As we look back on 2024, we are filled with gratitude for your unwavering support. We made incredible strides together this year…

Although its doors won’t open until fall 2025, Namahana School has already built a remarkable network of philanthropic partners. Today, the public charter middle and high school on Kaua‘i’s North Shore announced that Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, through the Chan Zuckerberg Kauaʻi Community Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, made a cash gift of $750,000 alongside a set of state-of-the-art mobile facilities valued at $800,000.

In this article, Dennis Fujimoto highlights the incredible generosity of Chan and Zuckerberg. With this recent gift, our pre-opening fundraising total has reached $6 million, which includes $5.3 million toward our Phase I $10 million capital campaign to build the middle school portion of our campus.

Mahalo TGI for consistently sharing our milestones with the community.

Check out this interview with Dr. Kapua Chandler, Namahana School Leader, on Kaua’i Community Radio. Featured on the “Out of the Box” program, the interview is a great dive into the school, from the community engagement that was done to build the curriculum, to the continued efforts by many to build the school as we prepare to welcome our first students next August.

Whether at our parent meetups or via Instagram, we love receiving questions from the community. Please keep them coming. Here are some answers to our most frequently asked questions.

We are continually updating the Careers page on the Namahana website, and this week we’ve added a new job opening for Office Manager. Under the supervision of the School Leader, the position of the Office Manager is responsible for providing support to the School Leader in all areas of administration.

Mahalo to Hawaiʻi Public Radio for its reporting on Namahana School’s progress and the recent generous donations from Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg. The news segment, which aired on Tuesday, showcases the impact the school will have on the community, finally providing the long-needed middle and high school for the North Shore. It also touches on the school’s unique ʻāina-based learning (learn more on that here).

Mahalo HPR for the coverage that reaches statewide.

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 have chosen to temporarily lease the Kula School campus in Waipakē for its first year. 

Things are happening on our campus site! We’re excited to share that a generous donor has gifted Namahana School nine deluxe trailers. These sustainable, ultramodern mobile facilities will provide valuable office and operational space for Namahana throughout construction and in the years ahead. Stay tuned, as we’ll be sharing additional details this November!

We're honored to officially join the NewSchools Venture Fund InnovativeSchools portfolio! NewSchools bridges the gap between those with capital and those with the courage to put that capital to work on the frontlines of education.

Thank you to all those who supported Namahana and our fellow North Shore nonprofits during North Shore Give week. North Shore Give Week is the opportunity for everyone to learn about the difference that nonprofits make in our community and to express our gratitude by donating to, and volunteering for, these wonderful organizations. Three donors raised $575 for Namahana, mahalo!

This summer’s crowdfunding and capital campaign efforts were a success, meaning we are able to place the deposit down to begin engineering and fabricating our middle school structures. Next up, the fundraising continues…

As we work towards our official enrollment in January, we’re thrilled to note that nearly 80 students have already declared their intent to enroll as 7th and 8th graders at Namahana for the 2024-25 school year.

Mahalo nui to our friends at Foodland for supporting Namahana School and our keiki! Throughout September, you can participate in Give Aloha at all Foodland, Sack N Save, and Foodland Farms stores statewide.

Last month our friends at Island Ace Hardware helped raise funds for Namahana School, where customers were given the chance to round up their purchases and make a direct donation to the school’s building efforts. $1,300 was raised in the process...

To better illustrate the Namahana School curriculum, this week we launched a new page on our website centered on the Ola Framework...

This month Namahana joined 1% for the Planet, an organization that allows businesses to give 1% of their annual sales directly to vetted environmental partners. 

We’ve been hosting great parent groups with the North Shore community. Thank you to all the parents who have come out to ask such insightful questions! Here, we’re answering three of the most commonly asked ones.

We are hugely grateful and humbled by the support shown at last weekend’s land blessing for the new Namahana School site. From the donations and help with the event preparation, to the volunteers, speakers and photographers who made the event happen, to the many attendees who came to get their first experience of the beautiful school site and vision, we thank you.  

Check out this great article published by The Garden Island last week covering the land blessing for our new school site.