Native American Language Education
Languages:
- Hawaiian
ʻAha Pūnana Leo
Hilo (& statewide), Hawaii 96720
Family-Based Indigenous Language Revitalization in Hawaiʻi Institute Background
The ʻAha Pūnana Leo is a Native Hawaiian family-based program established in 1983 to revitalize Hawaiian beginning with language nests. We also provide support to Hawaiian language education at the K-12, university, and community levels. We serve all ethnicities, home languages and economic backgrounds, but primarily families speaking Hawaiʻi Creole English and some Hawaiian from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We increase the number of learners through establishing new language nests and supporting the development of follow-up K-12 programs. We also provide on-line learning and Hawaiian language media. In addition we work with other Indigenous language schools and programs that seek to partner with us.
- Access
- Excellence
- Keys to Access and Excellence
Improve Access for all learners in more languages
Language of Instruction
Hawaiian
Percentage of already speaking
40 %
Instruction methodologies used for Indigenous language learners
Administration
Operations (secretary, nurse, janitors)
School assemblies
Routine communications with parents
Parent outreach (e.g. parent nights)
Hawaiian
Hawaiian
Hawaiian
Hawaiian
Hawaiian
How is English taught
English is not taught
Does School teach any other language
No
Activities in courses in your language program
- Oratory
- Indigenous Literature
- Traditional values and teachings
- Creation narratives
- Indigenous Histories
- Poetry and lyrics
- Performing arts
- Reading and writing
- ethnobotany, ethnozoology, traditional food preparation, material arts
Role of Elders
Some elders are speakers but most elders do not speak the language. Elders are included in parent/family programs. Elders provide cultural connections and history that is incorporated into the curriculum
Law for elder to be a teacher
Yes
Process to grant certificate to teachers
Yes
Role of families in teaching
In the language nests, there is required participation in in-kind services and language/culture classes. Enrollment preference is given to children and families who are Hawaiian speakers, who then assist in transmitting the language to others in the program. Beyond language nests family participation is available but not required.
Background that teachers have
Teachers are community members who have gained proficiency in the language through various means. The organization provides support for more formal university level study and also holds a live-in training week in the summer taught through the language and two multiple day trainings during the school year.
First language speakers involved
The first language speakers are generally younger because, Hawaiian is in the process of being revitalized. In the language nests, the first language speakers tend to be enrolled children, but may be elders and young adults.
Role of first language speakers who can write
First language speakers take on all roles, e.g., teachers, administrators, parents in the language nests. In other programs supported by the ʻAha Pūnana Leo they may also be teachers, administrators, parents, other staff. Again most widespread among first language speakers are children raised monolingually or bilingually in Hawaiian in the home by parents who learned Hawaiian as a second language.
Role of first language speakers who do not write
Traditionally all Hawaiian speakers can read Hawaiian. The only first language speakers who cannot read are preschool children who are beginning to learn to read.
Role of highly professional
The majority of teachers, administrators and staff fit this category
Role of limited professional
These tend to be parents and grandparents.
Second Language Speakers in Community
Community programs
Characteristics of Students
The ʻAha Pūnana Leo operates thirteen language nests in a variety of contexts, mostly rural in all counties of Hawaiʻi. It also provides facilities for three follow-up K-12 Hawaiian language medium programs and other support through internet, radio and other means across the state. The majority of students and families are Native Hawaiian - an ethnic group of color with considerable other racial mixture. A considerable portion live on federal designated Hawaiian Home Lands, but like the Native Hawaiian population at large, most live outside those small areas. All programs except for on-line programs are currently within the Hawaiian Islands, the Native Hawaiian homeland.
Require families to participate
Yes
Requirements
Families must provide in-kind services, study language and culture
Specific practices that are the reasons your HULs enjoy success in your program
Practice 1
Total Indigenous Hawaiian language medium education combining two or more age groups
Practice 2
All day, five days a week, eleven months a year program with preference for Hawaiian-speaking English Learners
Practice 3
Parent participation and in-kind service requirement
Characteristics of Students
The ʻAha Pūnana Leo operates thirteen language nests in a variety of contexts, mostly rural in all counties of Hawaiʻi. It also provides facilities for three follow-up K-12 Hawaiian language medium programs and other support through internet, radio and other means across the state. The majority of students and families are Native Hawaiian - an ethnic group of color with considerable other racial mixture. A considerable portion live on federal designated Hawaiian Home Lands, but like the Native Hawaiian population at large, most live outside those small areas. All programs except for on-line programs are currently within the Hawaiian Islands, the Native Hawaiian homeland.
Strategies to recruit students
- Recruitment beyond local area/school district
- In school social activities for families and students
- Dedicated scholarships
- Parental outreach or information
- Word of mouth is the main strategy.
Strategies to retain and succeed students
- Appropriate curriculum
- Appropriate instructional methodologies
- Integrating home and community resources in the language instruction program
- Fair and equitable assessments
- Certified or proficient language teachers
- Teachers that address socio-emotional learning approaches in their teaching
Obstacles Latinx Students face
- Latinx students are not common here but face no distinct barrier in enrolling at our school. Native Hawaiians not infrequently have Puerto Rican, Spanish, or Hispano-Filipino ancestors.
Has enrollment increased in the past 5 years
Yes
Languages added in past 5 years
- Hawaiian
Your program include any of the following
- Instruction aimed specifically at building on instruction in Indigenous language schools and programs and cultures
- Native American student recruitment efforts across the school, district and in Native American communities
- Course credit for Indigenous language proficiency
- Collaboration with Native American communities using Native American languages for instruction, for after-school & weekend language and culture programs
- Social-emotional learning
- The ʻAha Pūnana Leo is the non-profit organization that pioneered Hawaiian medium education in Hawaiʻi.
Excellence through transparency and accountability
Publish Clear Description
No
Public Efforts
Yes
Public Definition of Student Success
No
Online Learning Access
Yes
Receive State Funding for Language Program
No
Receive State Funding for Dual Language Program
No
Federal Funding Support
- Title VI
- Competitive grants under Title VI Native Hawaiian Education
Federal Funding Support for Dual Language Program
No
Emphasize in Language Program
- Cultural Literacy
- Employment opportunities
- Global citizenship, cosmopolitanism
- Human diversity, including linguistic diversity
- Intercultural Competence
- Social inclusion
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Social justice
- Usage/immersion learning (teaching content through the target language)
- Language revitalization for the home, school and community. Implementation of the official state language status of Hawaiian and federal Native American Languages Act.
Workforce Preparation Activity
Yes
Provide targeted support and programming for Native American languages
Specific Requirements for Hiring Teachers
- High proficiency in Hawaiian, but not based on ACTFL.
Require to have certifications to Language Teachers
No
Dual Language Program Teachers Considered Language Teachers
Yes
Are Dual Language Teachers (E.G. Math Teachers) Need To Be Certified As Subject Matter Teachers Or Dual Language Teachers
No
Do Your Require Any Certification For Native Languages Medium Teachers (E.G.Hawaiian Medium Teachers)
No
Do you accept teachers’ certification issued in other school districts or
No
Do staff (administrators, secretaries, principals) at your school/program use the target language for all interactions parents
Yes
Do staff (administrators, secretaries, principals) at your school/program use the target language for all interactions students
Yes
Are Staff Required To Speak The Language Of Instruction Such As Hawaiian Medium Schools Or Native American Medium Language
Yes
What Are The Language Factors That Inform Hiring Staff Or Administrators
The language is required for operating the language nests and also outreach services.
Does Your Program Reach Out to any of the Following to Recruit Teachers
- Historically underserved learner (HUL) communities
Does Your Teaching Staff Mirror the Population of the Students You Serve
Yes
What Percent of Your Language Teachers are Native Speakers of the Languages
5 %
Do You Make Available to Your Students a Language Immersion Experience Outside the Classroom, where Learners Use
Yes
Please provide a description of programs that support your students’ immersion language programs
Because the language nests are basically year round and all day, most programs are during school time. However, families may have get togethers where the language is used. There are competitions where the language is used, e.g., speech contests, dance festivals, sports events, some bilingual museum opportunities, etc.
Main Features of your
Do You have Policy and Efforts Aimed at Making the Immersion Experience more
Yes
- Partial scholarships
- Virtual experiences
- We move teachers between sites to help sites that have fewer human resources.
Does your program have any partnerships with public, private or non-profit organizations
- Yes
Does your school program partner with any of the following
Local colleges and universities
Can you give an explicit example of how a partnerships has helped your program
The ʻAha Pūnana Leo is part of a Hawaiian language medium consortium that includes Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian language, ʻImiloa Center, Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu laboratory school and other partners less involved in the effort. This provides a full P-20 total Hawaiian medium educational system with additional supports in on-line resources and in media.
Institution Information
Group of learners
- Birth-Toddler
- Pre-school
- Adult learners
- Elder
- Teachers
School Accredition
- WINHEC World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC)
Location of Program
Rural
Grades taught at your school
- PreK-K
Recruit Students from USED category
- Native Hawaiian
- English Language Learners
Groups over 10%
- Native American
Type of Program
- Childcare (some are private childcare settings, some are federal or state-funded settings, some are funded by family direct pay)
- Early childhood
- Native American Immersion School
- Native American language nest
- Native American Medium School
- Non-profit adult language learning setting, not higher ed institution affiliated, community-determined/led
- Non-profit organization Early Childhood/Pre-School
- Non-profit organization K-12 setting
- Private = Private school, funded by tuition or local community organization sometimes a Non-profit organization affiliation. Not public education funds
- Public PK-12 School
- State Charter, state public charter school
Is School Title I
Yes
Is School IB Authorized
No
Is Second Language Required
No
Free and Reduced Lunch Percentage
60%