Kihei Charter School is a public charter school located in

Kihei Kihei ( haw, Kīhei, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 21,423 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Kihei is located at (20.759122, −156.45722 ...

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Founded in 2001, Kihei Charter has been the only high school in Kihei, though Kihei High School, a long-delayed Hawaii Department of Education school, is under construction. Kihei Charter operates three different schools at one location, serving children from kindergarten through 12th grade. Kihei Charter advertises the use of

project-based learning Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students le ...

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

and a focus on

STEM education Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mush ...

History

South Maui Learning Ohana (2001)

Kihei Charter School was founded in 2001 by the South Maui Learning Ohana (SMLO). SMLO is a non-profit organization, that was created to support the creation of public charter schools in Kihei and Hawaii at large. The SMLO steering committee was twelve members and it met regularly for two years prior to submitting its charter to the State of Hawaii. Its broader affiliation included 1200 Maui residents who petitioned for the school's creation. At the time, South Maui was without a high school and, in the year prior to the school's opening, sent approximately 1,000 students to high schools in other communities on Maui. In its first year, the school shared a space with the Kihei Youth Center in North Kihei. Student enrollment at that time was approximately 60 students in grades 10–12.

Ohukai and Lipoa Expansion (2002 - 2018)

During the summer of 2002, the school relocated to another North Kihei location at 300 Ohukai Road. That school year, KCS also extended its enrollment to include ninth grade. During the 2004–05 school year, the school expanded to serve grades K-12. During summer 2006, KCS relocated to a new facility within the complex at 300 Ohukai Road, which was the former site of Hope Chapel. During summer 2007, the school acquired additional space for a second campus in Kihei and expanded its enrollment to accommodate a new Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program for middle school students. The following year, Kihei Charter opened up a new campus, "Arts Academy". Located in the

Maui Academy of Performing Arts The Maui Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA) is a nonprofit theatre company that produces community theater and offers classes to children and young adults. Over the years, the mainstay of the Academy has been their drama, dance, and summer programs ...

building, the campus focused on Visual and Performing Arts. In 2009, the STEM Academy and Arts Academy merged into "Kihei Charter TEAMS Academy". Due to art lacking curriculum, the campus was renamed back to STEM Academy the following year.

KCS Moves Into a Purpose Build School Building (2018-present)

On October 22, 2018, Kihei Charter opened a combined school, serving grades

K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an American English expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States, which is similar to publicly supported school grade ...

. The new $18.6 million facility is owned by the South Maui Learning Ohana.

References

{{authority control Public schools in Maui Public high schools in Maui Public K-12 schools in Hawaii Charter K-12 schools in the United States Charter schools in Hawaii 2001 establishments in Hawaii Educational institutions established in 2001