In it first year of operation, students at Kanu o ka 'Aina New Century Public Charter School have shown gains in reading, writing and computing. Teachers are carefully and thoughtfully preparing students for the Hawaii State tests as they are very aware of the focus on the Charter schools to deliver evidence of high student achievement. They are pragmatic and realistic, and feel students should, can, and will meet the standards. Kalo, Inc. is one way school staff are using cultural anthropology and the reemerging pride in Hawaiian ancestry and to deeply engage and motivate students as energetic learners.

Paul Acciavatti, Technology and Entrepreneurship teacher, comments: "I have been positively surprised at the level of interest in the program. I have also been very pleased with the quality of student work. As the teachers and students understood the project better, the quality of the work escalated. By letting students focus on aspects of the project suited to their abilities and interests, the products and process has been be very good. An important lesson we have learned is to begin students with an easily achievable goal and then let student interest and excitement drive the development of more complex goals."

Because so much as happened so fast, Mr. Acciavatti points out that it will be important to create opportunities to focus on the goals of the program and reflect on how the program is progressing. He comments that "as the year goes on and things become more routine, we intend to take more time to assess our progress both as learners and in terms of the stated goals of the project."