West Hawai'i Explorations Academy (WHEA), officially West Hawaii Explorations Academy Public Charter School, is a public charter school located in

Kailua-Kona Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with a community located on the windward side of Oahu), as Kona (a name it shares ...

, Hawai'i, United States, founded on May 4, 2000. It includes a middle school (grades 6–8) and a high school (9-12), with a total student body of about 280. The school has a project based curriculum with emphasis placed on individual time management, technical writing, and experiential research. Most WHEA projects can be classified as either marine, Malama aina (taking care of the land), or energy related. The school motto is "No Child Left Indoors" which reflects the school's focus on getting students outdoors and into the community to participate in meaningful hands-on education. The program was originally created as a school-within-a-school of

Konawaena High School Konawaena High School is a public school located in Kona District, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. Konawaena means "the center of the leeward side" in the Hawaiian Language. The school has a Kealakekua mailing address, and it, along with Ko ...

where students with at least a 3.6

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

could attend for a semester. Currently, the school does not screen students on the basis of academic merit, although it does tend to attract self-motivated students interested in science. In 2005, WHEA was honored by the Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School Awards, and Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction.Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School Award Winners
/ref> The school is located on the site of the

Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (''NELHA'') administers the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST Park). ''NELHA'' was founded in 1974. At , HOST Park is a state-subsidized industrial park for incubator and marginal comm ...

Keahole Point Keāhole Point is the westernmost point of the island of Hawaii. The Kona International Airport was moved here from directly north of the town of Kailua-Kona in 1970, when the previous smaller airstrip was converted into the Old Kona Airport St ...

, on the

Island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

, within walking distance of tide pools where organisms are sometimes collected for study and research.

Application and Admission

WHEA is a public

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...

, so all students are allowed to apply for attendance free of tuition. Application forms are available on their website. Admission is generally first apply, first enrolled, starting in February, but a lottery and waiting list are employed on "draw days" at the first of the month if demand out strips supply for spaces. Recently however, the lottery has not been in place due to a shrinking student body.

References

Public high schools in Hawaii Public middle schools in Hawaii Schools in Hawaii County, Hawaii Charter schools in Hawaii Educational institutions established in 2000 2000 establishments in Hawaii {{Hawaii-school-stub