Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 9, 1 September 2015 — In ʻEleʻele, students prepare for kindergarten [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

In ʻEleʻele, students prepare for kindergarten

Mālama Loan program provided a boost to Haloalaunuiakea Early Learning Center By Garett Kamemoto n the rural community of 'Ele'ele, Kaua'i, early childhood education is at a premium. The small town is about a half hour from the populahon center of Llhu'e with only a few nearby options to get preschoolers ready for kindergarten. In August 2013, the Haloalaunuiakea Early Learning Center opened. Executive Director U'ilani Corr-Yorkman says the center is "culturally based to be able to eonhnue to not only teach Hawaiian values and traditions, but also kindergarten readiness." Corr-Yorkman spent seven years as a teacher in the state Department of Education, and wanted the center to be affordable for parents but to also prepare children to excel in kindergarten. She said as a former teacher in the DOE, she knows exactly what skills the children need to be prepared to enter school, and integrated that into her curriculum. Corr-Yorkman credited the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Mālama Loan for turning her dream into reality.

She said, "We basically started with nothing besides the building." The loan money went to pay for everything from minor renovations to the building to make it safe for children, flooring, fencing, desks and chairs, along with playground equipment and resources to build a curriculum. Today, the school has an enrollment of 45 children and a waiting list of approximately 20 more. "If we didn't have the loan, I honestly don't know if we would have been able to pay

for everything we did." Thomas Atou, Ananee and operations officer for the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund that administers the Mālama Loan, called CorrYorkman a "passionate and intelligent leader." He added, "I feel this type of center would be beneficial in putting our keiki on the right path to success." Corr-Yorkman said she has also gotten a lot of support in addition to the loan program She seeks urants to heln sub-

sidize tuition to keep it affordable. She said institutions have been very generous in their support. And the results are apparent in the students' achievement. So far, the center has graduated two classes of children. She says the students have been excelling in kindergarten, in fact, one student was immediately promoted from kindergarten to first grade. In the future, the early learning center is considering expansion, because demand outstrips supply. ■

j HO'ONAAUAO ^ > EDUCATION f

Teachers and students of Haloalaunuiakea Early Learning Center not only learn and practice Hawaiian values and traditions, but also prepare children for kindergarten. - Courtesy photo