OHA commits $620,000 to expand Hawaiian language teacher training and materials

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo signed a memorandum of understanding on October 29 to expand support for Hawaiian language education. The agreement allocates $620,000 for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to fund teacher preparation and create new classroom materials.

The funds will support the Kahuawaiola graduate certificate program, which prepares educators to teach in Hawaiian or English. OHA will also cover costs for mentor teacher stipends, undergraduate scholarships, and travel for professional development. The agreement builds on nearly 30 years of collaboration between the two entities to revitalize ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.

Kaialiʻi Kahele, chair of the OHA Board of Trustees, stated that ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is the foundation of who the lāhui is as a nation. The signing ceremony took place at Haleʻōlelo, which houses the Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language.

The partnership also directs resources to Hale Kuamoʻo, the college's Hawaiian Language Center. This entity will use the funding to create and distribute teaching materials, hire student assistants, and reconvene a committee responsible for developing Hawaiian vocabulary for modern use.

Kaʻiu Kimura, director of the college, emphasized that the agreement supports the people carrying out this work. She noted that a child cannot learn in Hawaiian without books in the language, and a teacher cannot teach science or math without the necessary words. Kimura said Hale Kuamoʻo ensures those resources exist.

This past summer, Kahuawaiola candidates practiced teaching with students in grades 1 through 8 at Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, the college's laboratory school. The MOU expands support for this educational pathway, which allows students to learn Hawaiian from preschool through the doctoral level.

Before the signing, OHA trustees visited programs serving infants, preschoolers, and K-12 students at the Nāwahī campus in Keaʻau. UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin said the university is grateful for OHA's trust and takes its responsibility to deliver on it seriously.