About Na Leo Pulama O Maui

the Parent Support Group of
Punana Leo O Maui

Mission Statement

The purpose of Na Leo Pulama O Maui shall be:

To perpetuate the Hawaiian language and culture on Maui by supporting a Hawaiian language school for children with an emphasis on preschoolers.
To provide Maui youngsters with quality education through the medium of Hawaiian language immersion.

Goals

To aquire a place for a Hawaiian language and cultural center for the education and support of the Hawaiian immersion program.
To raise community awareness of the Hawaiian language immersion programs by providing classes which will assist children and adults with ways to incorporate Hawaiian language into their homes and daily lives.
To financially assist the Punana Leo O Maui with operational expenses not provided through other sources.
To provide opportunities for professional enrichment and development for Punana Leo O Maui (PLOM) staff.
To provide tuition scholarships to qualified PLOM families.

From A Fading Fire,

A Shining Star Is Born

In the early 1980's, a group of parents, educators, Hawaiians and Hawaiians-at-heart came together to address a collective concern - the fading of a beautiful culture due, primarily, to the rapidly shrinking number of native speakers. For history has proved that when a language is lost, the culture itself soon follows.

The group identified immersion preschool education as an effective-and quick-way to build a new generation of fluent native speakers. Through them, the culture would not only survive, but flourish in the modern world.

The first Punana Leo Hawaiian language immersion preschool was established on Kaua'i in 1984. Punana Leo O Honolulu and Punana Leo O Hilo were opened in 1986. And then came Punana Leo O Maui in November 1987. Today, there are also Punana Leo preschools on Moloka'i, in Kona, Waimea, Wai'anae, Ko'olau Loa and Kawaiaha'o. And indigenous cultures around the world now look to Hawai'i as a shining example of a successful immersion program.

We Are Proud Of

Punana Leo O Maui

With the continued support of Wailuku Baptist Church, from whom we have leased our High Street facility since the beginning, we have graduated almost 200 fluent Hawaiian speakers. Many of these youngsters have gone on to the State of Hawai'i Department of Education's Hawaiian language immersion program, Kula Kaiapuni O Maui, at Pa'ia School (K-5), Kalama Intermediate School (Grades 6-8), and King Kekaulike High School. We believe that many of these children are future community leaders.

We Need A Home

Of Our Own

After four years of hard work, we received approval in March 1997 from the County of Maui for a 55-year, one-dollar-a-year lease on a 1.68 acre parcel of land in Central Maui. As happy and excited as we are, we know it is just the beginning of a lot more hard work. We now need to raise $2 million for the construction of a new school and Family Language Resource Center on the site.

To this end, parents, alumni, and supportive community members have formed Na Leo Pulama, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. Each year we hold fundraisers to make this vision a reality. Our two major fundraisers this year are Ho'omau and Fashion Show.

Here are the Facts:

Punana Leo children (ages 3 to 5) become fluent quickly because they learn in a natural way, by interacting all day with Hawaiian-speaking teachers and schoolmates.

Parents and other family members attend free, weekly language classes so that they may reinforce their children's language skills at home.

Punana Leo children acquire life, social and academic readiness skills for entry into kindergarten.

Committed families play a vital role - involvement ranges from raking the yard to serving on fund-raising committees.

Children of all backgrounds attend Punana Leo O Maui.