The state will be opening what they call a “historic” number of public pre-K classrooms ahead of the new school year.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke made the announcement at Kuhio Elementary on Friday that 44 new classrooms will open statewide come August.

This is part of the “Ready Keiki” initiative led by the lieutenant governor, the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) and other partners to expand preschool services across the islands.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke joined the Department of Education, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board to announce that Hawaiʻi has been awarded a $4.9 million State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (SAEF) grant by the US Department of Labor to the DLIR. This funding will be used to support Hawaiʻi’s teacher workforce by creating the first statewide registered apprenticeship program for K-12 teachers.

The Preschool Open Doors program has been expanded, allowing families to apply at any time throughout the year on a rolling basis, instead of the previous fixed application period from January to the end of March.

The program provides monthly preschool tuition subsidies to qualified families for up to two years before kindergarten. Parents can choose any preschool licensed by the state Department of Human Services.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke on Tuesday announced that the preschool tuition subsidy program is now accepting applications year-round.

The Preschool Open Doors program aims to give more children in Hawai‘i a chance to enroll in private preschools. The initiative is funded by the state Department of Human Services and administered by the organization People Attentive To Children, or PATCH.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who is serving as Acting Governor, joined the state’s Department of Human Services to announce that the preschool tuition subsidy program, Preschool Open Doors, is now accepting applications on a year-round basis.

A preschool subsidy program through the state is expanding.

It's called Preschool Open Doors, and Tuesday afternoon Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke announced the expansion.

Hawaii families needing help paying for preschool are encouraged to apply for a newly expanded state program that provides monthly tuition subsidies to qualified students.

The Preschool Open Doors program is now offered for 3 and 4-year-olds, and income eligibility limits were increased to support more working families.

Since 2022, when the state’s Ready Keiki program received its $200 million investment for the addition of new preschool classrooms, it’s become clear to Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and others that both public and private participation are crucial elements.

As Hawaii stands on the verge of educational reform, the implementation of universal prekindergarten (pre-K) emerges not only as a practical solution to provide our children quality education and a promising future, but also as a critical step toward achieving social justice and equity in our society.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke is leading the Ready Keiki initiative to open more preschools across the islands to help struggling families.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has been tasked with launching a new early learning program.

Child care is a major factor that contributes to the post-30s earning cliff facing women, as mothers with young children are more likely than fathers to reduce their work hours. In Hawaii, the high cost and low availability of child care exacerbate the problem.

The state could see an increase in the availability of early learning programs by taking advantage of vacant public spaces beyond the state Department of Education public school campuses.

Honolulu-based Pacific Marine & Supply Co. celebrated its 80th anniversary last week with an $80,000 donation to Palama Settlement to help build preschool classrooms as part of the state’s Ready Keiki initiative.

“CVS has been a trusted partner and trusted health partner for every resident living in Hawaii,” Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said at a news conference Wednesday. “I’m just so thankful for the investment that CVS has made to ensure that people in the state of Hawaii have housing and child care needs, not just for the current, present time, but for the future.”

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said the state remains dedicated to expanding access to preschools all around the state. She said far too many children have been unable to go to preschool simply because there are not enough classrooms or their parents cannot afford private pre-school tuition.

An estimated 2,000 more preschool children across the state are expected to receive early childhood education through subsidies made possible after the Legislature in 2023 increased funding to $50 million from $12 million to expand the “Preschool Open Doors” program, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke announced Thursday in her fifth-floor office of the state Capitol.

Where passersby might peer into the two new preschool classrooms at Nanakuli Elementary School and see blocks and books and tot-sized furniture, Principal Lisa Ann Higa sees a head start that disadvantaged students urgently need.

In less than three months, Nanakuli Elementary School was able to open two preschool classrooms, making room for 40 more preschoolers. The new classrooms are part of the state's "Ready Keiki" initiative to increase the number of preschool seats for children across the state.

The first truly comprehensive set of data on Hawaii’s keiki and their readiness for kindergarten is now in. And it lays out, in unambiguous terms, what everyone’s known to some degree for years: The state’s young children are, to a startling extent, not prepared for starting school. Fewer than one-third of them scored well enough overall to qualify as kindergarten-ready.