Blog Post 2 - Portrait of My School - Kamehameha

My Students 
I have twenty-four 6th graders - twelve girls and twelve boys. They come from a range of different backgrounds, but the commonality being their Hawaiian heritage. The majority have been here since kindergarten, some entered in fourth grade, and a handful just this year in 6th grade. Their overall goal is to graduate from Kamehameha Schools. For a few they are the first to start off at Kamehameha School while many are following the footsteps of their siblings, parents, and their 'ohana.

WEO - Working Exit Outcomes

Just as DOE has their GLO's, here at Kamehameha, we have the WEO, working exit outcomes. We use these daily in our classrooms and the students are constantly looking for connections to their learning. They make cultural connections daily through our morning Piko Wehena (morning protocol) where the students oli or chant to start off their day, followed by pule (prayer), and a mele (song). To close the day we attend our afternoon Piko Panina (afternoon protocol) where they give thanks with their Oli Mahalo. The goal is to make our haumana (students) good and industrious people. To be life-long learners and though we are diverse we will come together as one in education.

Educational Mission

The mission of Kamehameha Schools is to improve the capability and well-being of Hawaiians through education.

A Brief History of Kamehameha Schools

Kamehameha Schools was founded by the will of Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884), the great-granddaughter and last direct royal descendant of Kamehameha the Great.

During her lifetime, Princess Pauahi witnessed the rapid decline of the Hawaiian population. With that decline came a challenge to preserve the Hawaiian language and culture she held dear.

The princess knew that education would be key to the survival of her people, so in an enduring act of aloha, she left them a precious gift upon her passing – 375,000 acres of ancestral land. She instructed the trustees of her estate to use the land to educate her people.

In 1887, three years after her death, the Kamehameha School for Boys opened with 37 students and four teachers. In 1894 the Kamehameha School for Girls opened.

From these modest beginnings Kamehameha Schools has grown to become a symbol of educational excellence for Hawaiians. Today, Kamehameha is a statewide educational system with three campuses on Oʻahu, Maui and Hawaiʻi serving more than 5,500 students in kindergarten through grade 12.

Kamehameha Schools also operates 29 preschools statewide, which serve more than 1,500 students.  Additionally, more than 30,000 additional Hawaiian learners are reached annually through a variety of Kamehameha Schools outreach programs, community collaborations and scholarships. (Information gathered from the ksbe.edu website).