State officials have unveiled 44 new public preschools slated to open this school year, which includes the first two Hawaiian language classrooms under the Ready Keiki initiative.

For years, advocates have been pushing for more preschool access and Hawaiian immersion, or kaiapuni schools, throughout the state.

Six new, public preschool classrooms will open in Maui County this fall for the 2024-2025 school year, announced Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and the state’s Ready Keiki Initiative on Friday. The pre-K schools enroll 20 students per classroom at no cost to parents.

In August, the state will see the opening of 44 new public preschool classrooms, with at least one located on each island.

This expansion will create 820 additional seats, increasing the total number of preschool spots to 1,767 statewide. 34 of the new classrooms will be situated in Title I schools.

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

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.

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.

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 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.

Eleven new public preschool classrooms are slated to open across the state this August thanks to Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke and the Ready Keiki Initiative. The first 11 classrooms are expected to open this fall for the 2023-2024 school year, enrolling 20 students in each classroom at no cost to parents.

The state appropriated $200 million to build more preschool classrooms across the islands and nearly half of it has been spent.

Ready Keiki, an initiative of Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke to bring universal preschool access for the state’s 3- and 4-year-old children, rolled out a new website and data tracker on Wednesday.