HĀ: Breath
Hā is the breath of life. We share it with each other in greeting. It is a force that binds all of us together. As people of this place, Hawaiʻi must be the foundation of our education. For too long, the way our children are taught has not been rooted in the values of this place or in our ʻōlelo and moʻolelo. Nā Hopena Aʻo, HĀ, the learning outcomes that follow, are meant to reflect the Department of Education’s dedication to changing that imbalance and molding its students to reflect the values that have grown out of this ʻāina.
ʻO Hawaiʻi ke kahua o ka hoʻonaʻauao. Hawaiʻi is the foundation of our learning. Nā Hopena A‘o, or HĀ, are six outcomes to be strengthened in every student over the course of their K-12 learning journey, ensuring that Hawaiʻi becomes the kahua of their education. Nā Hopena Aʻo are: a sense of Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total well-being and Hawai‘i. When taken together, these outcomes become the BREATH, or HĀ, that can be drawn on for strength and stability throughout school and beyond.
“The promise that I see is generational abundance. It’s something I pass down to my children that I inherited from my kūpuna and continues to create more of itself.”
