Ha: The Breath of Life

What makes Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i – a place unlike anywhere else – are the unique
values and qualities of the indigenous language and culture. ‘O Hawai‘i
ke kahua o ka ho‘ona‘auao. Hawai‘i is the foundation of our learning. Thus
the following learning outcomes, Nā Hopena A‘o, are rooted in Hawai‘i,
and we become a reflection of this special place.
Nā Hopena A‘o or HĀ are six outcomes to be strengthened in every student
over the course of their K-12 learning journey. Department staff should
also be models of behaviors that direct students to what these outcomes
might look like in practice. The outcomes include a sense of Belonging,
Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Wellbeing and Hawai‘i. When taken
together, these outcomes become the core BREATH that can be drawn on
for strength and stability through out school and beyond.
Underlying these outcomes is the belief that students need both social
and emotional learning (SEL) skills and academic mindsets to succeed in
college, careers and communities locally and globally. Thus, HĀ learning
outcomes emphasize the competencies that include application and
creation of knowledge along with the development of important skills
and dispositions.
Through a widespread community process of dialogue, feedback, and cocreation, your BOE Advisory Policy 4000 Work Group more fully realizes
the importance of a kind of culture and environment necessary for HĀ to
thrive and bring life to learning. Thus, we present HĀ as life-long learning
outcomes for all of us, as students of Hawai‘i, to believe, understand,
model and become.