Fifty new public preschool classrooms will open statewide over the next two years. It’s the next phase of the Ready Keiki initiative, which is aiming to provide universal pre-K by 2032.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said the new classrooms are part of a larger effort in the state to create more seats for young children.

Families across Hawaii can expect to see 50 new public preschool classrooms over the next two school years under the Ready Keiki Initiative, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke announced Tuesday.

About 25 new classrooms are scheduled to open statewide for the upcoming 2025-26 school year, with the other 25 opening by August 2026.

Parents of young children are getting more opportunities to enroll them in a public preschool class, all thanks to the state’s Ready Keiki initiative.

Over the next two years, the state will open 50 more public pre-school classrooms, increasing early education opportunities for more than 2,700 kids statewide.

More keiki across Hawaii could soon have access to free preschool, thanks to the next phase of Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke’s “Ready Keiki” initiative.

On Monday, Luke unveiled plans to open 50 new pre-K classrooms over the next two years, with a focus on serving families in rural areas. The expansion is part of a long-term goal to offer universal preschool access to all Hawaii 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032.

On Hawaii Island, a public preschool classroom is now open in South Kona.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and state Sen. Dru Kanuha, D-Kona, Kau, Volcano, recently visited the new classroom at Hookena Elementary.

It’s the second public pre-K classroom to open in West Hawaii since the launch of the Ready Keiki initiative, which now operates classrooms on all islands.

“Expanding preschool access on the Big Island and in rural communities is about equity and opportunity for both our keiki and their families,” Luke said.

Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke and Senator Dru Kanuha had the chance to visit a new public pre-kindergarten classroom at Ho’okena Elementary School.

The new classroom at Ho’okena Elementary is the second public preschool to open on West Hawaii Island since the launch of the Ready Keiki initiative in January 2023. The Ready Keiki initiative aims to expand preschools statewide.

Next school year, the agency with eight employees and expanding funds anticipates adding preschool space for an additional 497 children toward a long-term goal to help produce classrooms for all Hawaii 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032 under a 2023 Ready Keiki initiative led by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.

Some of Maui’s youngest learners welcomed special visitors this week as Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke visited new public pre-kindergarten classrooms at Haʻikū Elementary and Kīhei Elementary. Luke, who leads the state’s Ready Keiki initiative to expand access to preschool statewide, was joined by Sen. Lynn DeCoite and Rep. Terez Amato.

Maui preschoolers welcomed a special visitor this week as Hawai’i Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke visited new classrooms at Haʻikū Elementary and Kīhei Elementary. Luke, who leads the state’s Ready Keiki initiative to expand access to preschool statewide, was joined by state Sen. Lynn DeCoite and Rep. Terez Amato.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke visited Pearl City Elementary, one of 44 schools offering new publicly-funded pre-K under the Ready Keiki initiative, aiming for statewide preschool access by 2032.

The state has opened two more free public preschool classrooms at Reverend Benjamin Parker Elementary School on Waikalua Road in Kaneohe.

It’s all part of the Ready Keiki initiative that has created more than 50 pre-K classrooms statewide so far.

Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke, area legislators and students celebrated a milestone for Windward Oahu families after two new public preschool classrooms opened their doors in Kaneohe.

The two new classrooms at Benjamin Parker Elementary School are part of the Ready Keiki initiative, providing universal access to preschool and increasing access to early education.

State officials have unveiled 44 new public preschools slated to open this school year, which includes the first two Hawaiian language classrooms under the Ready Keiki initiative.

For years, advocates have been pushing for more preschool access and Hawaiian immersion, or kaiapuni schools, throughout the state.

Six new, public preschool classrooms will open in Maui County this fall for the 2024-2025 school year, announced Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and the state’s Ready Keiki Initiative on Friday. The pre-K schools enroll 20 students per classroom at no cost to parents.

In August, the state will see the opening of 44 new public preschool classrooms, with at least one located on each island.

This expansion will create 820 additional seats, increasing the total number of preschool spots to 1,767 statewide. 34 of the new classrooms will be situated in Title I schools.

The state will be opening what they call a “historic” number of public pre-K classrooms ahead of the new school year.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke made the announcement at Kuhio Elementary on Friday that 44 new classrooms will open statewide come August.

This is part of the “Ready Keiki” initiative led by the lieutenant governor, the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) and other partners to expand preschool services across the islands.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke is leading the Ready Keiki initiative to open more preschools across the islands to help struggling families.

Where passersby might peer into the two new preschool classrooms at Nanakuli Elementary School and see blocks and books and tot-sized furniture, Principal Lisa Ann Higa sees a head start that disadvantaged students urgently need.

In less than three months, Nanakuli Elementary School was able to open two preschool classrooms, making room for 40 more preschoolers. The new classrooms are part of the state's "Ready Keiki" initiative to increase the number of preschool seats for children across the state.

On day one of school, these 3- and 4-year-olds at Fern will mainly just be learning to let go of their parents’ hands, to eat school lunch, find the potty, and make friends with each other and the wiggly tetra and guppies in the class aquarium.