Staffing shortages persist as Hawaii’s effort to expand preschool moves forward
Associated PressHONOLULU — When the new school year begins in August, more than 800 Hawaii children will gain access to free public preschool. Education advocates say it’s a crucial step in supporting Hawaii’s children and families, but that more needs to be done to grow the teacher workforce and support existing preschool programs. Hawaii needs more teachers in early education, and some private providers are worried that they’ll lose children or employees to public preschool programs that are growing in number. Private Providers Are Struggling On the Big Island, Paula Yanagi said it’s bittersweet to see the expansion of public preschool in her community. “But for providers like myself, in our mind we’re thinking, there should have been a better way to use the resources that are already out there for qualified for early childhood education.” Luke said she hopes the state’s public preschool initiative will supplement existing preschool programs, rather than replacing them.
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