It all started with a dream Malia Tokioka, drug counselor for Hina Mauka’s Teen Care, had one night about a school for at-risk kids. She even dreamt of the name: Na Kamali‘i o Kaua‘i (The Royal Youth of Kaua‘i). Kapa‘a
It all started with a dream Malia Tokioka, drug counselor for Hina Mauka’s Teen Care, had one night about a school for at-risk kids. She even dreamt of the name: Na Kamali‘i o Kaua‘i (The Royal Youth of Kaua‘i).
Kapa‘a social studies teacher Heather Ryan got inspired when she had taken a group of at-risk students to Washington D.C. and had really enjoyed working with them. After her experience, she started noticing more and more kids dropping out before their senior year — not just at Kapa‘a High School, but at Kaua‘i High too. Ryan wanted to find a way to help the students get motivated and stay in school.
“At-risk kids don’t always feel special,” Ryan said. “I wanted a program that would restore dreams to kids who might have given up on their dreams.”
According to Tokioka, people thought the worst of the old Alternative Learning Center program and didn’t believe in it. But Tokioka believed in the program when Ryan approached her for support.
“They (the students) have their own challenges in their lives,” Tokioka said. “But they’re making it work because they have people believing in them.”
With the support of Kapa‘a High School principal Gilmore Youn and Hina Mauka’s Teen Care, and help from a small grant from an anonymous donor, Ryan launched the new program that serves students from the south and east sides of the island. They nicknamed the old ALC program the “Ali‘i Leadership Club.”
The program officially started at the beginning of August and Ryan is optimistic about the commitment level of the students.
“There are these boys from the south side that come every single day,” Ryan said. “I’m so proud of them.”
Senior Micah Henderson didn’t care for the program at Kaua‘i High and transferred to Kapa‘a High.
“Coming to Kapa‘a High was a good thing,” Henderson said. “I’m on the honor roll for the first time. We all want to graduate so we can prove everyone wrong that doubted us.”
Henderson hopes to go to college in California and someday become a professional body-boarder. Daniel “Bird” Matheny shares that dream, hoping to professionally surf. Senior Shaun Hashi hopes to go to California too after graduation — he would like to attend art school in Los Angeles.
Ryan has taken steps to help restore goals and dreams the students had written down at the beginning of the school year. She has brought in guest speakers that have come from the same background as the students. Ryan has also educated the teens on healthy lifestyle choices and decisions, such as getting off drugs and eating healthier.
Ryan is most proud of the two projects the students have started. The students have their own organic garden, working off a donated plot in Kapahi and giving what they grow to housebound kupuna.
The students and Ryan each have their own row in the garden where they have planted spinach, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli and corn. Before they planted the garden, they researched what would grow best in the Kaua‘i climate and even started growing plants in their classroom to be transplanted to the garden later.
Senior Kai Parraga feels right at home in the garden. His past job was in garden maintenance and he plans to start his own landscaping company after he attends college and gets his business degree.
“Something about plants calms me,” Parraga said.
The students also started their own dehydrated fruit company called Kamali‘i Treats. The fruit is donated from local stores and sometimes comes from home, according to Henderson. The Blossoming Lotus in Kapa‘a lets the students use their dehydrator to prepare the fruit for sale.
“We sell dried starfruit and goji berries, apples and bananas,” Ryan said. “We’re raising money to support our programs.”
The treats are sold at Vim and Vigor, Koloa Natural Foods, Papaya’s of Kapa‘a and the Lotus Root.
With the school year nearly half over, Ryan is already looking towards the future of the program.
“I see something that can be replicated,” Ryan said. “The success of how they do will determine the future of the program.”
She is interested in taking the program from Kapa‘a High School off-site, possibly forming an academy, but would still like to work with the school. Ryan is also looking for grants to fund the program. One major goal Ryan has is to get people that have retired from teaching to come teach and be a part of the student’s lives.
Tokioka has nothing but praise for the Ali‘i Leadership Club. She believes that Ryan and the program are the reasons they have come so far.
“It gives me a sense of joy,” Tokioka said. “They’re realizing there’s going to be bigger things in life. This program has helped them see outside the box.”
For more information on Na Kamali‘i o Kaua‘i, go to www.nakamaliiokauai.com.
• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com.
