Enrollment in Hawaiian language immersion schools known as Kaiapuni has risen over the past decade, even as Hawaii’s education department struggles to hire enough qualified teachers to serve the demand, according to an Associated Press report published Jan. 5.
The AP report said enrollment in Kaiapuni schools grew by 68% over the past decade, and the number of Kaiapuni campuses run by the state education department increased from 14 to 26. It also said families often find fewer immersion options in middle and high school compared with earlier grades.
Office of Hawaiian Education Director Kau‘i Sang said recruiting qualified teachers is among the largest barriers to expanding Kaiapuni programs, and that the Department of Education needs to balance opening more classrooms with hiring enough teachers to support existing Kaiapuni schools. Sang said, “We cannot open classrooms unless we have qualified staff.”
The department is planning to open two new Kaiapuni programs at Haleiwa Elementary on Oahu and Kalanianaole Elementary on the Big Island, the AP report said. Sang also outlined plans to add more grade levels to existing Kaiapuni schools next year and provide families with more information about how to enroll.
The report said the Department currently has three unfilled Kaiapuni teacher positions and employs 25 unlicensed Kaiapuni educators who still need to fulfill teacher training requirements, according to Communications Director Nanea Ching. Mākaʻimoku, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii Hilo’s College of Hawaiian Language, said the number of additional teachers needed to fully staff Kaiapuni schools could be closer to 100.
Mākaʻimoku said staffing shortages are also affecting classroom conditions, with some Kaiapuni teachers taking on larger-than-average class sizes, and that annual vacancy rates may underestimate how many educators schools need. The AP report noted that Anuenue, located in Palolo Valley, is one of only two Department of Education schools serving Kaiapuni students in kindergarten through 12.
Aha Kauleo, an advisory group of Hawaiian language schools and organizations, projected that the state will need 165 more Kaiapuni teachers in the next decade to fully staff classrooms and meet families’ growing demand, the AP report said. Mākaʻimoku said the projection does not account for a large group of teachers expected to retire in the coming years.
The report said last year UH Manoa and Hilo produced a total of 12 licensed Kaiapuni teachers. Mākaʻimoku said it is difficult to find candidates who are both fluent in Hawaiian and interested in teaching, especially because Hawaiian language speakers are in high demand in many careers. She also said a lack of teachers does not mean schools should stop expanding Kaiapuni programs, noting family support and momentum behind the movement.
The teacher shortage has also been raised in litigation. The AP report said the Hawaii Supreme Court previously ruled the education department has a constitutional duty to provide families with access to Hawaiian immersion education, and that two lawsuits filed in August argued the department has fallen short by creating barriers such as waitlists for enrollment and limited immersion programs in some school districts. One lawsuit was dropped over the summer, while the second remains active.
The AP report said families are pushing for more immersion options in Pearl City, which has no middle or high schools for Kaiapuni students. In written testimony to the Board of Education, parent Chloe Puaʻena Vierra-Villanueva wrote, “Our keiki start their educational journey in Hawaiian immersion programs, but upon reaching intermediate and high school levels, they find themselves with no option but to leave their home district.”
The report said a petition to add Kaiapuni programs at Highlands Intermediate and Pearl City High School received more than 100 signatures over the past three weeks. It also said the state has offered a $8,000 salary bonus to Kaiapuni teachers since 2020 to attract more people to classroom positions.
Kahea Faria, an assistant specialist at UH Manoa’s College of Education and a Kaiapuni parent, said she would like to see more Department of Education campuses solely dedicated to serving immersion students across all grade levels. She said creating environments where Hawaiian is the only spoken language is critical to students’ development and could encourage more kids to pursue teaching careers in Kaiapuni schools, adding that students with a growing number of peers have very limited opportunities to grow their language abilities.
Mākaʻimoku said Hawaii needs to look beyond Kaiapuni graduates to expand the potential pool of immersion teachers, including by offering more Hawaiian language classes to families and community members. She said, “That’s definitely a conversation that all communities in Hawaii should have.”