Progr ams & Projects Making
a
Difference
Continuing Support For Native Hawaiian Education
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Teacher recruitment, preservice preparation, in-service teacher professional development, leadership enhancement, education research, and curriculum improvement — all these are areas of focus for the College of Education’s Ho‘okula– iwi program. Funding for Ho‘okula– iwi initiatives has come from a variety of sources, including the Na– na– kuli/Wai‘anae community, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools, the University of Hawai‘i, the Hawai‘i Department of Education, the UH-Ma– noa College of Education, the Hawai‘i legislature, and the federal government. Recently, the Ho‘okula– iwi Partnership was adopted by the Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly as the educational model for Hawaiian homesteads statewide. This is significant in that it demonstrates a shared vision of educational excellence for Native Hawaiian children by the largest Native Hawaiian community organization in the state.
Recruitment and Preservice Initiatives
Ho‘okula– iwi aims to recruit Native Hawaiians and other Hawai‘i residents into the teaching profession. Preservice teachers speak to members of their own communities (6th grade students through adults) about the critical need to raise the quality of teaching in Hawai‘i schools and to improve educational outcomes for children. Recruitment efforts focus on identifying prospective teachers and school leaders who have skills, interests, and experiences that will enable them to work effectively across different cultures and to work in partnership with a range of groups. The Ho‘okula– iwi Partnership for preservice teacher education includes the Na– na– kuli/Wai‘anae community, the College of Education, Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language, and several Hawai‘i Department of Education schools — Na– na– ikapono Elementary, Na– na– kuli Elementary, Na– na– kuli High and Intermediate, Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao Charter, Wai‘anae High, and Ke Kula Kaia– puni ‘o Anuenue — in long-term efforts to prepare outstanding teachers. Ho‘okula– iwi emphasizes the acquisition of tra-
ditional Hawaiian skills and knowledge in combination with skills and knowledge valued in the Western world. Because reading, writing, and oral literacy are foundational to children’s success in all areas of learning, the partnership emphasizes literacy, language, and culture (in both Hawaiian and English). To date, Na– na– ikapono School has been the training site for well over 120 student teachers, including many Native Hawaiians. Currently, Ho‘okula– iwi has forty preservice teachers in two Master of Education in Teaching (MEdT) cohorts (the Kua‘ana and Kaina cohorts). In keeping with Hawaiian cultural expectations that older siblings are responsible for the care and well-being of younger siblings, Ho‘okula– iwi requires the Kua‘ana cohort to mentor those in the Kaina cohort. During orientation for the Kaina cohort, members of the Kua‘ana cohort and Ho‘okula– iwi faculty welcomed new members in an ‘awa ceremony at Hale Ola Ho‘opa– ko– lea in Na– na– kuli, introduced them to the Na– na– kuli/ Wai‘anae community and partner schools, worked with them in the Anuenue School lo‘i, and, on the final day of the orientation, hosted them with food prepared in an imu. In fall 2008, Ho‘okula– iwi began a partnership with five teachers on Ni‘ihau to develop and deliver a customized preservice teacher education program that will allow them to become fully licensed by 2012. The program recognizes the uniqueness and importance of the Ni‘ihau community to the perpetuation of the Hawaiian language and the experiences of the Ni‘ihau teachers. Activities include internships at Na– na– ikapono Elementary and other partner schools, attendance at national/international conferences, and courses.
Leadership and Professional Development Initiatives In spring 2008, the COE entered into a partnership with Wai‘anae Complex schools to provide a MEd degree in curriculum studies for thirty K–12 teachers in Wai‘anae and Ma– kaha schools to prepare them to be