On day one of school, these 3- and 4-year-olds at Fern will mainly just be learning to let go of their parents’ hands, to eat school lunch, find the potty, and make friends with each other and the wiggly tetra and guppies in the class aquarium.

Wailuku Elementary will host one of the first 11 classrooms in the state under the Ready Keiki initiative, which aims to expand free public preschool programs as families face the high cost of early education and child care.

On Thursday morning, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, state lawmakers and state education officials stepped into the newly renovated classroom, which is equipped with wooden tables and chairs, a stack of blue cots for naptime and shelves fitted with transparent backing so teachers can keep an eye on kids.

The state plans to open 11 new free public preschool classrooms this fall as part of the Ready Keiki initiative.

On Thursday, lawmakers got a look at one of the classrooms at Wailuku Elementary School on Maui.

This August, it will be the learning hub for 20 children, ages three and four, at no cost to their parents.

Maui’s Wailuku Elementary is one of 11 public preschool classroom sites across the state that are slated to open this school year, thanks to Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke and the Ready Keiki Initiative.

The Lt. Gov. visited the Wailuku site Thursday morning, where she announced that two more classrooms at the school will be brought on as part of the program next year, to serve as a hub for Central Maui.

Several state officials were at Kilauea School on Thursday, where they visited a new preschool classroom set to open next month as part of Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke’s Ready Keiki initiative.

A new certificate for infant and toddler caregivers is now available through Honolulu Community College’s Early Childhood Education (ECED) program. Building on the momentum from the Ready Keiki initiative to expand access to preschool, and the tuition stipend available to current and potential early childhood educators and caregivers, the ECED program launched the certificate to provide more opportunities for individuals in the early childhood education and care profession.

State officials and the education community gathered to celebrate funding for the Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program that Hawaiʻi is once again embracing.

Aid has become available for current and future early childhood educators.

The state of Hawaiʻi has announced on Thursday, July 6 that it is once again offering a tuition stipend.

University of Hawaiʻi students enrolled in early childhood education programs could have their tuition covered under a stipend program aimed at bolstering the early learning workforce.

State and education officials announced Thursday that they will be advancing the Early Childhood Education Stipend Program at the UH Mānoa Children's Center.

Despite a two-year wait to fully launch Hawaii’s first public stipend program for early-childhood educators, state officials are hopeful that it will make big strides toward solving a chronic and severe shortage of teachers and caregivers for keiki ages 0 to 5.

State officials and community stakeholders celebrated funding for the Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program, an initiative to boost the state’s Early Childhood workforce, on July 6 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Children’s Center, the on-campus preschool. The Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) received $660,000 in funding from the state budget, signed by Gov. Josh Green on June 30.

Gov. Josh Green signed several education-related bills into law on Monday that will impact educators, keiki and facilities throughout the state.

A series of bills signed into law on Monday looks to push Hawai’i further toward the goal of accessible education for early learners.

Gov. Josh Green has signed House Bill 961 into law. The measure extends the state’s Open Doors Preschool program to 3-year-olds, appropriates funds for the program, expands accreditation opportunities, and authorizes the acceptance of federal funds.

Act 46, which was passed in 2020, set a goal to expand preschool access to all 3- and 4-year-olds statewide by the year 2032. Through Lt. Gov. Syliva Luke’s Ready Keiki initiative, hundreds of millions of dollars have already been allocated to building more pre-K classrooms and expanding access to education.

Measures giving the state’s new School Facilities Authority access to millions more dollars and dramatically broader flexibility to build teacher housing and preschool classrooms were among a group of education-related bills signed into law by Gov. Josh Green in a ceremony Monday.

The governor signed four new education measures into law Monday, including one aimed at bolstering affordable housing for teachers.

The new affordable teacher housing is designed to aid in recruiting and retaining educators to work in Hawaii’s public school system amid an ongoing teacher shortage.

At the Royal Elementary School library in Honolulu on Monday, Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green signed into law four education and early-education bills that include housing for teachers.

“We need 1,200 teachers to fill our annual teacher shortage,” Green said while signing SB941 (Act 172). It authorizes the School Facilities Authority to partner with public and private agencies to develop housing on- or off-campus for teachers, other educators and staff, and to develop classrooms.

Parents can now apply for the State of Hawaiʻi’s free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs that are available to all 3- and 4-year-old children on the Big Island.

The state’s Public Pre-kindergarten Program is designed to provide valuable learning experiences, with a commitment to inclusive education.

The program accepts up to 20 keiki per classroom, including those with special needs.

Parents can now apply for the State of Hawaiʻi’s free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs that are available to all 3- and 4-year-old children on the Big Island.

The state’s Public Pre-kindergarten Program is designed to provide valuable learning experiences, with a commitment to inclusive education.

The program accepts up to 20 keiki per classroom, including those with special needs.

A new national report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked Hawaiʻi's keiki 25th in overall well-being.

The foundation's annual KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks states across 16 categories in education, health, community and economic security.

"In Hawaiʻi, we were about in the middle of the pack for the whole country," said Nicole Woo, policy director at the advocacy group Hawaiʻi Children’s Action Network.

Since 1990, the Kids Count Data Book has ranked states based on how children and families are faring. It focuses on four areas: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors.

A newly renovated preschool classroom in Waimea is ahead of schedule and under budget as part of the Ready Keiki initiative led by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.

The classroom is located at Waimea Elementary School and was expected to cost roughly $1 million for renovations, new chairs and other adjustments required for 3- and 4-year-old students.