Although some Hawaii lawmakers have grumbled that a new agency in charge of public school construction is moving too slowly, its leader says the first 11 classrooms in the state’s Ready Keiki preschool initiative are on track to welcome students this fall — below budget and a year ahead of schedule — while three Oahu high schools are in advanced discussions to become Hawaii’s first major teacher housing projects.

Ready Keiki, a plan to greatly expand free public preschools in Hawaii, appears to be off to a flying start.

Eleven free preschool classrooms for 3- and 4-year-olds are scheduled to open a year ahead of schedule in August to help low-income families across the islands, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said Monday.

These are some national stats, but underlying the promising new state “Ready Keiki” program are the worrisome local facts as well. Fully half of Hawaii’s more than 35,000 3- and 4-year-olds have not attended preschool, according to the proposal unveiled last week by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.

Hawaii is committing to providing universal preschool by year 2032. This comes amid a national push for the federal government to provide universal preschool in all states. Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke is leading the effort in Hawaii. She joined American Voices with Alicia Menendez to discuss.

Luke has been tasked with two very ambitious plans to expand preschool programs and broadband internet. The Conversation spoke to Luke about her plan, which involves many departments and the four counties, to spend $200 million to build new preschool classrooms.

Inside a first-grade classroom at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Honolulu, Jacqueline Ornellas began thinking of all the possibilities this room could be used for.

Right outside of this room, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke outlined her plans to help get young children into preschool and offer early education statewide.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke unveiled her Ready Keiki plan. The goal of this is to create 80 new preschool classrooms by August 2024 and 465 new classrooms by 2032. The program will focus on keiki ages three and four.

Hawaii put forward a plan Tuesday to make preschool available to all 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032, which if successful would put the state in a rarified group of states managing to provide pre-kindergarten education to most of its children.

After decades of urgent calls for a statewide preschool system, a public- private plan finally is being launched to create 465 classrooms so that all Hawaii 3- and 4-year-olds can get access to preschool by 2032, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and community leaders are set to announce today.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke unveiled the new Ready Keiki initiative on Tuesday, a $200 million public-private partnership to expand preschool services statewide.

Luke said that the state plans to build or refurbish more than 400 pre-kindergarten classes over the next decade, including 80 in the next 18 months.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke unveiled her plan to expand access to preschool. She hopes that will allow all eligible children to have preschool access by 2032.

Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke unveils the state's "Ready Keiki initiative", a program to greatly expand early childhood education.

It will take ten years and hundreds of millions of dollars, but the program will eventually provide access to pre-K learning for every Hawaii family that wants it.

Hawaii’s education system is moving on two major goals: Finding classrooms for thousands of new preschool children and building more housing to attract and keep teachers.

Now, there’s an effort to fulfill both challenges ― in the same buildings.