Hawaiian language
finds base on
North Shore

An immersion program
for kindergartners will
open at Hauula school

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

North Shore families unable to do the long commute in order to enroll their young children in a Hawaiian immersion program are resting easier.

Hauula Elementary will be the site of a kindergarten Hawaiian immersion program opening next month for the 1998-99 school year, said Tom Pangelinan, interim Windward deputy district superintendent. And if parents have their way, a first-grade class will also open.

It's been a long haul for a group of parents and supporters of Hawaiian language immersion who have sought a program in the Koolauloa community for several years and have been frustrated by what they perceived as foot-dragging by the Department of Education.

"I'm very excited to see it's finally taking hold," said parent Kahananui Vierra, who spearheaded the push two years ago.

The community succeeded in bringing a preschool immersion program to Kahuku last year. Its first group of graduates will be able to continue at the immersion program in Hauula, rather than commuting to Puohala Elementary in Kaneohe or Anuenue in Palolo.

Enough children have registered for the kindergarten immersion class at Hauula. The first grade needs at least 20 children to justify opening a class and hiring a teacher.

"I can seriously tell you, we will get the Grade One," said Vierra, whose daughter and son are among those who have registered for the kindergarten and first grade, respectively.

The program would not have been possible if not for the parents and community's persistence. "I'm real proud of the community for persevering," said Pangelinan.

Supporters of the program appeared before the Board of Education in May to show they had done their homework. The group produced commitment from parents, and the board was impressed with the amount of work they had done and gave the program their blessing. But concerns by district officials about future funding, adequate space for expansion and availability of certified teachers slowed the group's momentum.

"If it wasn't for our strong convictions, we wouldn't have been able to stand firm," said Kaumealani Walk, a Hawaiian language immersion teacher and parent of two children who attend Anuenue in Palolo. Her youngest son will be part of the first kindergarten immersion class at Hauula.

After plans to begin the program at Kahuku Elementary fell through, parents and immersion supporters presented their plan to the Hauula council, which agreed to commit to the program for one year, said Hauula principal Linda Shimamoto.

However, for the program to continue next year, a task force of department representatives and school/community based management councils in the Kahuku complex, which includes schools from Sunset Beach to Kaaawa, must come up with a long-range plan.

This year, a portable at Hauula will be used to house the kindergartners, and the district is hiring a teacher. A city park building is being readied for first-graders.

Supporters say the Hauula program is crucial to preserving the Hawaiian heritage and culture, to which Vierra's family is dedicated. "If you lose the language, you lose the culture."