What is a Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools?
Hawaiian language immersion schools teach the curriculum in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language), reviving a language that was once nearly lost and rooting students in Native Hawaiian culture and values. The movement includes Pūnana Leo (family-based immersion preschools) and the public Kaiapuni Hawaiian language immersion program, from early childhood through high school.
History & origins
After Hawaiian was suppressed and endangered, families and educators launched the Pūnana Leo immersion preschools in the 1980s and, later, public Kaiapuni immersion schools — a landmark, internationally recognized language-revitalization movement that helped bring ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi back to new generations.
Philosophy & approach
These schools are built on revitalizing ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and perpetuating Hawaiian culture, values, and identity — immersing children in the language so it lives and thrives, alongside strong academics.
Curriculum & academics
Students learn academics taught in Hawaiian, integrated with Hawaiian culture, history, values (like aloha and mālama), and place-based learning. Programs aim for fluency and biliteracy in Hawaiian and English.
The classroom & school day
Classrooms are fully immersive and culturally grounded, led by Hawaiian-speaking educators, with family and community involvement and a deep connection to place and culture.
Grade levels & structure
The pathway runs from Pūnana Leo preschools through K–12 Kaiapuni immersion.
Admissions & enrollment
Public Kaiapuni immersion is free; Pūnana Leo preschools are family-based (with fees/support). Programs are located in Hawaiʻi and open to families committed to the immersion model.
Costs & financial aid
Public Hawaiian immersion is free; preschools involve fees with support. It's a community investment in language and culture.
Accreditation & governance
Kaiapuni operates within Hawaiʻi's public education system; the model is well established and internationally recognized. Look at the immersion pathway and continuity from preschool through high school.
Is a Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools right for your child?
Hawaiian immersion suits families in Hawaiʻi who want their children fluent in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and rooted in Hawaiian culture and identity, and who value the revitalization of the language.
How it compares to other schools
Hawaiian immersion schools are a landmark example of language-immersion education for revitalization, related to Native American language immersion and to language-immersion schools generally, and distinctive to Hawaiʻi and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.
Finding Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools
Ready to explore specific schools? K12 Academics lists immersion, Native, and other schools across the country.
Key facts
- LanguageʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language)
- ModelsPūnana Leo (preschool) and public Kaiapuni immersion (K–12)
- GoalFluency, biliteracy, cultural identity, and language revitalization
- WhereHawaiʻi
- CostPublic immersion is free; preschools involve fees with support
Where to learn more
To learn more and find specific schools: