Kaneohe school awarded $1.29M grant for early learning center

KANEOHE (HawaiiNewsNow) - Kids in Kaneohe helped to celebrate a big donation Friday for the Saint Mark Lutheran School by singing in Hawaiian.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation presented a nearly $1.3 million grant for an early learning center, which is now under construction.

“There’s a definite need and there’s already been quite a bit of excitement for this project,” Dr. David Gaudi, head of school for St. Mark. “So we feel like we are capitalizing on a need of the community and we are thrilled to be able to bring that to them.”

The 11,000-square-foot center will house three preschool classes, a health room, a technology center, a new playground and more.

St. Mark teacher Tawny Demello-Kuntz says the center will bring more space for the students and “get them out of the classroom and into a collaborative setting, so they’re excited for that to as they’re attending the school."

The early learning center is expected to open in fall 2019.