New Imua Inclusion Preschool to Host Open House, May 21

Imua Family Services Grand Opening Celebration, 4/17/15. Photo courtesy: Jeane McMahon via Imua Family Services.

By Wendy Osher

Imua Family Services hosts an open house on Thursday, May 21, 2015, for their new Inclusion Preschool at the recently dedicated Early Childhood Center on Wākea Avenue in Kahului.

Families are invited to preview the new preschool facility, meet the Imua staff, find out about summer and fall enrollment, and learn more about Imua programs during the open house which runs from 5 to 7 p.m.

This one-of-a-kind preschool is the first private inclusion preschool in the state and celebrates children’s similarities as well as their different abilities and cultures.

The Imua Preschool is scheduled to open in August of 2015 with a beginning enrollment of 24 students.

Imua Family Services Grand Opening Celebration, 4/17/15. Photo courtesy: Jeane McMahon via Imua Family Services.

In order to address an immediate need for services, Imua partnered with the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College to offer a pilot version of the preschool  in January 2015.

The “inclusive” classroom, allows children with special needs take part in the general education curriculum based on their ages and grades. “They are not segregated into separate classrooms, but rather the curriculum and the room are adapted to meet all the children’s needs,” an organization announcement stated.

In addition to the new preschool program, Imua Family Services provides early child development and therapeutic services to children with developmental delays, special needs, and disabilities.  Services are geared toward children from birth to age six and their families.

To obtain further information, interested families can contact Imua Family Services by calling Marina at (808) 244-7467, email [email protected] to RSVP, or visit the Imua Family Services website.

Imua Family Services Grand Opening Celebration, 4/17/15. This statue by sculptor Christine Turnbull graces the entrance of Imua’s new home. Photo courtesy: Jeane McMahon via Imua Family Services.