PROJECTS

Provided in both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and English, the PLACES (Place-based Learning and Culturally Engaged STEM) curricula are designed to equip students with critical technical knowledge by grounding Computer Science (CS) education in student experiences, local context, and Kānaka Maoli knowledge systems. We invite you to join us in shaping inclusive and equitable STEM education for our keiki.

Your contributions will:

• Enable us to develop and deliver culturally responsive CS curricula to underserved communities
• Provide professional development for teachers to incorporate place-based culturally relevant methodologies
• Fund materials and tools to engage in impactful, ʻāina -based projects that benefit the community
• Help us build a scalable framework that can be adapted to other indigenous and underrepresented cultures worldwide

We support IT/STEAM programs at this Hawaii Department of Education, Title I, Hawaiian immersion school located in an under-served area. Our goal is to empower young people to explore and pursue technology within the context of Hawaiian ancestral knowledge.

Initiatives include:

• Teacher resource room furnished with daily needed classroom supplies.
• Support remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Furnish and install 30 refurbished workstations for the school’s computer lab.
• Fund IT equipment and infrastructure for return to in-person learning.
• Create place-based STEAM learning initiatives with Dr. Josiah Hester, director of Ka Moamoa Lab and professor of Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech University.

We support IT programs at this 501(c)3 community-based organization serving the residents of Papakōlea, Kewalo, and Kalāwahine Hawaiian Homestead.

Initiatives include:

• Web improvements to help kūpuna (seniors) access community info and events.
• IT support for artificial intelligence and machine learning tools used to predict and prevent chronic disease in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
• Support for kūpuna home meal deliveries.
• Cyber security and safety classes for kūpuna.