Legislators visited Kauai Independent Day Services Center in Kapa‘a Friday and came away impressed by a program they said could help strengthen pre-school and special education programs in Hawai‘i’s public school system. “For the young people being able to fully
Legislators visited Kauai Independent Day Services Center in Kapa‘a Friday and came away impressed by a program they said could help strengthen pre-school and special education programs in Hawai‘i’s public school system.
“For the young people being able to fully develop as a person, both analytical and creative skills, this program is apparently unique but is certainly successful,” said Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-District 15, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. “The people are very, very fortunate to have a program like this.”
The program offers children between three and four years of age the chance to build confidence and self-esteem, said Phyllis Kunimura, the co-founder and board president of the school. From the repeat success they experience at an early age, the students will very likely become well-adjusted adults who will make positive contributions to society, she said.
Through six modules and other programs, the students experience daily activities that stimulate the functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
That process encourages a child to analyze, to reason, to think things through in sequence, to talk and to imagine, Kunimura said.
Sakamoto said he liked what he saw, saying it would be food for thought as the Legislature looks at ways to support early childhood education programs in Hawai‘i.
What the legislators learn from the KIDS School and other pre-schools in the state could help Hawai’i educators make better use of funds and resources in an ongoing effort to improve the quality of public education.
House Rep. Roy Takumi, D-District 36, who is chairman of the House Committee on Education, and others planned to visit Kunimura’s school at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 31. Their focus will be on pre-school education, Kuni-mura said.
Kunimura, who has 50 years of teaching experience, and co-founder John Apana, believe their program is the only one of its kind in the nation.
Kunimura said she developed the curriculum after much research. The program puts students through experiences and academic exercises that are intended to prepare them for kindergarten and will encourage them to love learning throughout their lives, she said.
Sen. Gary Hooser, D-District 7, majority leader of the Senate, said he invited the legislators to visit Kunimura’s school to see an “innovative and exciting program.”
“We are visiting pre-schools all over the state to learn how they operate and to learn about the different philosophies of education each employs,” Hooser said.
With the help of a study on pre-schools expected to be completed and circulated by the end of this year, the Legislature can look at how it can indirectly support pre-schools, which are privately funded, he said.
“Right now we have a pre-plus program, and through it, pre-schools are built on state properties and the properties are contracted out to the operators of the schools,” he said.
While the government can’t provide funds to pre-schools, government could provide tuition assistance or vouchers to children from lower-income households, he said.
“We will be looking for ways to encourage more children to get into pre-school,” Hooser said.
Visiting Kunimura’s pre-school were Sen. Will Espero, D-District 20, chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, Sen. Clarence Nishihara, D-District 18, a member of the Senate Education Committee, House Rep. Sylvia Luke, D-District 26, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Kat Brady of the Department of Public Safety.
Also attending was Joanne Nakashima, Hooser’s assistant and an educator in Hawai‘i‘ and Ohio for more than four decades.
Prior to the visit to the Kapa‘a pre-school, the group toured the Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center in Wailua.
Sakamoto said he believes the pre-school program will help special education and gifted and talented students.
He said he also likes the thrust of the school program, that of individualizing learning and helping students overcome their academic weaknesses, Sakamoto said.
What he also liked about the program was that students could be mentors to a classmate.
“You are teaching a three-year-old how each person can be a leader,” Sakamoto said.
He said the program will help students develop much-needed self-esteem.
“Many of our children (in Hawai‘i) give up,” Sakamoto said. “Many of them feel they are not okay. But by teaching them they are okay, each person has a turn to help others make wise choices.”
Kunimura said her program focuses on how a student learns and less on what a student learns.
More emphasis on the former will help develop highly motivated and self-confident children, she said.
The students rotate among six modules, or play areas, that are at the foundation of Kunimura’s program.
Each module, led by an instructor, is equipped with “developmentally appropriate toys” and games that are used to stimulate and help with the development of both sides of the brain.
In one of the modules, a learning center, which offers 45 games, one student was given two sheets with a picture of the top and bottom of a black-and-white lady bug.
When the child put the sheets together to make the lady bug whole, she analyzed what was in front of her, saw things in sequence and engaged in problem solving, said Elvrine Chow, the assistant director of the pre-school.
In another module for math, students learned about solving problems, Chow said.
The module program is bolstered by art, music and exchanges between teachers and students., and the “Time for Me” intervention and prevention program Kunimura created in 1999.
The program provides one-on-one attention and guidance to students who require more time to develop socially, physically, emotionally and cognitively, she said.
The school was founded by Kunimura in 1989, when she retired after some 30 years as an educator with the state Department of Education. Kunimura is the wife of the late Tony T. Kunimura, former Kaua‘i mayor.
