East Hawaiʻi Region

KĪPUKA KANAKA

Connecting to Excellence in East Hawaiʻi
The lands and traditions of East Hawai‘i inspire and guide a plan for action that honors our Hawaiian values and identity, with clear aspirations for 21st century excellence in learning, teaching, asset management, and professional development. Transformational change is possible when passion for learning, leadership, and well-being are linked with commitment to community, culture, and ‘āina.
The East Hawai’i Region is a unique and dynamic landscape in both its living ‘āina and the diversity and depth of its people—where Tūtū Pele reminds us of our connection and responsibility to our home, where Hiʻiaka and Hōpoe connect us to rhythm through the hula, where Keʻelikōlani stopped a lava flow just a mile from her namesake college, and where the World Wide Voyage was launched. It is where the Legacy of Pauahi touches beneficiaries on a campus, on legacy lands, and in a community that holds close its interdependent relationships, yet allows room for growth, collaboration, and innovation.
Like ‘ōhiʻa seedlings that burst through lava to take root, East Hawaiʻi has many kīpuka that share the Moaʻe Lehua wind and the waters that trickle from Kūlanihākoʻi. These kīpuka have an opportunity to grow together into a rich and vibrant forest—a forest pollinated by native birds who light from kīpuka to kīpuka, sharing the nectar of knowledge and aloha, growing the mauli, the essence of this unique place.
kī.puka
n. Variation or change of form (puka, hole), as a calm place in a high sea, deep place in a shoal, opening in a forest, openings in cloud formations, and especially a clear place or oasis within a lava bed where there may be vegetation.
A kīpuka is an oasis of healthy flora and fauna that grows within a lava field, isolated from other kīpuka and the larger forest.
This vision of our kūpuna likens our various organizations to kīpuka. Some organizations are thriving and well connected; some are isolated; and some are struggling. We in East Hawaiʻi strive for intentionally interconnected kīpuka that grow into a forest that symbiotically utilizes resources to nurture learning environments that are safe havens where our learners can grow and expand. Through this East Hawaiʻi plan, our work will help today’s learners become tomorrow’s leaders, connecting with other kīpuka to create a full vibrant forest—a full and vibrant lāhui. In doing so, we will fulfill the words of Kauikeaouli, “He lāhui palapala koʻu”… indeed an educated nation.

East Hawaiʻi Regional Action Plan (RAP)