Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 2, 1 February 2003 — Hawaiian language certification [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian language certification

Scholarships will now be availSee NEWSBRIEFS page 18

NEWSBRIEFS from page 7 able to student teāchers seeking certification to teach the Hawaiian language. On Jan. 17, the UH Board of Regents approved the Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education Erogram at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo. It is the first teacher-education program in the United States in whieh all instruction is -dode in a na|iye language, said UH-Hilo Havvajian Studies Professor Pila Wilsofi. Graduutes of the program will be certifiedio teach the Hawaiian language in both all-Hawaiian language schools and English-lan-guage schools. They will also be licensed to teach their major subject, such as secondary school sci-

enee. Since the program began in 1997, 19 students have received licenses. The regents' approval means that students seeking certification in the program may also qualify for finaneial assistance. The Kahuawaiola program is more thorough and lengthy than the usual teaching certification process, Wilson said. Students seeking Department of Education licensing normally take two additional semesters of teacher education following their four-year degree. In contrast, Kahuawaiola students must take three additional semesters, including a summer live-in semester at the Nawahī Hawaiian language school south of Hilo, during whieh time they speak only Hawaiian. ■