Executive Office on Early Learning

Starting August 2014, a child must be 5 on or before July 31 to enter kindergarten.  The change is a result of Act 183 of 2010 and Act 178 of 2012 (Session Laws of Hawaii), which noted that younger children may be more appropriately placed in a prekindergarten program.

We know that the beginning years of a child’s life are critical and don’t want our children to miss a year of early learning. 

To help prepare for this important change, the Executive Office on Early Learning will be providing a series of resources for families, preschool providers, and Hawaii Department of Education staff.  We will post more resources as they become available.

For Families

• For general information about options that may be available to you, click the following:  Families Flyer.
• To find out what programs may be located near you:
  
  • Contact PATCH (click on the link to the “Families Flyer” above)
  • Click here for the Announcement of the application period for the 2014-2015 Preschool Open Doors program
    
  • View the preschool density map on Good Beginnings Alliance’s website.
• District resource guides:
  
  • Windward Oahu
    
  • Central Oahu

For Providers

• Information/communications resources you may find useful for your families:
  • For commonly asked questions and a list of some available resources for them to look into, click the following: Providers Flyer.
    
  • For the “Kindergarten Age Has Changed!” poster, click the following (when printing, be sure to select Actual Size and Choose paper source by pdf page size):
    • EOEL_K entry flyer 8.5×11 (English)
    • EOEL_K Entry Flyer 11×17 (English)
    • K entry Flyer Translation 8.5×11 (various languages)
    • K Entry Flyer Translation 11×17 (various languages)
      

• For college credit professional development opportunities and to discuss your professional development needs around serving older four-year-old children, contact an early education program at a higher education institution: Higher Education Contact List

• For information shared by your colleagues:
  • K.I.D.S School
• 1st Annual Mary Goya Early Childhood Conference: “Staying Another Year: Curriculum for Older 4s and 5s”  RSVP by March 3, 2014–FREE

•  The UH-Manoa Blended Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education Undergraduate Program begins its first cohort the Fall 2015 semester. Program graduates will be eligible for licensure in PK-3 general education and PK-3 special education. Click on the links below for details on the program:
  • Flyer
  • Program Requirements
  • Program Course Sequence