The Hawaiʻi Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance (HECAA) is a collaboration of individuals and organizations from the public and private sectors. HECAA strengthens advocacy efforts to ensure all children have equitable access to affordable, culturally reflective, high-quality early learning. Supporting young keiki also means supporting families and the early learning professionals who care for and educate them.
Making Pre-k more accessible for families
Hawai'i has made great strides in expanding access and affordability, making public preschool a reality for many of Hawai'is families and expanding income eligibility for Preschool Open Doors. However, there is still much work to be done. This year, we continue to uplift this work through innovations around affordability and workforce development. We must continue to build up the early learning workforce and create more affordable options for families.
Pre-K Only Charter School Funding
In 2025, Hawai'i opened its first pre-k only charter schools. These schools are located in high-demand areas where the need for early learning services far exceeds the supply; one school is located in an affordable housing complex! These schools offer FREE school-day public pre-k with the added benefit of being eligible to provide full-day care. However, these stand-alone schools must incur much higher expenses because they don't have the added infrastructure of larger Prek-12 schools. Pre-k only charters are one option that helps to maintain our supply of community-based schools while expanding public pre-k access, but they need added funding. You can help these schools maintain viability within their first years of operation and help establish pre-k only charters as a sustainable model for future pre-k expansion. Want to learn more? Click here.
Early Learning Apprenticeships Grant Program
Hawaiʻi faces critical shortages of early learning professionals. Recruitment and retention of these professionals can be difficult because of low wages. Apprenticeships offer higher pay and on-the-job training while improving the quality of early learning programs.
A state grant program would remove financial barriers for early learning center employers to participate in this valuable program, raising wages for existing staff, and ensuring that Hawaiʻi’s children, families, and businesses benefit from a stronger, more sustainable early learning workforce.
Earn While They Learn
Early Learning Apprenticeship Programs are a structured, hands-on training model designed to help individuals gain the skills and knowledge needed to work in early learning programs. The on-the-job experience with classroom learning allows participants to earn while they learn and develop expertise in child development and learning, teaching strategies, and classroom management under the tutelage of a mentor. Employees can retain full-time employment and count their experience towards their college degree.
Family Child Interactive Learning (FCIL)
Until universal access to early learning is achieved, many of our families will need to continue to rely solely on friends and family to fill the gaps in childcare. FCILs offer opportunities for these caregivers to engage in structured early learning experiences with their children. For some children, FCILs provide the only opportunity to learn and socialize in a high-quality early learning environment. Together with their children, caregivers learn about child development and developmentally appropriate practices to strengthen their capacity to provide valuable early learning experiences during a critical time for children's development. Primarily located in rural and underserved communities, FCILs provide early learning options where there may otherwise be none.