ALO is a leadership program for Native Hawaiian and other youth of Pāhoa High School. We have after school programs, camping retreats, and a summer program. ALO partners with multiple community organizations and leaders to provide
ʻāina-based service learning and culturally-relevant leadership training.
Once a student joins ALO, we will provide mentorship
throughout their high school careers.
What we do:
One-to-one and small group settings
Field trips (huaka‘i), ʻāina-based learning
Mentorship and college/career planning
Community service
Retreats
Paid internships
Goals:
Be successful in high school
Transition into post-secondary programs
Make meaningful connections to important people, places, practices, and resources of Puna makai and Hawaiʻi nei
Find your own path in life and be prepared to travel it
Strategies:
Academic and social-emotional supports
Culturally-responsive leadership development and mentoring
Family and community engagement activities and events
The ALO after school programs are at Pahoa High & Intermediate School in room U103, around various locations on campus and within the community! Students are transported to off-campus locations with the PHIS short buses. Program runs from 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. School bus transportation from school to home Is provided at 5:00 p.m. Snacks and all tools/materials needed are provided. We are working on these four ongoing project areas:
Makahiki Games Events
Students will set up and host makahiki games events for Pāhoa High & Intermediate School, Pāhoa Elementary School, Keonepoko Elementary School and at community events. To prepare, students will create and maintain game equipment, be familiar with all the games, learn how to score and run tournaments, develop public speaking and leadership skills.
Community Partners: Pāhoa Elementary School, Keonepoko Elementary School, Men of PAʻA
Nā Mea Kanu & Media Production
Students will become familiar with many native and other plants that have importance in Hawaiian culture, in addition to making a website that link to QR code signs for the plants. We are continuing our Project Hoʻonani (PHIS Campus Beautification planting project) and working with community partners to improve community education resources by creating and installing signage for plants in our school and community.
Community Partners: County of Hawaiʻi, Kīpuka Farmacy
Papahana Pilikahakai
Students will spend time in various areas of shoreline around Puna and Hawai’i Island to form a pilina with these places, kilo, conduct scientific and historical research,and learn lawaiʻa/resource gathering practices and protocols, articulate loina/proper lawena for these places to share by creating community education resources and signage.
Community Partners: Puna Makaʻala, Nā Maka Hāloa o Waipiʻo, Pōhaku Pelemaka, Kealoha Estate
Papahana Hōlua
Students will work with Uncle Keone Kalawe to learn about the practice of hōlua, visit and map slides around Hawaiʻi Island, work in small groups to construct three papa hōlua, develop the resources needed to practice hōlua, construct a kāhua hōlua (slide) at PHIS, and educate others about the practice of hōlua.
Community Partners: Keone Kalawe, Kamehameha Schools ʻĀina Ulu
Spring Retreat: Ho'okena, Kona
March 27-March 29, 2025
This spring, ALO students participated in a three day camping trip at Ho'okena Beach Park. Students had the opportunity to work with lineal descendants and lawai'a to learn about historic and cultural sites and resources of Ho'okena, Kona Hema. They learned lawai'a practices, resource management strategies, and came to understand how this kuleana applies to their daily lives. These haumana also focused on becoming more connected to cultural significance of the kai.
ALO haumana worked with certified lifeguards to get a deeper understanding of ocean safety practices. They became fmailiar with shoreline safety, protocols for snorkeling and diving, and holoholo. Students learned to identify, clean, and cook what they caught, in addition to learning about the uniqueness of each iʻa. Focusing on what it took to mālama their fishing supplies, their campsite, and each other, each student recognized their role and kuleana to the greater group, to our community.
Community Partners: Friends of Hoʻokena Beach Park
Kauwela 2025: Community Cultural Education
June - July, 2025
The ALO summer program (“Kauwela 2025”) will be once again offered as part of PHIS Summer School in 2025. ALO participants will continue to focus on developing community cultural education for five-weeks in June-July, Mondays-Fridays from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm. Huakaʻi is a defining aspect of the ALO summer program. Students will experience travel to various ahupuaʻa and wahi pana in Puna Makai to continue their ʻāina-based service learning activities and Papahana Pilikahakai. They will meet and work with cultural experts and community leaders. Students that meet the attendance threshold (no more than three absences) earn 0.5 Elective credit. Program participants that graduated in 2025 will be eligible to apply to serve as alakaʻi with a paid internship. During the summer program, it is expected that we will need to rent a minivan (and hire an additional employee to drive) in addition to using the 14-passenger bus in order to accommodate all participants.
Community Partners: Keone Kalawe, Nā Maka Hāloa o Waipiʻo, Pōhaku Pelemaka, Men of PAʻA
The ALO Program and its haumāna have taken part in numerous community events to share their knowledge and experiences. One such event was the KKP Summit Day, where students presented their experiences with the hōlua project and the renaming of Waiakahiʻula State Park to educators from the Kaʻū, Keaʻau, and Pāhoa complex area. ALO haumāna also volunteer at various Makahiki events across the island, helping set up and guiding participants in using the hōlua slides they built. A core goal of ALO is to develop student leaders who are confident in sharing their cultural knowledge and wisdom, ensuring that these important traditions and teachings thrive in our communities.
CONTACT:
Leah Gouker, Program Leader
Office #: (808) 313-4296
Cell #: (808) 747-5605
Email: leah.gouker@k12.hi.us