A group of 15 graduate students at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa refuses to be dissuaded by the obstacles facing Hawaiian immersion programs.

They are preparing themselves to become the next generation of educators committed to the preservation of Hawaiian language, culture and values.

Run through the College of Education, the Kupu Na Leo master's program will prepare these students to teach in immersion schools, charter schools and traditional public schools that serve large Native Hawaiian populations. With a strong research component, the program will also prepare students to create much-needed instructional materials.

"We've got to build capacity," said Margaret Maaka, director of the program. "We're preparing the teachers, but there are only a set number of schools."

While the university develops the experts to teach in the schools, she hopes the DOE will build more Hawaiian-only schools to accommodate the teachers and give the program autonomy from traditional public schools.

One of the big needs in the immersion programs is fluent Hawaiian special education and specialized secondary teachers, so that students do not have to have some educational services in English.

Kawika Shizuma wants to teach high school science and is undaunted by the lack of Hawaiian-language teaching materials. "I'm looking forward to developing some science curriculum related to Hawaiian culture," he said.

'Anela Nacapoy plans to meet one of those needs by becoming a speech pathologist.

She said she and the rest of the program's students feel the weight of their responsibilities as the next generation to concentrate on elevating the status of Native Hawaiians in the public schools.

"Our first day in class, (Maaka) told us 'we're not just preparing you for the classroom, we're preparing you for your people,' " Nacapoy said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.