The model relies heavily on language nests in which elders immerse young children in the traditional language. Parents of children enrolled in the Punana Leo School work to enhance their own language capabilities and restore the use of the language in the home. They also support the school financially by contributing considerable time to the school. Such work helps lower tuition costs. The Hawaiian world view is transmitted via games, stories, songs, dance, and other forms of expression.
Literacy is a significant part of the program.
Bill Wilson effectively conveyed his passion and that of the community for preserving and enhancing the Hawaiian language. Success is judged nearly exclusively in terms of native language enhancement, not English academics. However, students immersed in Hawaiian perform better in terms of English academics than their counterparts in schools employing English as the sole language of instruction. Immersion schools are expanding throughout the Hawaiian Islands. The schools are backed by legislation giving Hawaiian official status and granting the right to use Hawaiian as a language of instruction.