Namahana to Open Temporarily at Former Kula School Campus, Winning Valuable Breathing Space in Tight Construction Timeline

Thanks to more than 180 individuals and ‘ohana who supported our community fundraising campaign this summer, we’re thrilled to announce that we have raised the funds necessary to move into the engineering and fabrication phase for our future middle school facilities! Given our extremely tight construction timeline of less than 10 months before opening day, Namahana School leadership has chosen to temporarily lease the Kula School campus in Waipakē for its first year. 

“The decision was made after carefully considering benefits and risks, in which even the slightest unforeseen delay could compromise our obligation to the Hawai‘i State Charter School Commission to welcome students in August of 2025,” explains Namahana Education Foundation Executive Director Melanie Parker. “We are extremely grateful to Jeff and Leela Lindner for the generous terms of this agreement and for supporting our mission to bring innovative, tuition-free middle- and high-school education to Kaua‘i’s North Shore families.” 

Located near the intersection of Kapuna Road and Kūhio Highway, the campus is only a five-minute drive from Namahana’s property. Founded by Jeff Lindner in 1995, Kula School operated as a private middle and high school with a focus on environmental education until transitioning to a teacher-focused operation in 2009.  In addition to a beautiful setting on 22 acres of agricultural land, its existing facilities and classrooms are perfectly suited to Namahana’s projected student count for grades 7 and 8. 

“Thanks to this arrangement, our kumu will have adequate lead time to prepare their teaching spaces and we can still offer our inaugural students and families an exceptional learning environment in line with our ‘āina-based and community-based values – a rare privilege among first-year charter schools,” adds Namahana School Leader Dr. Kapua Chandler.

Leela Lindner, who worked closely with Namahana on the temporary lease arrangement, notes that “Cultivating a space for higher education on Kauai's North Shore has always been part of Kula's long-term mission. Our family is proud to support Namahana School by providing a place for it to begin its vibrant future.”

Namahana’s campus development is proceeding at a brisk pace. Our middle school facilities are currently in the engineering and fabrication phase with WABi Systems in Australia. These state-of-the-art “eco structures” are energy efficient, sustainable and customizable to Namahana’s original campus design. Current fundraising efforts are now focused on raising the remaining funds needed to ship, receive and construct the permanent middle school campus.  An anonymous donation of nine deluxe trailers was also recently made to Namahana at an estimated value of approximately $800,000. These sustainable, ultramodern mobile facilities will provide valuable temporary office and operational space for Namahana throughout construction and in the years ahead.