***Brought back by popular demand! Our MOST downloaded episode ever! :)

Hawai‘i is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse states in the country. As a result, English learners (ELs) make up a significant portion of Hawaii’s student population: up to 18% of students are, or have been, classified as English learners and represent up to 70 different languages! Their academic outcomes, however, vary. In this episode, we want to explore how we might be able to better support our multilingual students and learn about successful approaches going on in the state with one of our most dynamic EL teachers, Jeremiah Brown, from Waipahu High School.

 Disciplinary literacies have always been a hot topic for secondary schools since much of the literacy learning in these grades occurs across the content areas. Even the Hawaii Common Core State Standards established DL goals for grades 6-12. But does that mean that elementary teachers don’t have an important role to play in teaching specialized ways of reading, writing, and thinking in a particular discipline (i.e., science, social studies, art, etc)?

In this episode, we will be chatting with Dr. Charlotte Frambaugh-Kritzer and Stephanie Beulow from the University of Hawaii on 1) Define what is disciplinary literacy?; 2) Why it is important for elementary students?; 3) What can Elementary teachers and families be doing to help promote it? 

How can we build this bridge from school to home in a way that can be relevant to the world that families live in today? Family Resource Centers (FRC) are one way to promote family engagement that promotes a “shared partnership” that can enhance students’ language and literacy learning. 

In today's episode, we get to learn from Mrs. Fuli Soa, the facilitator of the FRC of Waimanalo, which has become an example of what truly is possible for FRCs in our schools. Mrs. Soa has proven that FRCs can be flexible, family-focused, culturally sensitive hubs of support and resources that families actually WANT to tap into!

We have 50 years of research that proves family engagement is an important strategy to improve students’ literacy (and overall?) learning - so why is this still so hard to achieve? In this episode, we will explore the “what/why/how” around the topic of family engagement in Hawaii. Why does it matter? What are the obstacles that get in the way, especially for our Pacific Islanders? How can we build this bridge from school to home in a way that can be relevant to the world that families live in today? 
Join us for our conversation with Dr. Kathy Ratliffe from the University of Hawaii to learn some effective practices and mindsets we can bring into our schools to elevate and invite more families into our schools. 

In this episode, we are chatting with an esteemed colleague, literacy peep, and friend, David Yung, from Waimanalo Elementary. We will explore the role that phonological awareness plays in early literacy and language development. 

David breaks down PA to the parts that make up this subskill and why they matter when learning how to read. He also gives practical tips on how to provide opportunities to develop this critical skill at home and in the classroom to support later literacy achievement in elementary.  

Today, we focused on quality preschool education, including some discussion on a few promising approaches to sparking curiosity and engagement for kids. We also emphasized the importance of what is developmentally appropriate for our keiki during this time - building learning around their interests and not forcing them to write what they don’t understand! 
Dr. Kathleen O'Dell, a professor at the University of Hawaii, shares how it’s critical for us to expand our Early Childhood Education (ECE) workforce and policy. Our conversation with Kat was chock-full of so much wonderful information that we couldn’t fit it all in one episode, so you’ll definitely be hearing from Kat again! But for now, we’ll wrap up today’s episode. Mahalo for listening.

In today's episode, we’ll speak to literacy leaders Nicki and Kara from Read to Me International to better understand how to foster developmentally appropriate learning opportunities for our emergent readers. They’ll also share with us some tips and resources to help us take action at home with our children and grandchildren to get them on the road to becoming lifelong readers. 

Check out the Read Aloud Tips Sheet for ideas to share the magic of literacy and language with your child. 

Imua Literacy is a podcast dedicated to moving Hawaiʻi forward with local literacy solutions. In today's episode, we share our "WHY" for the creation of the podcast and our HOPES for being a part of the solutions in literacy learning  (i.e., from keiki to kūpuna) that our families, schools, and communities can tap on to better thrive here in Hawaii.