The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Board of Trustees is giving a $1.5 million check to 17 Hawaiian-focused charter schools making up the Na Lei Naauao Alliance. 

The goal is to help schools serving the Native Hawaiian community keep pace with growing enrollment and cover the costs of teaching, feeding and transporting students. Enrollment at the Hawaiian-focused charted schools has exploded in recent years, increasing by more than 3,000 percent since 2000, from 127 to more than 4,000 students.

Since 2005, OHA has awarded more than $11 million to charter schools in the alliance, according to a press release.

Courtesy of Marufish

— Alia Wong