{"id":17420,"date":"2025-11-25T15:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T01:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=17420"},"modified":"2026-01-14T13:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T23:15:09","slug":"2025-ocean-swim-pilot-a-success-for-west-o%ca%bbahu-students-and-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/2025-ocean-swim-pilot-a-success-for-west-o%ca%bbahu-students-and-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean swim pilot a success for West O\u02bbahu students and community"},"content":{"rendered":"

With water safety at the forefront, the Hawai\u02bbi State Department of Education (HIDOE) and N\u0101 Kama Kai partnered to pilot a culturally grounded, ocean safety program at all six public elementary schools located in N\u0101n\u0101kuli and Wai\u02bbanae \u2014 Leih\u014dk\u016b, M\u0101\u02bbili, M\u0101kaha, N\u0101n\u0101ikapono, N\u0101n\u0101kuli, and Wai\u02bbanae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything we do is connected to our ocean. Our kids go to the ocean for fun, they go to the ocean for food, they need to learn how to take care of the ocean. Because they have so much exposure to the ocean, … it’s important that they be prepared to be safe,\u201d said Disa Hauge, N\u0101n\u0101kuli-Wai\u02bbanae Complex Area Superintendent. \u201cThe fact that we can get our students into the water, and actually being taught by experts how to swim is in one word \u2014 lifesaving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new ocean swim model was created to address water safety concerns for communities near the ocean and aligned with larger statewide water safety efforts, including the newly released 2025 Hawai\u2018i Water Safety Plan<\/a>, the first of its kind for Hawai\u02bbi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The swim pilot filled a critical gap in the underserved West O\u02bbahu neighborhoods where public swimming pools and swim lessons are limited. According to key drowning data<\/a> from the Hawai\u02bbi State Department of Health, drowning deaths of Native Hawaiian\/Pacific Islander keiki ages 1-17 is three times higher than the percentage for all other ethnicities in the same age group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt Kauwe, COO of N\u0101 Kama Kai explained, \u201cFrom Makakilo all the way to the end of the coast, there are no public swimming pools. So, in many communities on our island, children have the benefit of going to a community pool, or maybe even a pool at one of the schools they go to. Here on the Westside, kids do not have access to that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program began this school year with an initial cohort of 450 fourth grade students from the beginning of the school year in August until this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students boarded buses to H\u0101lau N\u0101 Kama Kai (N\u0101 Kama Kai\u2019s headquarters) at P\u014dka\u02bb\u012b Bay. The swim pilot was embedded during the school day to ensure fourth graders learned necessary ocean and water safety, practical swimming skills, and respectful engagement with Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s coastal environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leih\u014dk\u016b Elementary Principal Rebecca Gebreyesus watched each of the lessons down at the beach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the best natural resource anyone could ask for. And the people of M\u0101kaha and Wai\u02bbanae, all the way up to N\u0101n\u0101kuli, this is an ocean community. In education, we know safety is always first, and nothing means more than keeping our kids safe. We know that this is their number one activity, all the time, after school, during the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The immersive program covered swim skills, ocean safety, and cultural knowledge over five with one-hour lessons. Students were provided a swim kit which included goggles to protect their eyes in the saltwater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participating students completed pre- and post-assessments to measure growth and understanding of ocean safety concepts. Preliminary assessments revealed that about 50% of students moved up one swim level and approximately 11% of students moved up two swim levels during the program. The assessments will be used to determine the next steps for ocean swimming and water safety lessons in the HIDOE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Leih\u014dk\u016b Elementary fourth grader Zaydee Sibounheuang, the swim lessons shored up her courage and fortified her skills. \u201cAs a newer swimmer, I learned how to be confident in myself while swimming,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is exactly Hauge\u2019s wish, \u201cMy hope is that we can support all of our children learning water safety, how to swim, and how to read the ocean, so that they learn from the ocean how to respect it, never to turn your back on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n