A new charter school consolidates K-12 immersion learning, a first for east Kaua'i

By Liza Simon / Ka Wai Ola

At the new Kawaikini Charter School in Puhi on Kaua'i, the grass has not yet had a chance to sprout and the concrete platforms beneath the portable buildings have barely had a chance to dry after being poured just this summer. But for supporters of Hawaiian language immersion, this is a field of dreams-come-true.

No longer will 'ōlelo Hawai'i instruction on Kaua'i's eastside be split between the elementary, middle and high schools with lessons limited to just two hours a day. The new 12-acre campus will serve kindergarteners through 12th graders, and partner with neighboring institutions – an 'Aha Pūnana Leo preschool and Kaua'i Community College, where instruction in Hawai'i's language has been going strong for two decades.

“This meets the requirements of a bilingual environment and makes it truly possible to achieve fluency,” said Kawaikini resource teacher 'Alohilani Rogers, a 16-year veteran of the state Education Department's Hawaiian-language immersion program. In Kaua'i's DOE mainstream schools, about 70 elementary students are learning in 'ōlelo Hawai'i “in a sea of 900 English-speaking students,” Rogers said.

“Some teachers weren't really sure how to support immersion students when they are mixed in with the mainstream,” she said, adding that a misunderstanding persists about the value of bilingualism, even though research has provided increasing evidence to suggest positive effects for youngsters including increased creativity, self-esteem and engagement with problem solving.

Rogers said native-language learning also helps to transmit cultural values, and Kawaikini's curriculum has been designed to bolster this effect. For example, at Kawaikini, the Hawaiian connection to the 'āina is emphasized by giving each grade the kuleana to care for a specific moku on Kaua'i. Students will study how to protect the moku's resources and mālama 'āina by partnering with community groups within its boundaries.

There's no problem in getting Kawaikini parents involved, said Mohala Aiu, the school's community outreach and development director. “Families are behind the school 100 percent, and the students really feel the support and this translates into better clasroom behavior,” said Aiu.

A small group of Kaua'i parents began a dialogue with educators about three years ago to explore better ways of delivering the benefits of Hawaiian immersion to their children. They chose the charter option, because it is DOE-based but at the same time may depart from the mainstream. Under a planning grant from the federal government, a core of determined parents and teachers formed Supporting the Language of Kaua'i Inc. Their efforts last year garnered one of two spots that opened for charter schools statewide.

“We have been blessed to have so many gifted people just show up to help in a very short time,” said Rogers. Most Kawaikini teachers are Hawaiian immersion veterans. Others attracted to the school's cultural mission but not fluent in the language are taking advantage of the school's proximity to KCC to get up to speed with 'ōlelo Hawai'i.

Kawaikini co-director Leialoha Kauahi credits the teachers for reaching out to the community and accomplishing so much in order to open Kawaikini this school year, even if it has meant that yellow cords block off grassy areas for phase two of construction, which is expected to be finished next year. “Teachers here don't see it as a job,” Kauahi said. “They love working at a small school where they can really give the children the attention they need.”