E Ola ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi: Cultivating Future Immersion Educators

Kahuawaiola Summer 2026 Cohort (left to right): Program Assistant, Kanoe Kanakaʻole; Kahuawaiola candidates: Roy McGrath, Kealo Nasau, Kailena Akau, and Tahiti Chong; and Program Director, Kanani Mākaʻimoku

The critical teacher shortage facing Hawaiian medium education is meeting its match: the next generation of kumu trained at UH Hilo’s Kahuawaiola Hawaiian and Indigenous Teacher Training Program. This intensive, three-semester graduate certificate program delivered through the Hawaiian language medium prepares the next generation of educators to lead in immersion and culture-based environments. 25 years after earning professional DOE licensure as a state-approved teacher education program (SATEP), it's impact on Hawaiian language revitalization cannot be overstated.

Investing in Our Collective Future

Kahuawaiola directly invests in its candidates by offering fully covered tuition stipends and financial support during its demanding summer intensive. Students undergo 1,000 rigorous apprenticeship hours designed around “ma ka hana ka ʻike” (in working, one learns).

“Our students do twice the amount of practicum hours than the DOE minimum,” explained Program Director Kananinohea Mākaʻimoku. “They’re learning and they’re gaining knowledge through actually doing.”

This hands-on approach isn’t just culturally-informed, it has a track-record of success. With an outstanding 80% teacher retention rate, Kahuawaiola has proven it is a sustainable model. Candidates step into a built-in network spanning over two decades of graduates who actively mentor newcomers — an invaluable resource in an ever-evolving classroom environment.

Kahuawaiola candidate Roy McGrath says teaching has been one of the most challenging and rewarding things he has done

Roy McGrath, who was brought on as an emergency hire at Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau on Oʻahu last year, says even with his previous teaching experience — Kahuawaiola has been instrumental in preparing him.

"Working in an immersion school is an incredible opportunity to have a job that forces you to consistently grow as a person,” McGrath described. “Youʻre taking part in a much larger movement than just yourself, which is inspiring.”

Honoring Kūpuna, Anchoring Community

Many candidates said they began seeking a professional calling anchored in ancestral identity after attending the undergraduate Hawaiian Studies program at UH Hilo’s Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language.

Inspired by her tūtū wahine, a weaver, farmer, and fisherwoman — Tahiti Chong balances the program’s intense workload by turning to those who paved the path before her.

Kahuawaiola candidate Tahiti Chong strives to bridge classroom learning with the ʻāina (land) in honor of traditional cultural practices

"It’s a lot of looking back to move forward," Chong said smiling, explaining that she draws strength from seeing all our kuaʻana Kahuawaiola (older brothers and sisters from the program) who are now pillars in our lāhui, and “we want to make them and all of our ʻohana (family) proud.”

Kahuawaiola’s holistic training cultivates a deep dedication to community restoration. Recent UH Hilo graduate and Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy alumna, Kailena Akau looks forward to returning to Waimea to teach. Inspired by her own upbringing and mentors, Akau shared, “I feel like my community, my family, my teachers have made me who I am today. So I want to be able to do the same for the future generations and just build up my own community where I’m from.”

Kahuawaiola candidates aim to strengthen ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in classrooms and normalize its use well beyond campus borders. Kealo Nasau, a Kamehameha Schools Kapālama graduate, visualizes a future where the Hawaiian language thrives across all professional spaces. “The ultimate goal is to give students a passion to want to hoʻōla (save) ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi so that they grow up to become a bank teller who can ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi or a doctor or the store clerk who can help you in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and do their part to continue to make our language spread.”

Kawaihuaola candidates Kealo Nasau and Kailena Akau lead Ke Kula 'O Nāwahīokalani'ōpuʻu Iki Lab Public Charter School students in summer session in a classroom activity

As Mākaʻimoku explained, Kahuawaiola has repeatedly demonstrated that investing in the Hawaiian language is how Native Hawaiians secure their future. “We must collectively uplift this pathway and celebrate the honor of being Hawaiian and the impact that practicing all things that make us Hawaiian — ʻolelo Hawaiʻi, hula, aloha ʻāina — has on this world.”