Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 10, 1 October 2009 — 0HA offers financial aid for K-12 educational costs [ARTICLE]

0HA offers financial aid for K-12 educational costs

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has launched a two-year pilot program that this school year will begin offering qualified families up to $5,000 per year to help pay for tuition and other costs at private schools (other than Kamehameha Schools) or other specialized educational programs. "This new initiative, Kāko'o Ho'ona'auao, will empower Hawaiian families to access greater educational opportunities for their children," said Hau'oli Akaka, OHA's Education Hale Director. OHA has provided $500,000 per year for two years to fund the Kāko'o Ho'ona'auao K-12 Family Education Assistance Program, whieh will be administered this year by Chaminade University. Kāko'o Ho'ona'auao means "to support enlightenment through education." The grant-in-aid will be given directly to families and may be used for tuition and fees, uniforms, books and supplies, including computers, tutoring, school meals and other costs related to attending a private school or schools or programs specializing in educational services for students with special needs. Applicants must be Hawai'i residents who are living or eligible to live on Hawaiian Homelands. They must demonstrate hnaneial need, register with OHA's Hawaiian Registry Program (for information on registering, eall 594-1914), and have a child attending a private school other than Kamehameha, or attending a specialized academic program, in Hawai'i. Preference will be given to the most needy families. Chaminade will accept applications through Dec. 1 and awards will be dispersed in early 2010 for the current 2009-10 school year. For information, eall OHA's Education Hale Support Assistant Johanna Ferge at 594-0242. To download an application, visit chaminade. edu/oha or oha.org. Applications may be mailed to: Financial Aid Office, Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 Wai'alae Ave., Ching Hall, Room 1 1, Honolulu, HI 96816-1578. For information, eall 735-4780 or email finaid@chaminade.edu.

poke nohou """