On the first day of the Department of Education school year calendar, Namahana Public Charter School opened its doors on Monday to its first cohort of students in the seventh and eighth grades.
A group of about 50 parents and students prefaced the opening in Waipake at the former Kula School grounds where the approximately 125 students will attend classes until the campus construction in Kilauea is finished.
“Dr. Kapua Lililehua Chandler, the Namahana School leader, is at Waipake,” said Bridget Thorpe, the development officer for Namahana School. “All the mana‘o from the parents, students and school leaders belong to the campus in the shadow of mauna Namahana. That’s why we’re here in Kilauea, to inject the powerful mana into Namahana.”
Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami was represented by Polly Phillips who presented the school with a proclamation celebrating its opening. The County Council also praised the opening with representation by Kauai County Councilmember Felicia Cowden.
“The opening of Namahana School reflects the power of community collaboration and represents a major investment in the educational future of Kauai’s keiki,” said the proclamation read by Phillipps.
Namahana School is the first tuition-free public middle and high school servicing keiki on Kauai’s North Shore. The opening marks the end of more than a decade of dedicated community involvement, planning, fundraising and advocacy by North Shore Give, and local stakeholders, including the Halele‘a and Ko‘olau communities.
Starting with the initial cohort of 125 students in in the seventh and eighth grades, Namahana School plans to add one grade level each year until it reaches full capacity of 360 students in grades 7 through 12 by 2030.
The school’s ‘aina-based learning model, developed in partnership with Big Picture Learning, will provide student-driven, project-based education rooted in the values of Aloha ‘Aina, Aloha Kanaka, and Aloha i ke Ao.
The 11.3-acre site where the Namahana campus will sprout is bounded by the Kilauea Post Office, the Gather Federal Credit Union, Kilauea Branch, the Permanently Affordable Living housing project, and is, according to some members of the audience, “right next to the Kilauea Expansion Plan.”
“The clarity of need, high caliber of institution-building, and deeply rooted, multi-year community engagement process led Namahana to become the first charter school in more than seven years to be unanimously approved by the Commission in its first round of review,” said Hawaii State Charter School Commission Executive Director Ed Noh. “Namahana addresses a community need that is both urgent and unique. The North Shore of Kauai has no other middle or high school options. In partnership with Big Picture Learning, or BPL, Namahana is poised to provide a student-driven, globally aligned education that remains firmly rooted in local culture and values.”
For more information about Namahana School, visit its website at www.namahana.org.
Source: The Garden Island
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