Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 3, 1 March 2013 — Early education: The path toward self-determination [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Early education: The path toward self-determination

Urge lawmakers to fund early learning for all Hawai'i 4-year-olds

We are at a unique juncture - for the first time, the state of Hawai'i is on the cusp of funding early education for all 4-year-old children across the Islands. The opportunity to create a system that

best serves the needs of Native Hawaiians - and the rest of the state - is within our reach. Our inHuenee is critical in how that system takes shape for our children. We need to make our voices heard. The state Legislature is currently considering several pieces of legislation including a $32 million budget request by Gov. Neil Abercrombie as start-up funding for the program. Hawai'i is one of 1 1 states with no state-funded early learning program in plaee. The research and data on why this is needed is clear. We know that 85 percent of the brain is developed before age 5, making this the optimum time for learning. But, according to the Hawai'i State School Readiness Assessment in the current school year, 43 percent of puhlie school kindergartners did not attend some type of preschool. And, in many Native Hawaiian communities that number is more than 60 percent.

In contrast, in several high-income neighborhoods in the state, the rate of kindergartners who did not attend nreschool is helow

20 percent. Those are troubling statistics and what's more alarming is that rate has been climbing. As a former Department of Education Hawai- ^ ian Immersion

teacher, I saw identity <j and culture as powerful components in the development of our students. Programs that

identity, language, community and culture for Native Hawaiians have such a dramatic and positive impact for the well-being of all children. In my work at The Institute for Native Pacific Education & Culture (INPEACE), our core focus is on the relationship between children and their parents - children learn from their parents before they are even born - E kolo ana no ke ēwe i ke ēwe - A child will follow their parent's path. I remember as a parent, living in Āhualoa on 5 acres with lehua trees, white ginger, eattle and dogs, and being outside with my little ones. The boys weren't even 5 yet, but they helped to dig holes for fenee posts, pieked flowers for lei, took care of cattle and rolled in the mud. Who would have imagined these were critical opportunities that would help my children succeed in school? For many families, daily engagement in their child's early learning experiences is one of the greatest gifts. There are different paths toward selfdetermination, and one path is early learning and the creation of a system that has a variety of options from whieh

parents ean choose. Families have choices when it comes to early learning. Center-based preschools are the most eommon ehoiee

people think of, but home visiting and family-child interaction programs help children and parents get ^ ready for

too. Many people don't realize that family child interaction learning programs like 'Aha Pūnana Leo, ALU LIKE's Pūlama I Nā Keiki Project, Keiki O Ka 'Āina's parent participation preschools, Partners in Development Foundation's Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool and Ka Pa'alana Traveling Preschool/Homeless Family Education Program, and INPEACE's Keiki Steps parent participation preschools prepare children to succeed in school and strengthen families at the same time. The time is now to make your opinion heard. Please join the Good Beginnings Alliance's Be My Voice! Hawai'i campaign to urge lawmakers to fund preschool for all 4-year-olds. Visit us at BeMyVoiceHawaii.org. Sign a petition supporting the campaign, write a letter to your lawmaker and donate to the cause. ■

/)/: Kanoe Nāone is chief executive officer ofThe Institute for Native Pacific Education & Cuīture ( INPEACE ) and hoard president of the Good Begi.nni.ngs Allianee.

Rally Join us for a public rally at the state Capitol on March 14 at 9:30 a.m. to advocate for preschool for all Hawai'i 4-year-olds.

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Editor's note: The views expressed in Ka Wai Ola'i community forum are those ofthe authors and do not necessarity reflect the views ofthe Office ofHawai.i.an Ajfai.rs.

By Kanoe Nāone, Ph.D.

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