss while doing it. "Being a Native Hawaiian woman business owner just gives me chills," she says. "I think it's so empowering, so powerful. It's something I ean proudly show to my daughter, to all of the Native Hawaiian children, that these things are possible." Applying for a Mālama Loan was a simple process. "I was really crossing my fingers because we weren't open yet and I felt they were taking a ehanee on us," she recalls. "It was like selling them shoes from an empty shoebox. I

was so grateful and happy that they believed in our vision." Corr-Yorkman has advice for other Native Hawaiians thinking about starting their own businesses: "Anyone that is thinking about taking a leap of faith, I'd say, totally take it and jump as high and as far as you ean. You never know what's going to happen until you try." To learn more about OHA's loan programs, eall 594-1924 or visit www.oha.org/loans. ■

We needed money for everything from the ground up. We had nothing." — U'ilani Corr-Yorkman , Director of Hāloalaunuiakea Early Learning Center

Hōloalūunuiakea Early Learning Center Director U'ilani Corr-Yorkman knew since high school Ihal she wanted to work in early education. - Photos: Aliee Silbanuz

A loan from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs wūs used for furniture, books, supplies and other classroom essentials.