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Dr. Ku Kahakalau is the founder and director of Kanu o ka ‘Aina New Century Public Charter School, Hawai‘i’s first native-designed and controlled public school located in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island.
An expert teacher of Hawaiian language, culture and history at the public school, university, adult education, and community level, Ku has spent the past two decades creating viable choices in education for students interested in perpetuating Hawaiian language, culture and traditions.
Ku is also on the forefront of indigenous research worldwide, chairing the research committee of the Center for World Indigenous Studies, where she is also a board member. In the last ten years, Ku has researched and measured the impact of Hawaiian-focused education on native student performance in an effort to create a quality parallel system of education, which is Hawaiian-focused and provides culturally-driven education to learners of all ages.
Ku is president of the Kanu o ka ‘Aina Learning ‘Ohana, a native non-profit organization involved in creating Hawai‘i’s first community-governed intergenerational Cultural Learning Center. Ku is also a founder and leader of Na Lei Na‘auao Native Hawaiian Charter School Alliance, currently serving 1,500 Hawaiian students on three islands, as well as founder and executive director of Halau Wanana, Hawai‘i’s first alternative teacher licensing program.
A cultural practitioner, Ku has been actively involved in protecting and taking care of Hawai‘i’s natural and cultural resources. This includes serving as representative of the Hamakua District on the Hawai‘i Island Burial Council. Ku resides with her husband Nalei and their daughters ‘I‘inimaikalani and Polanimakamae in Kukuihaele on the island of Hawai. | 