We the undersigned, petition the Hawaii Department of Education and PÄ`ia School to cease a lottery-style admission process for incoming Kindergarden children to the Kula Kaiapuni program. PÄ`ia School serves K-5th grade and is the only school on the Central/East side of Maui that children desiring a kaiapuni education can attend. We demand that the principal stop the action of the lottery (scheduled for NEXT Monday, May 6th at 9am) and admit ALL children requiring and requesting Hawaiian language immersion education. Hawaiian language education is a RIGHT, not a privilege, as Hawaiian is an official language of the state of Hawai`i.
Some things that need to be remembered:
1) The present day Department of Education descends from the Hawaiian Kingdom period and was originally a Hawaiian language school system.
2) Hawaiian is still considered an endangered language as we do not yet have the critical mass of speakers needed to sustain a language AND Hawaiian IS an official language of the state.
3) Hawaiian language education is a right not a “special program.”
Our question is this: Would you hold a lottery if you had 53 students applying for English
kindergarten?