Creativity and inclusive practices found in Kaua‘i preschools

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — I came to Kaua‘i in mid-December, an early childhood teacher with a doctorate in education and teaching credentials in general and special education. I’d allocated a few days of my winter break to research preschool programs and had only the vaguest idea of what I would find.

For 20 years I’ve taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Through my education and teaching experience, I conceived a method of implementing early childhood education that I called “The Concept of WE.”  The philosophy underlying WE asserts that teachers, teaching assistants, students, parents of students, school administrators and the community at large, must work together to educate children — and educate them in classrooms that include typical and special needs students. WE stresses that all of us must accept responsibility for the success or failure of every single student.

A colleague and I wrote a paper about our WE experiences, and that paper became part of an educational textbook that has just gone to press. However, I itched to do wider research. I wanted to discover whether any other teachers, schools or districts were implementing similar methods in early childhood education, and I wanted to know if those methods were succeeding. A stroke of luck pointed me to the educational inclusion methods used on the Garden Isle of Kaua‘i.

Kaua‘i is bigger than it looks on a map, and I had no idea where to begin my search, so I picked up the phone and trusted my fate to fortune. After several phone calls to Kaua‘i, I reached Reina Kurisu, educational manager for Kaua‘i Head Start Programs. Reina was warm and welcoming, and cared enough about a total stranger to help me arrange visits to two Head Start preschools that served typical preschoolers and preschoolers with special needs.

My next lucky break occurred with a referral to Stephanie Kaluahine Reid, director of public relations at the St. Regis Princeville Resort. With great kindness, good humor and a desire to help, Ms. Reid contacted Kilauea Elementary School on my behalf and helped arrange for me to visit the preschool special education class.

Entirely due to the kindness of strangers, I would now be able to visit three Kaua‘i preschool programs. All that was missing from my itinerary was a visit to a school that trained adults in early childhood education. An Internet search turned up Kaua‘i Community College, which fit the bill precisely. One phone call put me in touch with Frances Dinnan, a financial aid counselor, who arranged for me to tour the campus and interview a faculty member in the Department of Education.

I grew deeply impressed with the support, helpfulness and generosity that I experienced from every person I dealt with. So, with my itinerary set, my head full of questions and my expectations high, I left Los Angeles for Kaua‘i.

I was not disappointed.

On my first full day, I met Reina Kurisu at the Kapa‘a Head Start Program, located in an adorable bungalow with a hand-painted sign. It was a charming setting, with lots of green grass, lovely flowering shrubs and a few strolling chickens for idyllic effect. Inside, the classroom had been divided into numerous learning areas, and I observed happy preschoolers engaged in a variety of activities, assisted by several adults. Their preschool teacher, Sylvia Cole, explained that preschoolers with special needs had their own classroom but, accompanied by their special education assistant, joined her class for a time each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, to mix with their typical peers.

Ms. Kurisu and I then headed over to the Kilauea Head Start Program, located in a small building behind Kilauea Elementary School, where I met Naomi Mersberg, the preschool teacher. As Ms. Mersberg interacted with her preschoolers in their play yard and their classroom decorated with colorful student work, she spoke only positive words to her students and followed their leads, something I practice with my own preschoolers in Los Angeles.

The Kilauea Head Start preschool fully includes children with special needs, who work in tandem with Mike Kline, the special education preschool teacher at Kilauea Elementary. I made my third visit of the day to Mr. Kline’s classroom, where he and his assistants give individualized attention and unstinting support to special needs preschoolers. Mr. Kline has a wonderfully heartfelt and heart-filled program, and he patiently answered my long list of questions.

Next day, I visited Kaua‘i Community College and met Frances Dinnan, the financial aid counselor whom I’d met over the phone — and she was just as affable in person. Ms. Dinnan gave me an overview of the college’s programs and classes, especially those in the Early Childhood Education Program. After touring the campus, she led me to the on-site Na Kama Pono Preschool, where Education students gain practical experience by working with preschool students. Ms. Dinnan introduced me to “Auntie” Val Rita, the interim director of Na Kama Pono Preschool and a teacher in the program. Auntie Val’s philosophy of early childhood education was very similar to my own, focused on developmentally appropriate practices and the importance of educating parents as well as students. Auntie Val was of the opinion that the Early Childhood Education Program should include a course focused on preschoolers with special needs. I wholeheartedly agree.

During my brief stay on Kaua‘i, I met with Stephanie Kaluahine Reid several times, and found her charming, gracious and extraordinarily helpful. On my last day, we met at the St. Regis to discuss my research observations. I told her that my observations were positive, showing that teachers and assistants are using developmentally appropriate practices, like following a child’s lead, mapping language onto a child’s experience, and using the creative curriculum strategies espoused by Colker and Dodge, well-known education specialists. From my perspective, a preschooler’s experience on Kaua‘i is good and getting better.

As we talked about my experiences and impressions, I expressed my amazement that everyone I’d met had been so gracious and generous with their time, talent and expertise — all for a total stranger. It was humbling. Ms. Reid was not surprised, however, explaining to me that such behavior is not exceptional, but rooted in centuries of Hawaiian tradition embodied in four key cultural principles: kakou, inclusiveness; lokahi, harmony and unity; ho‘ohana, worthwhile work; and ‘ohana, family — those dear to us by blood or by choice.

As I listened, I realized that these principles did not simply explain the generous treatment I’d received on Kaua‘i, where everyone had collaborated and cooperated with me; these four principles underlay everything I’d seen in the preschool classrooms, where every teacher strove for inclusiveness and worked hard to create harmony, unity and a sense of family. The teachers I met do work beyond worth, work which ensures that their preschoolers will thrive on rich experiences now that will prepare them for success in their academic future.

This moment of understanding brought me to another epiphany: Kakou, lokahi, ho‘ohana and ‘ohana describe not just my Kaua‘i experience, but encompass everything that I express in “The Concept of WE.”

On Kaua‘i, I found a community that embodies all the truth I discovered at home.

Now I send my aloha and heartfelt thanks to Stephanie Kaluahine Reid, Reina Kurisu, Frances Dinnan, Sylvia Cole, Naomi Mersberg, Mike Kline, “Auntie” Val Rita, and everyone at the St. Regis Princeville. You helped me turn a brief research visit into a cultural learning experience. This aloha is my greeting, not my goodbye. I know that, like family, we shall all meet again.

• Tracy Eagle is an early childhood specialist who works at Los Angeles Unified School District and writes textbooks. She comes regularly to Kaua‘i to research early childhood programs. She can be contacted at (310) 702-7888 or at eagletl@att.net.