Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 3, 1 March 2023 — 'Āina Advocacy [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Āina Advocacy

_V 'AHA HO'ONA'AUAO 'OIWI HAWAI'I V ^ NATIVE HAWAIIAN EDUCATION COUNCIL *

Movino the U.S. to Prioritize Education Outside the Classroom

By Elena Farden One of the most important tasks the Native Hawaiian Education Council (NHEC) prepares for eaeh December is presenting powerful recommendations on education to the U.S. Department of Education (ED). These recommendations are born from and for the community. NHEC works annually in community consultations and engagement sessions, diverse dialogue, and ongoing education research and advocacy in existing educational programs addressing Native Hawaiians in our process to raise forward these annual recommendations. This year, we anticipate a Native Hawaiian Education Program (NHEP) grant competition and these priority recommendations are important in shaping decisions in what types of programs ED should fund and support. NHEC is focusing this month's eolumn on our second of three priority recommendations to ED on aina-based learning programs. The following exerpt is taken from our annual report: "PRIORITY FUNDING RECOMMENDATION: Expand 'āina-based programs and initiatives to address place-based inequities and increase educational opportunities. "Participants of NHEC's community consultations shared experiences of food insecurity as stressors of the pandemic, whieh in turn underlines the incredible importance aina-based learning or 'teaching and learning through aina so our people, communities, and lands thrive' (Ledward, 2013). Nationally, 21% of Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders, as compared to non-Hispanic White counterparts (8%), experienee food insecurity that directly and indirectly contribute to related factors such as increased healthcare costs, limited access to resources and ineome, and a correlation to poor physical heahh (Nguyen, Pham, Jackson, Ellison, & Sinclair, 2022).

"The relational value to food, to one another, and to the environment remains a priority for Native Hawaiian communities. A participant who attended NHEC's community consultation session for Out of School and 'Āina reflects on the importance of aina-based programming options in the community if traditional schools did not provide resources. '[Traditional schools] don't see the rigor in aina-based learning. I think that's the disconnect. I think that's why out-of-school programs are so important. It reminds our haumāna that learning continues after the school bell rings.' "Ihe increased value of and access to ai-na-based learning and education programs generated greater attention on Hawaiian-focused charter schools (HFCS), whieh have a long-es-tablished core pedagogy on cultivating purposeful and responsible relationships between learners and culture, language, and land (Rogers, Awo Chun, Keehne & Houglum, 2020). The impact of the pandemic jolted urgent opportunity for HFCS and aina-based programs to adapt hybrid and/or virtual delivery for whole family engagement to meet the needs of aina learning and feeding communities. Hawaiian culture-based education principles are values-based, plaeebased, and land-based (Dragon Smith, 2020). "Priority funding for expansion and support of aina-based program reinforces the value of traditional wisdom in aina as an educational priority to cultivate critical skills for learners, as well as an inclusive recovery approach for communities. NHEC strongly recommends aina-based programming as a priority area for funding in the next NHEP grant competition." The work that goes into producing these priority recommendations eaeh year is a labor of love. ■ To see the full report and priority recommendations,please visit our website at www.nhec.org. Elena Farden serves as the executive directorfor the Native Hawaiian Education Council, established in 1994 under the Native Hawaiian Education Act, with responsibility for coordinating, assessing, recommending and reporting on the effectiveness of educational programs for Native Hawaiians and improvements that may be made to existing programs, policies, and procedures to improve the educational attainment ofNative Hawaiiam. Elena is a first-generation college graduate with a BS in telecommunications from Pepperdine University, an MBAfrom Chaminade University and is now in her first year ofa doctorate program.