 Pūnana Leo ( Hawaiian : " voice nest " ; often translated as " language nest " ) are private , non @-@ profit preschools run by families , in which the Hawaiian language is the language of instruction and administration . Initially opened illegally , the first Pūnana Leo opened in 1984 in Kekaha , Kaua 'i . Based on the practices of the Hawaiian immersion school , the Pūnana Leo are now the largest Hawaiian-language school system in the world , with 24 schools across Hawai'i and one school in Japan .
 everybody is talking about the pūnana Leo, and their Hawaiian language immersion preschools