Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 1, 1 January 1996 — Ke Kukui Mālamalama Nominees [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ke Kukui Mālamalama Nominees

Jonah Hau'oli Akaka. — a teacher of Hawaiian language and Polynesian music at Kailua High School Arline Brede Eaton — kupuna kako'o, Department of Education leeward district Hawaiian Studies Kupuna Program

Tranquilino "Kia" Fronda, — project director at the Cultural Learning Center in Waipi'o Valley and a Hawaiian studies resource instructor for the Department of Education Maggie Keala Hanohano — project coordinator, Pihana Nā Mamo Project

Janet R. Kaneta — Hawaiian studies resource teacher, Leeward district Elama Kanahele, — kumu at Kula Ni'ihau o Kekaha J. Kimo Alama Keaulana — teacher/social studies department chairman/learning center coordinator

Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Pā'ia, — the students and staff at Pā'ia School. Peter Lonoae'a — teacher, Hawaiian language at James Campbell High School Joyce Tsunoda — U.H. senior vice-president and chancellor for community colleges

Criteria for Ke kukui Mālamalama nomination All nominees must meet the following criteria: a. Be an individual or group exceptionally dedi cated to furthering the education of native Hawaiians. b. Inspire students of Hawaiian ancestry to excellenee. e. Have the respect and admiration of students, parents, and colleagues. d. Take an active, useful role in the community. e. Must not have received a Ke Kukui. Mālamalama award within the past five years.

Jonah Hau'oli Akaka Akaka was noted for the positive effect he has had on the Hawaiian language program at Kailua High School. In the past five years, despite declining enrollment in the school as whole, the number of students in his Hawaiian language classes has increased. Akaka teaches a colorful class and has excellent rapport with his students. He also spends considerable time in the community promoting Hawaiian language, culture and values. He is seen as a portrait of the strong Hawaiian spirit, a man who is humble at heart but one who possesses inner strengths that make him a positive role model for his students.

Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Pā'ia (the students and staff at Pā'ia SchooI) This (DOE) Hawaiian Language Immersion Program has moved its program beyond language learning and into the telecommunications age. It has a closed-cir-cuit television eunieulum whieh provides students an opportunity to increase communication skills in the areas of writing, speaking, and Iistening. Under the direction of their teacher, students prepare text and present it in Hawaiian language via closed-circuit television. The program demonstrates an innovative approach to teaching communication skills and promoting the philosophy that Hawaiian is a living language.

Tranquilino "Kia" Fronda As director of the Cultural Learning Center in Waipi'o Valley, Fronda works closely with individuals and community groups promoting the kalo life cycle, its history and signific£ince. Students learn about cultural values, agricultural techniques, biological and environmental sciences, history, and math. His hands-on approach to education has grown to include island-wide cultural immersion programs with participation by DOE classes and community groups. He also works with problem children, using instruction in traditional Hawaiian values, to help them get their lives back on track.

Elama Kanahele Elama Kanahele has been actively involved in Hawaiian language education since. the 1984 opening of the first Pūnana Leo preschool in Kekaha, Kaua'i. Since then, she has served as a teacher in both Kekaha and at the new Pūnana Leo site in Puhi. During the 1994-95 school year, she assisted the Ni'ihau program at Kekaha School and, in 1995, she became a full-time teacher in the program, now called Kula Ni'ihau o Kekaha. Kanahele has also contributed substantially to the development of the curricula for the Hawaiian language immersion programs. f I