Today, Ho‛okāko‛o manages and operates three public charter schools serving nearly 16% of Hawaii’s public charter school students. All three schools are accredited by the Western Associaton of Schools and Colleges.
Kamaile Academy, a P20 “village learning community” school in Wai‛anae, O‛ahu
Kualapu‛u Preschool and Elementary School, an English language and Hawaiian language immersion school on Moloka‛i
Waimea Middle School, a place-base and project-learning school on Hawai‛i Island
Our Schools
Each Ho‛okāko‛o school was once a regular public school that, through a majority vote of their school community, "converted" to a charter school joining the Ho‛okāko‛o family. Called "Public Conversion Charter Schools," Ho‛okāko‛o is a key partner in the Hawai'i charter school movement and in improving Native Hawaiian public education.
Ho‛okāko‛o offers a unique governance model in which each school enjoys substantial autonomy to adapt to its community. The schools are empowered and enabled through a very small but specialized corporate staff that supports the design and delivery of innovation.
The organization has a fundamental belief that all children can reach their highest potential with the right systems of support, program flexibility, and research-based innovations not commonly found in our public schools.
Our schools serve a proportionately higher number of students with diverse learning needs and families from disadvantaged communities. Our partnerships are invaluable to creating and maintaining safe, nurturing and rigorous Pre-K – 12 education programs.
What is a Public Charter School?
Public charter schools in Hawai'i are public schools that are managed and operated independently from the Department of Education. Each public charter school is considered a legally independent public school legislated by the State of Hawai'i to help improve Hawai'i's public school system through innovative and outcomes-based education.
Public charter schools have the freedom to provide innovative teaching and learning practices that are more responsive to the individual needs of the students, while being held accountable for student achievement and success. Though afforded this greater flexibility, charter schools are still responsible for meeting all of the same state and federal laws and educational standards as all other Hawai'i public schools. And like regular public schools, charter schools are free and do not charge tuition.
Public charter schools are governed by a respective Governing Board comprised of community volunteers, with diverse skill sets and backgrounds, responsible for the academic, financial and operational strength of the school. To ensure community involvement, the Governing Board convenes a Local Advisory Panel (LAP) comprised of community members, parents, faculty and other school stakeholders to function as the liaison between the community and the school. The LAP also provides community oversight of the school and serves as an advisor to their Governing Board.