As Hawaiian Studies Program (HSP) aims to support K-12 Hawaiian Studies, ʻĀina Ulu is a storytelling and story catching process that allows HSP to identify stakeholder goals and needs in order to provide appropriate resources via a ʻĀina Aloha Intake Survey Monkey and an optional ʻĀina Aloha competency survey. Through this process, stakeholders share their moʻolelo and how implementation of ʻĀina Aloha connects them to a larger ecosystem of teaching, learning, and leading that includes ʻāina, ʻohana, and kaiāulu (community).

ʻĀina Ulu will 1) help schools establish an ongoing process for strengthening Hawaiian Studies delivery; 2) provide a baseline data point and story catching process for tracking Hawaiian Studies programming growth, and 3) inform the design of current and future State level HSP support. ʻĀina Ulu is replacing the “intent to hire” for K-6 Hawaiian Studies Program.