Developed by Dr. Kathryn Au in 1996, Ka Lama o ke Kaiaulu (The Light of the Community) is an elementary teacher education cohort in the Institute for Teacher Education at the UHM College of Education (COE). Ka Lama partners with the Native Hawaiian community to prepare teachers to be effective in schools on the Leeward (Wai‘anae) Coast. Training preservice teachers in these schools builds their effectiveness and encourages them to stay and teach in those schools after graduation. In collaboration with public schools, Leeward Community College – Wai‘anae (LCC-W), and the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture (INPEACE), Ka Lama recruits and trains area residents and others interested in working in Leeward Coast Schools. The partnership’s focus is to reduce teacher turnover, increase the number of Hawaiian role models, and improve student achievement through culturally responsive teaching. It is a BEd program for students who have been admitted as juniors to the COE. Six cohorts have graduated since the program’s inception. In May 2008, more than half of the Ka Lama VI cohort graduates accepted positions as teachers in schools on the Leeward Coast.
Difference
A groundbreaking agreement between Leeward Community College (LCC) and the UHM College of Education (COE) will facilitate the smooth transition of students completing the Associate in Arts in Teaching program at LCC to the COE’s Bachelor of Education (BEd) program in Elementary Education; BEd in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood emphasis; BEd in Elementary Education with a Hawaiian Community Emphasis; and BEd dual preparation program in Elementary/ Special Education. Students must complete the Associate in Arts in Teaching program as well as meet a set of designated criteria for admission to the COE. The COE’s Office of Student Advising Services will collaborate with LCC advisors in order to ensure that accurate information is passed on to students, while LCC advisors ensure that students are advised of UHM-COE’s core and emphasis requirements. “We are very excited about this partnership. The greatest need for teachers exists in the Leeward and Central O‘ahu districts. It is a win-win situation for everyone,” said Erin Loo, a counselor for the Associate in Arts in Teaching Program at Leeward Community College.
Partnering to Prepare Teachers for the Leeward Coast
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Transitioning Leeward Community College Students
Glori Lopez-Cajigas
Progr ams & Projects Making
Christine Sorensen, Manny Cabral, and Gene Awakuni
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