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.

In a Honolulu Star-­Advertiser interview, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said the low numbers for kindergarten readiness in some categories are worrisome, and suggest that despite major strides, Hawaii still must make urgent progress toward improving public awareness of the importance of early-childhood education, and increasing access to free or affordable preschool.

A blessing was held Wednesday for new community centers and a new Bezos Academy preschool at the Kaiaulu o Kuku’ia, affordable housing project in Lahaina.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke joined developer Ikaika ‘Ohana and Bezos Academy for a blessing ceremony commemorating the new preschool at the site of affordable rentals for 200 families, which is still under construction.

An estimated 200 affordable rentals are under construction in Lahaina as part of the Kaiāulu o Kūku′ia project, which includes Hawaiʻi’s very first Bezos Academy preschool.

“What does this community need more than anything else? Affordable housing and childcare,” said Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke who spoke at the project’s blessing event in West Maui on Wednesday morning.

A Native Hawaiian blessing marked the beginning of construction for new affordable housing and a tuition-free preschool on Maui.

“I can’t think of anyone more needing affordable housing and childcare in West Maui right now,” Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said.

Oo sticks, wielded by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, Mayor Rick Blangiardi and an assortment of bankers, developers and other local officials, broke ground Tuesday on a $199 million affordable rental project offering two on-site preschools in Kapolei.

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.

A new certificate for infant and toddler caregivers is now available through Honolulu Community College’s Early Childhood Education (ECED) program. Building on the momentum from the Ready Keiki initiative to expand access to preschool, and the tuition stipend available to current and potential early childhood educators and caregivers, the ECED program launched the certificate to provide more opportunities for individuals in the early childhood education and care profession.

State officials and the education community gathered to celebrate funding for the Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program that Hawaiʻi is once again embracing.

Aid has become available for current and future early childhood educators.

The state of Hawaiʻi has announced on Thursday, July 6 that it is once again offering a tuition stipend.

University of Hawaiʻi students enrolled in early childhood education programs could have their tuition covered under a stipend program aimed at bolstering the early learning workforce.

State and education officials announced Thursday that they will be advancing the Early Childhood Education Stipend Program at the UH Mānoa Children's Center.

Despite a two-year wait to fully launch Hawaii’s first public stipend program for early-childhood educators, state officials are hopeful that it will make big strides toward solving a chronic and severe shortage of teachers and caregivers for keiki ages 0 to 5.

State officials and community stakeholders celebrated funding for the Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program, an initiative to boost the state’s Early Childhood workforce, on July 6 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Children’s Center, the on-campus preschool. The Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) received $660,000 in funding from the state budget, signed by Gov. Josh Green on June 30.

Gov. Josh Green signed several education-related bills into law on Monday that will impact educators, keiki and facilities throughout the state.

A series of bills signed into law on Monday looks to push Hawai’i further toward the goal of accessible education for early learners.

Gov. Josh Green has signed House Bill 961 into law. The measure extends the state’s Open Doors Preschool program to 3-year-olds, appropriates funds for the program, expands accreditation opportunities, and authorizes the acceptance of federal funds.

Act 46, which was passed in 2020, set a goal to expand preschool access to all 3- and 4-year-olds statewide by the year 2032. Through Lt. Gov. Syliva Luke’s Ready Keiki initiative, hundreds of millions of dollars have already been allocated to building more pre-K classrooms and expanding access to education.