Namahana School looks forward to welcoming the 7th and 8th grades for the Fall 2025-2026 school year. Each class will be 60 students, with smaller advisories of 15 students. Our enrollment schedule is, as follows:

August 2024: Intent to Enroll will launch at the 1-Year Countdown to Opening Event.
January 2025: Enrollment Application Opens
March 2025: Enrollment Application Closes
*March 2025: Lottery (if needed)
March/April 2025: Applicants will be notified of offer and must complete the enrollment process.

If you are interested in enrolling your child, please sign up for our newsletter so you can be sure to receive a notification when enrollment is open. If you are interested in enrolling your child into either 7th or 8th grade for the 2025-2026 school year, please complete this form.

Namahana will serve students in grades 7-12. The school plans to open with grades 7 and 8 and sequentially add grades until we reach full middle/high school capacity.

Namahana plans to open in Fall of 2025 with grades 7 and 8, and sequentially add grades up through grade 12. We will open enrollment for our first cohort of 7th and 8th grade students in 2024, with the goal of welcoming 60 students each in grades 7 and 8 during the 2025-2026 school year. If we have more applicants than available spaces, a lottery will be used to determine enrollment.

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 Hawaiʻi 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 nonprofits. 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.

The Hawaiʻi 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. Hawaiʻi public charter school teachers are covered by the Hawaiʻi statewide collective bargaining agreement.

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, or Principal, who manages school staff and runs the school.

No, charter schools are public schools. Hawaiʻi state laws explicitly prohibit them from charging tuition.

Namahana School will be opening Fall 2025 with the 7th & 8th grades.  Each grade will have 60 students, and class sizes will be smaller with about 15 kids.    

Most of the kids going to Namahana School will probably be from Hanalei Elementary and Kīlauea Elementary, our two public schools on the North Shore of Kaua'i. According to census data, about 10% of the kids at Kapaʻa Elementary are also from the North Shore.

We calculated that every year, around 68 to 80 kids combined graduate from Hanalei and Kīlauea schools. Since there’s no public middle or high school nearby, we think about 75% of these kids (that's about 60) will join Namahana School. The other kids may choose to go to different schools, move away, or homeschooling.

Yes, all coursework is designed to prepare students to successfully enter both college and/or other post-secondary learning. Namahana School’s high school graduation requirements align with Hawaiʻi DOE requirements. Namahana School’s ʻāina-based, student-led and personalized learning model is grounded in research from multiple sources. Most notably, Big Picture Learning, which has shown that educational approaches such as personalized learning plans, internships and exhibitions of learning, cultivate high school graduates with the academic and personal skills to thrive in college and beyond.

The Hawaiʻi 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 be able to initiate the process with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Yes, if a charter school student would like to participate in a sport that is not offered at the school, the student may participate in a comparable sport at the Hawaiʻi Department of Education school located in the service area where they reside. During pre-opening planning, we will be assessing our capacity to offer sports. We will provide families with information about existing sports opportunities both at the local DOE schools and through other sports clubs and leagues available on the North Shore.

Big Picture Learning (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.

In 2020, the Namahana School Governing Board formed a Facilities Committee to work closely with the Kauaʻi North Shore Community Foundation and the Facilities Project Manager to select an architectural firm to develop the conceptual designs for Namahana School. This Facilities Committee included Governing Board members Adam Roversi, Director of the County of Kauaʻi Housing Agency, and Jennifer Luck, Chief Operating Officer of Common Ground Kauaʻi.

After a rigorous interview process, the committee selected Group 70 International (G70), a Hawaiʻi-based firm with over 50 years of experience that has designed over 1 million square feet of K-12 educational facilities in Hawaiʻi 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 Kauʻi Fu, Holly Dyre, Lorrie 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 Namahana School in July 2022. This presentation included a design narrative background and process, a draft master plan, renderings, designs, diagrams and precedent images, building floor plans, a water study, preliminary engineering, and a space program.

The next step is for Namahana Education Foundation to submit a Special Use Application to the County of Kaua‘i for the Namahana School site.

While Hawaiʻi State charter schools receive a per-pupil allocation once in operation. The state does not provide any funds for the construction of facilities.

Namahana School will receive a per pupil allocation from the State of Hawai‘i that funds the school’s operating costs. Namahana Education Foundation will help raise additional funds necessary to supplement the annual operating budget.

Please visit our Careers page complete the Form for Prospective Teachers and Staff. We are currently developing our curriculum and will focus on faculty recruitment in 2024. In the meantime, please send us your information and we will be in touch.

Namahana has made huge strides thanks to all the hearts and hands who have stepped forward to help. In the immediate future, we are actively seeking:

Donors who can make a tax-deductible gift to help us cover capacity-building and infrastructure costs prior to opening

Volunteers who can offer their expertise and time, from professional services to helping with events and other engagement activities in the community.

Businesses, organizations and professionals can serve as internshipsites and mentors for our students.

Passionate middle and high school teachers who would like to be a part of a transformational school.