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Aloha Teachers and Administrators

Welcome to HOʻOULU, offering FREE Hawaiian culture-based

professional development, educational experiences and digital materials

to public school teachers and students between April 1, 2025 and August 30, 2026. 

 

Sponsored by a US DOE grant, HOʻOULU products and services are designed to:

  • empower Native Hawaiian students to transition successfully from ELEMENTARY to MIDDLE to HIGH school and beyond and graduate on time

  • help educators grow positive relationships with Native Hawaiian students and their families

  • inspire educators to make long-term commitments to teach in Hawaiʻiʻs public schools

  • provide Hawaiʻi schools with instructional strategies, materials and customized courses that engage Native Hawaiian students – and the rest of your student population as well!

Culture-Based Professional Development

Customized, online and/or in-person training for PK-12 public school teachers by award-winning educator

Dr. Kū Kahakalau focusing on culture-based education with aloha  and implementing HĀ across the curriculum.

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Culture-based Lessons and Experiential Learning Opportunities
Hands-on, place-based, fun, rigorous learning opportunties for students in grades 4-12, including  mālama ʻāina experiences in your communities and on 5-acres of taro patch land in historic Waipiʻo Valley. 
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Culture-based Digital Resources
Relevant Hawaiʻi-focused digital educational resources to be used independently by educators to support their culture/ʻāina based teaching practices, including customized asynchronous, bilingual, culture-based online courses for PK-12 learners. 
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Free downloadable Digital Resources
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HOʻOULU products and services build on over 30 years of Māʻawe Pono action research by Dr. Kū Kahakalau, Owner and Executive Director of Kū-A-Kanaka LLC and the first person in the world with a Ph.D. in Indigenous Education.  Founder and former Director of Kanu o ka ʻĀina, Hawaiʻiʻs first culture-based K-12 Charter School, Aunty Kū, as she is better known, is also an expert in Hawaiian language and culture and the designer of Pedagogy of Aloha, grounded in traditional values and best practices in education, while integrating the latest in educational technology. 

Pedagogy of Aloha purports that ALOHA, i.e. compassion, kindness and respect, are the most essential ingredients in quality culture-based 21st century eduction and that:

RELATIONS + RELEVANCE + RESPONSIBILITY = RIGOR + FUN

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Culture-Based Professional Development
Testimonials
"This Pedagogy of Aloha PD was an amazing experience. I loved learning culture-based content and activities that I can use in my professional and personal life and how to incorporate ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi into everyday routines.” 
"This was one of the best PDs I have ever experienced. Mahalo nui!"
“Dr. Kahakalau and her team are very knowledgeable, experienced, and have a great love for Hawai'i and teaching. Their enthusiasm renewed my resolve to keep improving my own teaching practice and making connections to our local culture.”
"I liked all of the productive and enjoyable PD activities, which strengthen my knowledge about Hawaiian culture, allowed me to interact with my fellow teachers, and have fun while learning how to teach with aloha."
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For Inquiries Contact Us:

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(808) 769-4646

Hilo, HI 96720

©2016 by Kū-A-Kanaka LLC

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