#Hawaiian Immersion

As part of Good Morning America’s yearlong “50 States in 50 Weeks” series, ABC News correspondent Becky Worley reported live from Maui, spotlighting the people, culture and resilience that make Hawaiʻi so special.

The extension will keep the Native Hawaiian Education Program fully funded for current grant recipients for at least another year, which guarantees $46 million in federal funding secured by Schatz in Congress will continue to flow to the more than 60 early childhood education sites across Hawai‘i.

Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language Month) is observed each Pepeluali (February), and the University of Hawaiʻi is hosting a series of events to uplift Hawaiʻi’s native tongue. This year’s UH-sponsored events are underway. An Ola Ka ʻĪ event is planned on Maui on Feb. 14, 2026.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education announced that a new, statewide priority placement process for Kaiapuni Education (Hawaiian language immersion programs) will open on Feb. 2, 2026, marking an important step toward greater consistency, clarity and equity for families seeking Kaiapuni options for their children. The application window will close March 13, 2026.

ʻAha Pūnana Leo is currently accepting priority enrollment applications for its Hawaiian language medium preschools for the upcoming school year. The priority application period runs through March 1.

This year’s Ho‘omau will take place on March 29, 2025 and the two organizations are setting an ambitious goal to exceed the $60,000 raised in 2024.

More than 350 supporters gathered at the Wailea Beach Resort–Marriott, Maui, on Saturday, Oct. 26 for Maui Economic Development Board’s Ke Alahele Education Fund Benefit Dinner & Auction. Proceeds from the event will directly support MEDB’s STEM programs, which provide students here at home with learning opportunities spanning from kindergarten to college and beyond, shaping future generations of innovators and leaders.

A new department and positions for Hawaiian language specialists are opening the doors for the rise of a language that was suppressed for decades.

A Hawaiian immersion program teacher from Molokaʻi sets sail this week as a Science Communication Fellow in a deep ocean exploration expedition with the Ocean Exploration Trust. Gandharva Mahina Hou Ross, a kumu at Molokaʻi High School’s O Hina I Ka Malama program, joins Ocean Exploration Trust’s (OET) expedition to Jarvis Island, in the US Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, as part of a team of scientists and explorers.

Nā Leo Pūlama o Maui, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Hawaiian immersion preschool program, Pūnana Leo o Maui, announced the return of Holoholo Kaʻa on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College back parking lot. 

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education will be offering a distance learning hub for K-8 Lahaina students starting Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 at Citizen Church located at 4275 Hine Way in Lahaina. The learning hub will provide distance learning students with in-person opportunities for teacher support and peer socialization, as well as access to meals, recess, social-emotional learning and other resources.  Two additional learning hubs in the works for West Maui students

Independent Hawaiian culture and language immersion school Ke Kula ʻO Piʻilani today announced a grant award totaling $77,700 that will support the Native Hawaiian community through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Community Research Grant.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs awarded a $79,514 grant to ʻAha Pūnana Leo, Inc. for their “Noiʻi OHA” program aimed at increasing the Hawaiian language fluency of families with children in Hawaiian Medium Early Childhood Education.

The National Park Service is recruiting one teacher to create a guided field trip in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) for fourth graders.

Independent Hawaiian culture and language immersion school Ke Kula ʻO Piʻilani today announced a grant award totaling $85,000 that will support the Native Hawaiian community through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Community ‘Ohana Grant. 

The purchase surfaced for discussion in July when Mayor Michael Victorino transmitted a proposal to the Maui County Council to purchase the acreage and the structure that was the former ʻĪao Valley Lodge in ʻĪao Valley for $1.5 million from the Hawaiʻi Nature Center.  The purchase includes existing structures and two parcels that total approximately 1.4 acres.

Haleakalā National Park has developed new educational materials in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) for Hawaiian immersion fourth grade students. The virtual materials are available to teachers anywhere to inspire Grade 4 haumāna (students) to mālama ʻāina (steward the land).

Mayor Michael Victorino transmitted a proposal to the Maui County Council to purchase the acreage and the structure that was the former ʻĪao Valley Lodge in ʻĪao Valley for $1.5 million from the Hawaiʻi Nature Center.

Haleakalā National Park is seeking a K-12 Hawaiian Immersion teacher to participate in the Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Program during the summer of 2022.

‘Aha Pūnana Leo preschool is accepting applications for enrollment at 13 preschool sites on five islands. Established in 1983, the school celebrates nearly 40 years dedicated to reviving ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language).