Josh Green to lead the state’s efforts, said only half of Hawaii’s 35,000 3- and 4-year-olds attend preschool, either by paying expensive tuition for private schools or obtaining one of the few spots in publicly-funded pre-K programs.The state is not expecting them to take advantage of this program though Luke said this percentage may change depending on how successfully the state builds new capacity.She said Hawaii is notable for its high quality, with its existing publicly funded preschool ranking among just five programs nationwide that meet all 10 minimum quality standards set by her research institute.“I think Sylvia Luke has definitely taken this on and she’s incredibly smart and will make it happen.”Jacqueline Ornellas, a principal at Lincoln Elementary School in Honolulu, is scheduled to have one of its existing classrooms renovated to accommodate younger children.It was updated on January 18, 2023 to make clear that the District of Columbia and six states had 70% of their 4-year-old populations in preschool before the coronavirus pandemic hit: Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin."