Namahana School’s purpose is to serve the communities of Haleleʻa and Koʻolau (Hā‘ena to Anahola) with rigorous ʻāina-based education by cultivating relationships with ʻāina (land), kanaka (people), and ao (cultures of the world). Namahana School will prepare students for professional and personal fulfillment with skills that empower them to actively contribute to a resilient future on Kauaʻi. We envision a school campus where students are actively invested in their learning and challenged to pursue their interests by a supportive community of educators, professionals, and family members.

Our mission is founded and driven by these three community-determined values:

Aloha ʻĀina: to respect and appreciate ʻāina (land and its resources) as you would a family member; to practice a shared understanding of your kuleana (responsibilities) for and with ʻāina.

Aloha Kanaka: to foster and maintain pono (balanced) relationships with yourself, your family, and your community; to respect and mālama (to care for) yourself, your family, and your community.

Aloha i ke Ao: to respect and appreciate other cultures and perspectives while being steadfast and rooted in your own; to perpetuate pono (just and proper) practices to navigate cultures of the world.

Our school model will utilize project and ‘āina-based learning with a focus on sustainability. The Kaua‘i North Shore Community Foundation (KNSCF) retained Big Picture Learning (BPL) to assist in creating a values-driven school model that is both rigorous and relevant to our community. BPL is an internationally recognized educational nonprofit that supports student-led schools through personalized and real-world learning tied to students’ interests and passions. BPL is currently working with our school leader, Dr. Kapua Chandler, to develop a school structure and culture that utilizes deeper learning competencies -- place-based learning, internship opportunities, collaborative group work, and longer-term cumulative assessments.

Namahana will serve students in 7th- 12th grade. The school plans to open with grades 7 and 8 and sequentially add grades until we reach full middle/high school capacity. We estimate an enrollment of 360 students at capacity.

Namahana plans to enroll 7th and 8th grade students in the 2025-2026 academic school year.

The school will live on eight acres of the Wai Koa Plantation in Kalihiwai, Koʻolau, Kauaʻi, set against the backdrop of the Namahana mountain range. Philanthropist Joan Porter who, along with her late husband Bill Porter, created the Anaina Hou Community Park, granted a 99-year renewable land license designated for a public charter school.

The Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission defines a charter school as a tuition-free public school operating under a contract with the State Public Charter School Commission. While charter schools must follow federal laws and state standards for public schools, they have flexibility with curriculum, scheduling, and direct management of resources, which allows for innovation.

No. Charter schools are public schools, and state law explicitly prohibits them from charging tuition.

Each charter school has its own individual governing body called a Governing Board. The Governing Board is responsible for the financial, organizational, and academic mission of the charter school. The Governing Board hires and evaluates the school leader (principal) who manages school staff and runs the school.

Namahana School’s Governing Board comprises 11 community members with expertise in public education, ʻāina-based education, post-secondary education, charter schools, non-profits, youth programming, farming, fundraising, grant writing, law, environmental science, architecture, and finance. The current Governing Board Members are Adam Roversi, Angie Bresnahan, Jennifer Luck, Jonathan McRoberts, Alana Anuhea Piliere, Lindsay Leipuaahilehuaokalani Scott Wann, Mālia ʻAlohilani Kuala Rogers, Marion Paul, Mehana Vaughan, Pam Murphy, and Tahara‘a M. Stein.

Dr. Kapua L. Chandler has been selected as our school leader. Born and raised on Kauaʻi, Dr. Chandler is a lineal descendent of Koʻolau and Haleleʻa. She recently received a doctorate in higher education and organizational change from UCLA, adding to a dynamic academic background that includes a B.S. in computer science and mathematics from the University of Portland, an M.Ed. in Educational Administration from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, and a second M.A. from UCLA. Dr. Chandler is well-versed in the areas of education, ʻāina-based learning, and curriculum development. She is also deeply involved and invested in the North Shore community and works with several local non-profits. Passionate about post-secondary education, Dr. Chandler brings a wealth of expertise in research, data collection, and analysis to inform the community-driven process that is being utilized to develop Namahana School.

Yes, our teachers will be a part of the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association (HSTA). Charter schoolteachers are covered by the Hawaii statewide collective bargaining agreement. However, charter school governing boards are able to negotiate supplemental bargaining agreements for their employees.

In 2020, the Namahana School Governing Board formed a Facilities Committee to work closely with KNSCF and the Facilities Project Manager to select an Architectural Firm to develop the conceptual designs for Namahana School. This Committee included Governing Board members Adam Roversi, the Director of the County of Kauai Housing Agency, and Jennifer Luck, the Chief Operating Officer of Common Ground Kaua‘i. After a rigorous interview process, the committee selected Group 70 International (G70). G70, a Hawaii based firm with over 50 years of experience, has designed over one million square feet of K-12 educational facilities in Hawaii and around the Pacific Rim.

In 2021, G70 hosted a charrette process to bring together a group of school and community stakeholders to define a unified vision to guide their design development. School and community stakeholders that worked with G70 included Kaui Fu, Holly Dyre, Lorri Meyercord, Helen Cox, Adam Roversi, Jennifer Luck, Taharaʻa Stein, Mehana Vaughan, Lei Wann, Malia ʻAlohilani Rogers, Lorri Mull, Rory Enright, Rose Vali, Pam Murphy, Melanie Parker, Stacy Sproat, and Kamealoha Forrest. G70 presented a comprehensive conceptual design for Namahama School in July 2022. This package included a Design Narrative Background & Process, a draft Master Plan, Renderings, Designs, Diagrams & Precedent images, Building Floor Plans, Water Study, Preliminary Engineering, and Space Program. The next step is for the Namahana Educational Foundation to submit a Special Use Application to the County of Kauai for the Namahana School site.

At the same time that KNSCF began the process of planning the site, they engaged a traffic consultant, TMC, to perform a professional engineering and transportation study for the Namahana School site. This study was put on hold due to the limitations caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic. Namahana Educational Foundation is currently in the process of re-engaging the firm to complete the study. Traffic Management Consultant, located on Oahu, has worked on various major projects for the State and counties in Hawaii, including the Lihue Town Core Mobility and Revitalization Traffic Management Plan.

In the start-up years of Namahana School, we will not be able to provide daily to/from transportation for prospective students, however we are working on ways to coordinate transportation needs. This may include carpooling options and coordination with local shuttle services when possible. Many of our school-based field trips will take place within walking distance of the school. We will plan to contract with a van or bus service for any school-based field trips that require transportation.

Students participating in athletic programs will be required to provide for their own transportation. The factors that led to these decisions are limited resources, including finances, drivers, vehicles, maintenance facilities, etc. All of these resources are currently very limited on Kauai. As enrollment increases and the need for transportation becomes more critical, Namahana School will implement a longer-term plan for transportation.

After extensive research into the history and genealogy of the school site, which confirmed its sound alignment as a place of learning, Kumu Hula Devin Kamealoha Forrest, gave the school its name—"Namahana.” Kumu Kamealoha’s work revealed that Namahana was a place where chiefs gathered during times of peace. Thus, Namahana, the 2,700-foot-high mountain that stands at the northeast portion of Kauaʻi at the junction of three local forest reserves, became known as “warm” and “nurturing.” Our vision is that Namahana will feed the minds and spirits of our students to create the next generation of leaders for our community.

The initiative to develop Namahana School has been a community-driven process led by the sponsoring non-profit, Kauaʻi North Shore Community Foundation (KNSCF). KNSCF has raised significant startup funds to retain professional consultants and fund the initial development of Namahana School.

The consultant team includes individuals with professional expertise in the areas of education, educational design, facility development, architecture, and fundraising. KNSCF is currently working with a fundraising consultant on plans for a multi-year capital campaign to build the school facilities at Wai Koa.

With the award of the preliminary charter and KNSCF's initial leadership role successfully concluded, the work of building the school will now be undertaken by the Namahana Education Foundation (NEF), an independent nonprofit organization created solely to support Namahana School.

Community participation has been an integral part of our planning process and we invite you to share your ideas, hopes, and dreams for an outstanding tuition-free public charter school that serves our North Shore keiki.

Namahana School will be organizing public community events to share the ongoing progress of the school plans.

KNSCF retained Dr. Kapua Chandler and Jennifer Luck to conduct a series of community assessments to gather key information for the development of the school. During early 2019, they organized listening sessions around the North Shore and conducted an online survey to gather community visions and values for a North Shore middle and high school. Small group and individual meetings were held with key stakeholders for more focused feedback. The data collected from each community engagement session was analyzed and presented in August 2019 at a community event attended by more than 200 local residents. Feedback and input were also gathered from students attending Kīlauea and Hanalei Elementary Schools where students shared their visions and hopes for a middle and high school. During COVID-19, we also focused on online and virtual engagement.

We will continue to provide opportunities for community input as we further develop the school’s educational model, programs, and facilities. Regular newsletters will be sent by the Namahana Education Foundation (NEF) to those on their mailing list to share progress with the community.

The State Public Charter School Commission encourages charter schools to seek independent accreditation. Once the school is established and eligible to apply for accreditation, the school leader will initiate the process with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (“WASC”).

Currently, if a charter school receives more applicants than available spaces, a lottery is used to determine enrollment. School plans are being developed to fully meet the educational need of the community based on current population and school enrollment data.

We have yet to determine the extent of the school’s sports offerings. We will utilize parent and student input, access to sports facilities, alignment with school vision and mission, and financial capacity to support teams. According to Hawai‘i DOE guidelines, if a charter school student wishes to participate in a sport that is not offered at their school, the student may participate in a comparable sport at the Hawai‘i Department of Education school located in the service area where they reside. (HI Rev STAT § 302D-31 (2018))