 Based on the practices of 19th-century Hawaiian-language schools, as well as the Kohanga reo Māori language kindergartens in New Zealand, the Pūnana Leo was the first indigenous language immersion preschool project in the United States ().Graduates from the Pūnana Leo schools have achieved several measures of academic success in later life.As of 2013, there were a total of 11 Pūnana Leo preschools, with locations on five of the Hawaiian islands.