Navigating a New School Year: Preparing Hawaiʻi’s Youngest Learners to Thrive
Kalani Kahalioumi and team at the historic Richardson Ocean Center in Hilo, with kumu from Hawaiʻi Island and the Charter School Commission early learning team. Photo courtesy: Hawai‘i State Public Charter School Commission.
As a new school year begins, 34 Pre-K teaching teams across Hawaiʻi gathered for the Hawaiʻi State Public Charter School Commission’s 11th annual preservice professional learning week. Through a shared metaphor of the waʻa (canoe) and hoʻokele (navigation), educators strengthened their instructional practices and explored ways to better understand and support each haumāna (student).
With support from University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo educators, the teams deepened their ʻike (knowledge) of Hawaiʻi education and refined their kilo (observation) skills — learning to observe their environments, their students and themselves more intentionally as classroom teams. Hands-on experiences in Hilo and Oʻahu connected educators to place, culture and voyaging traditions, including the enduring influence of Micronesian Master Navigator Mau Piailug and the modern Polynesian voyaging movement.
The professional learning also focused on preparing educators to navigate challenges in the classroom. Partnerships with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and Hawaiʻi Keiki Nurses provided practical guidance on preventing communicable diseases and creating safe, healthy learning environments for keiki. Educators also explored ways to make early math meaningful and fun through purposeful play and everyday experiences, reinforcing the idea that math is all around us.
These experiences are helping Hawaiʻi’s Pre-K educators strengthen their practice, build supportive learning environments and ensure our youngest learners have opportunities to thrive.
For more information, visit www.chartercommission.hawaii.gov/.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
