Our Story & Mission
In May 2009, representatives from Chaminade University, University of Hawai’i – Manoa College of Education, University of Hawai’i – Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources – Family Resources, University of Hawai’i – West Oahu, University of Hawai’i – Hilo, Maui College, Hawai’i Community College, Honolulu Community College, and Kauai Community College came together with the mission to ensure that Hawai’i’s early childhood educators have access to professional development that will allow them to competently meet the needs of young children and their families in a culturally and individually responsive manner. The group was named Kaulanakilohana, a name given to the group by Noelani Iokepa-Guerrero, an educator in Hawaiian medium from UH Hilo and Aha Punana Leo.
Six Guiding Principles
Layers of Meaning
Kaulanakilohana was the name chosen to represent the community of interwoven voices for Early Childhood Higher Education in Hawai’i. As with many terms in the Hawaiian language, the name Kaualanakilohana has many layers of meaning.
- Kaulana means famous, celebrated, renowned.
- Kilohana means the top most layer of a bed covering, best, superior, most prized.
- Ulana means to weave.
- Kilo means to watch closely, to examine, to observe, to forecast.
What We Do
The purpose of the quality assurance work area is to support attainment of highest levels of recognition for our early childhood higher education programs. The possible areas of work within quality assurance include aspects like common core competencies, program assessment, accreditation, and licensure or certification.
The purpose of career pathways work area is to ensure that students can meet their education and career goals through seamless pathways in higher education. This is done through resources such as Career Pathways for the Career Access and Navigation of Early Childhood Systems (CANOES website), articulation agreements, and Bridges to community-based professional development.
The work area of data is in place to ensure that our programs have sufficient “good” data to support the need for resources and possible initiatives. This means the collection and analysis of workforce data as well as student data.
The last work area is sustainability. The purpose of this work area is to develop an implementable plan that will result in a stable and sustainable base for the organization. This can be accomplished through agreements among institutions, involvement of non-higher education organizations, and funding the organizations.
For more information about Kaulanakilohana, please contact Theresa Lock at locktf@hawaii.edu.