Tūtū and Me Goes to Washington, D.C. December 21, 2009

Representatives from Partners in Development Foundation’s Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool as well as Nā Pono No Nā ‘Ohana and Ka Pa‘alana were fortunate to attend the National Association for Education of Young Children’s Annual Conference. This year it was held in our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C. There were a plethora of workshops and seminars to choose from and attend. Conference tracks ranged in topic areas that included: Accreditation (standards, assessment of child progress, curriculum, families, health/safety, etc), Advocacy/Public Policy, Children with Disabilities/Early Intervention, Faith-based early childhood education, Play, Men in ECE, Research, and School-Age Child Care to name a few.

While in D.C. we had the honor of attending the premier screening of the feature documentary, “One Voice”. The film was produced by Pacific Islanders in Communications and Juniroa Productions. The honorary hosts of this special event were Senator and Mrs. Daniel K. Inouye and Senator and Mrs. Daniel K. Akaka. It was a special night in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. One Voice tells the story of how Hawaiians keep their culture alive with music and ‘ōlelo through the Kamehameha Schools’ annual Song Contest. The film included many heartfelt interviews with student directors, teachers, and families as well as clippings from the 2008 contest.