OHA Awards Kanu o ka ʻĀina $50,000 for Native Hawaiian Education Conference

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs awarded Kanu o ka ʻĀina Learning ʻOhana, the Waimea-based Hawaiian-focused charter school organization, $50,000 to support the Nā Lei Naʻauao – Alliance for Native Hawaiian Education Annual Conference – Ku'i ka Lono, bringing renewed institutional backing to a network that spans five islands and serves more than 4,600 students.

The conference draws together educators and leaders connected through the Nā Lei Naʻauao network of Hawaiian-focused public charter schools. Participants exchange best practices in place-based and project-based learning rooted in ʻike Hawaiʻi, with a particular focus on the perpetuation and revitalization of the Hawaiian language and culture, guided by traditional Hawaiian values.

Taffi Wise, executive director of Kanu o ka ʻĀina Learning ʻOhana, framed the award in constitutional terms. "We are deeply grateful to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees and leadership for their continued commitment to strengthening Native Hawaiian education, leadership, and community well-being," Wise said. "This partnership reflects Hawaiʻi's constitutional responsibility to promote Hawaiian education and culture, and affirms that Native Hawaiian resources are most powerful when stewarded by Native Hawaiian organizations serving our communities and advancing solutions designed by and for our lāhui."

The $50,000 grant is part of a much larger pattern of OHA investment in Hawaiian-focused charter education. OHA has committed a total of $6 million to 17 Hawaiian-focused public charter schools over the next two fiscal years. That package includes a $2.7 million Hawaiian Focused Charter School Fund Administration Grant, which OHA trustees approved at their October meeting, authorizing Kanu o ka ʻĀina Learning ʻOhana to manage per-pupil funding support for 16 of those schools. The 17th school, Kanu o ka ʻĀina New Century Public Charter School, is an educational partner of KALO; its designated $300,000 in per-pupil funding and $150,000 in facilities support will be administered directly by OHA.

Facilities needs have driven much of the recent funding push. In February 2023, OHA awarded KALO a separate $2.85 million grant to administer a new phase of the charter school grant devoted to unmet facilities needs. A survey of participating charter schools found that every single program reported needing facilities assistance, an outcome that reflects a structural funding gap: charter schools receive no Capital Improvement Project or repair and maintenance funds from the state. Data from the 2019-2020 school year showed public schools received $17,475 per pupil from the state while public charter schools received $9,697.

Nancy Levenson, chief information officer at Kanu o ka ʻĀina Learning ʻOhana, described the facilities stakes directly. "This award is crucial as it provides essential facilities support to our Hawaiian Focused Charter Schools. As these schools do not receive State facilities funding, they face mounting facility needs. With this grant, we can address these challenges and ensure our students have safe and conducive learning environments that honor our Hawaiian traditions and values," Levenson said.

Of the more than 4,000 students who attend Hawaiian-focused charter schools statewide, 77 percent are of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Since 2005, OHA has provided more than $21.5 million in per-pupil grant funding to 17 Hawaiian-focused public charter schools.

Incorporated in 2000, Kanu o ka ʻĀina Learning ʻOhana operates as a federally recognized Native Hawaiian Organization with a mission to serve and perpetuate sustainable Hawaiian communities through education with aloha, conducting advocacy, research, and grantsmanship across 17 communities throughout the islands.