Our Mission
Nurturing life-long learners and passionate community leaders by cultivating an enriching environment of academic excellence grounded in Hawaiian culture and values.
Our Impact
Our organization is in its 9th year and our educational philosophy embraces active and experiential learning. We promote teaching our students using traditional methodologies via a hands-on and environmentally based curriculum in the important wahi of ʻĪao Valley, Wailuku.
66+
students
We are a growing our school numbers and have just ended our enrollment season for grades K-5. We look forward to increasing our student population and expanding to serve preschool and middle school students in the future.
8+
Years Serving maui community
Our community based approach to learning allows us to collaborate with cultural practitioners, farmers, chefs, and other community members around Maui. Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani was established in 2016 and is currently 8 years strong.
92%
STUDENTS RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID
Our program provides a significant amount of financial aid to allow our families to participate based on their desire to educate their child in a culturally rooted environment.
Our Curriculum
Our educational philosophy is a unique blended approach; it is an intersection of high-touch and high-tech practices to develop 21st-century learners nimble in ancestral wisdom and modern-day practices.
PRACTITIONER DRIVEN PROGRAMming
Central to our mission is the inclusion of expert Hawaiian cultural practitioners who teach the students to apply the lessons learned in the classroom in real-life settings via traditional Hawaiian practices such as, but not limited to: fine arts, cloth making, song and dance, non-instrument navigation, and subsistence agriculture.
Technology
Our students are exposed to the most cutting-edge educational apps available today. In recognition that our students are digital natives, we embrace technology as an avenue for capturing the students’ attention, allowing learning to be fun and interactive.
LANGUAGE IMMERSION
Our main focus is on Hawaiian language immersion education and all of our curriculum is grounded in that practice. The reinvigoration of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi for both our students and their families is a driving force here at Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani. Ka Piko Kaiao is a parent education class that teaches ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi weekly and helps to integrate language acquisition at home and in the classroom, further allowing students to learn organically.
EXPERIENTIAL PLACE - BASED LEARNING
We believe that our students learn best when they can ground their learning through hands-on applications. This high-touch approach to learning solidifies their understanding of our environment as our ancestor.
Get Involved
We would love for you to be involved in our ʻohana here at
Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani
We welcome you to sign up to teach one of our practitioner led programs, volunteer your time to help during huakaʻi or other school related activities or make a donation to support our students and the wonderful educational opportunities available to them here on the island of Maui.
BECOME a practitioner
Sign up to teach a skill or trade to our enthusiastic students in Papa Mālaaʻo - Papa ʻElima (Grades K-5) here on campus.
Volunteer opportunities
Volunteer your time to help beautify our campus, help with school activities or kōkua during campus events or huakaʻi.
Make a Donation
Please make a donation to support our Hawaiian immersion programming and the students of Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani.