Kawaiaha‘o school earns praise

A class for youngsters 3 to 6 years old conducted in both Hawaiian and Eng­lish was cited as a “uniquely innovative” option for keiki and helped to earn Kawaiaha‘o Church School its gold star accreditation earlier this month.

The brain from ages 3 to 6 is particularly malleable when it comes to learning language skills, says school Director Jon Yasuda. “It’s just like a piece of clay when it’s still soft.”

“Learning the language from a young age, 3, 4 to 6, it’s a good time cognitively for the mind to hear the differences in the nuances, in the sounds, in the elements of the worldview that the language carries that sometimes they don’t even consciously understand yet. But for their mind and their ears to be exposed to two languages at a young age, there’s advantages to that, rather than learning at a later age,” Yasuda said.

Kawaiaha‘o earned a gold star — a seven-year accreditation status — from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), in collaboration with the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools (HAIS).

On the grounds of the historic church downtown since 1975, the school incorporates the Montessori educational approach, which develops a child’s independence. It serves 80 students from age 2 to the fifth grade, weaving together Christian education and Native Hawaiian cultural values and language.

The report said the dual-­language class was “uniquely innovative,” an option that parents may enroll their keiki in for no additional cost. The class has been led by Kala‘iku Kaowili since its inception five years ago; it currently consists of 24 multiethnic students age 3 to 6, assisted by Nani Nagao and Birgitta Grace. Yasuda added that most of the students come from homes in which Eng­lish is spoken, though some parents or grandparents also speak Hawaiian.

“Children usually pick up very fast because they’re learning language in general,” Kaowili said. “The 3-year-olds pick up (Hawaiian) very quickly because (of that).”

Most of the students who come into the class at 5 have attended another school where they weren’t used to hearing Hawaiian, and it takes them about four months to become comfortable speaking Hawaiian, she said.

There hasn’t been a problem with newcomers feeling left out because “we use a lot of English in the beginning” of the year when the Hawaiian vocabulary is introduced — it’s not like being in a Hawaiian “immersion” class that Kaowili attended growing up, where English is discouraged, she said.

Children everywhere love music, and they pick up songs faster than learning words alone, she said. So she introduces songs related to every topic to spark their interest, and since the same words are in the songs and lessons, learning the new words becomes easier, Kaowili added. She’s amazed that the children can simultaneously learn so much in addition to two languages, like counting numbers and other basic concepts.

“The parents are mostly impressed with just the songs they come home with, the words they use on a regular basis and especially the pronunciation they have. Most of us growing up in Hawaii, we use Hawaiian words all the time — it’s part of pidgin — but the pronunciation isn’t always there.

“But when their kids come home, they’re pronouncing Hawaiian words clearly, and they’re teaching their parents how to say words. Their children are coming home and saying, ‘No, Mom, that’s not how we say it; we say it like this,’” Kaowili said.

Yasuda said introducing children to multiple languages at a young age could increase their overall academic potential and cognizance “because their ears are being trained not only to separate between English and Hawaiian, but to be able to hear the small nuances in intonation, in pronunciation. And I think that creates a higher level of awareness just in the world when they’re listening to people speak in general, a sensitivity that’s enhanced by being exposed to two languages,” he said.

The accreditation review of the entire school began in 2015. During a three-day visit in November, a team evaluated 16 areas through observations, interviews with members of the school community and review of school documents.

“KCS has created a school climate which reflects the values of aloha and ohana. Teachers feel supported, families feel accepted, and most importantly, children are loved,” the report said.