Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 6, 1 June 2013 — Preschool for homeless earns national accreditation [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Preschool for homeless earns national accreditation

By Sarah Paeheeo Afamily education program funded by OHA has earned a unique distinction for one of its preschools. Ka Pa'alana Homeless Family Education Program's preschool site at HOPE Shelter in Kalaeloa has become the country's first preschool program serving the homeless to be accredited by the nation's leading organization of early childhood professionals. Accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, or NAEYC, is a big gold star. "There really is no higher accreditation in the nation than NAEYC," says Danny Goya, program director of Ka Pa 'alana, the preschool's umbrella program. "This really puts the walk

behind the talk." With this accreditation, the HOPE Shelter preschool, and in turn Ka Pa'alana, now is among an elite group that comprises 8 percent of all preschools and other early childhood programs in the nahon, a sign that it is a leader in a nahonal effort to invest in high-quality early childhood education. Ka Pa'alana, whieh is a core program of Partners in Development Foundation founded upon Native Hawaiian values and traditions, helps houseless families living along 0'ahu's Leeward Coast better their situation through programs that focus on ehildren, parents and kūpuna. Its programs also equip parents with knowledge and skills that allow them to become positive role models for their children and break the cyclical "culture of poverty" so often found in homeless communities. Eaeh year Ka Pa'alana and its programs serve more than 600 children from birth to age 5 and 900 adults through services provided at shelters, the

beach and a mobile classroom. As for the brick-and-mortar HOPE Shelter preschool, it serves 125 to 150 youngsters every year and emphasizes par-ent-child engagement, school readiness, literacy and culture. Former participant Cheryl Kekuma enrolled in HOPE Shelter preschool with her son, then 9 months, in February 2007. Kekuma says that during the parent-group portion of the program, she and others were able to "talk story" with advisers and learn how to be more understanding of the different developmental stages of ehildren. "I also had a first-grader and second-grader at that time, so trying to find halanee was pretty difficult," Kekuma remembers. "But the preschool was really good and taught me the true

meaning of aloha and po'okela, just striving for that excellence and that you give your 100 percent, no matter what." Shortly after exiting the program in September '07, Kekuma was offered a position with the preschool and today is helping others whose stories mirror her own. "Ka Pa'alana, they're like my foundation," Kekuma says. "Even after I left the program, I still had hardships, but they didn't shun me or leave me stranded; they eame and checked up on me and they guided me to where I am now. "It took people like this to help me rise and shine to the occasion," she continues, "and now, I'm trying my best to help everybody else see that you don't have to give up. You ean still shine for our children." ■

Sarah Paeheeo, an 0'ahu-basedfreeīancewriter, is aformer assistant regionaī editor for MidWeek.

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Accreditation, family-centered learning The accreditation process began fouryears ago and required an extensive self-study process that measured the program and its services against the National Association for the Education of Young Children's 10 early childhood standards and more than 400 other criteria, plus an on-site visit. Ka Pa'alana program director DannyGoya says he's been pushing NAEYC to "start looking at accrediting more Family Child lnteractive Learning groups (such as Ka Pa'alana) and not just focusing on early education - but looking at the interaction between child and parent as well."

The so-called FCIL approach, whieh centers around involvement of the whole family, "is birthed out of the Native Hawaiian community," Goya said. "It's ourtradition, where the kūpuna is involved in the raising of the child." Funding Ka Pa'alana is supported by individual donors and volunteers, as well as funding from partners like the U.S. Department of Education Native Hawaiian Education Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Native Americans, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Aloha United Way, Kamehameha Schools, Nā 'Ūiwi Kāne, Friends of Hawai'i Charities, and the state Department of Health. To learn more about Ka Pa'alana and its programs, visit pidfoundation.org.

Ka Pa'alana Traveling Preschool and Homeless Family Education Program, whieh helps houseless families living along 0'ahu's Leeward Coast, recently received accreditation from the Nahonal Association for the Education of Young Children. - Courtesy photos