It is with aloha for our keiki, our ʻōlelo makuahine, and Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Pūʻōhala (KKOP) that we ask you to sign this petition to support the continuation of kula kiʻekiʻe at Pūʻōhala until a full preK-12 kaiapuni site is established. (No money is needed for this cause; please just sign and share. Mahalo.)

A year ago, after decades of a limited program, we were presented with an empty classroom and an unfilled teaching position at Castle. When our community said this was no longer acceptable, our kumu (and in CAS Nohʻs words, “the experts”) created and advanced a kula kiʻekiʻe program that would provide a full kaiapuni educational pathway. The program is inherently community based and deals creatively with DOE’s chronic kumu kaiapuni shortage. It provides a robust program with potential to grow. And, very importantly, Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Pūʻōhala is FAFKE-aligned. It is not just a classroom for a Hawaiian language class but an actual kaiapuni; it is immersion into Hawaiian culture through language. 

We understand that the kula kiʻekiʻe program is, after one year of incubation, no longer supported by Pū’ōhala administration; Poʻokumu Ikaika feels “KK students would have more opportunities on an HS campus, and for our complex area, James B. Castle HS can provide them.”

It is our understanding that Castle High School is not FAFKE-aligned nor has anything been done there to provide an environment that is immersive in Hawaiian culture and language - especially not to the caliber that Pūʻōhala has grown to over three decades.

As ʻohana kaiapuni, we are clear on what is best for our  haumāna kaiapuni: keeping kula kiʻekiʻe at Pūʻōhala; at least until: 1. a 9-12 continuum is established and 2. a whole school campus within the Castle complex is made available by the DOE. Our goal is a full PreK-12 kaiapuni program aligned with FAFKE.

The six years of unfulfilled promises of a kula waena and kula kiʻekiʻe in the Castle Complex has shown to us that the DOE is not set up to support kaiapuni, and that DOE administration has to be creative and proactive to fulfill its obligation to provide all students in Hawaiʻi access to Hawaiian language education. The current program at Pūʻōhala, thanks to our kumu, is this innovative and proactive answer. Our kumu and community have made kaiapuni happen when the Department of Education has not.

We are reaching out to the extended ʻohana kaiapuni and all ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi advocates to help apply appropriate and necessary pressure to hold the DOE accountable. We are asking for kōkua to help make sure kaiapuni and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi thrives.

Sign this petition to support the continuation of kula kiʻekiʻe at Pūʻōhala until a full preK-12 kaiapuni site is established.