Aloha mai kakou to the good people in the learning community of Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School and hope this message finds you all in good health and happiness as we move towards the midpoint of August.

Mahalo nui for the extremely smooth start to the 2024-2025 school year. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and collaboration in transitioning back to school, particularly since we have added a full Middle School this year.

It is a bittersweet moment in the history of our unique charter school to fully expand into our state of Hawai’i Charter Contract Mandate while at the same time saying farewell to one of the founding pioneers of the school. We moved from a dream to a reality to the fastest-improving school in the state of Hawai’i all under the skillful leadership of our current Board Chairperson Nicola.

Over ten years ago Ms. Nicola and a group of like-minded visionary people came together to try and open our school. Few people know that the charter approval was denied several times before it was eventually approved. It was the grit and determination of Ms. Nicola and others that made the magic happen. In May 2020 the school received a Notice of Concern from the Hawai’i Charter Commission about the financial stability of the school and once again Ms. Nicola and the Board of Directors came together and solved all the issues. Ever since that point, the school has moved from surviving to thriving. This would not have been possible without the dedication and leadership of Ms. Nicola.

The great American civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Junior once wrote “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Ms. Nicola is great because she deeply cares about the success of the school and has a heart that was generated by love. At the August public Board of Directors meeting Ms. Nicola will be stepping away from the Board of Directors. She has served our learning community for two full terms of six years. Please take time to reflect on her selfless spirit of volunteerism as she dedicated countless hours of her life to our school. We salute Ms. Nicola for her work and know we could not be where we sit today as a highly successful school without her efforts.

Ms. Nicola will continue to be part of our learning community as we move towards the formation of an Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School Advisory Board that might include past members of our Board of Directors. If you should see her around our beautiful island, please be sure to share a hug or shaka of appreciation for her leadership.

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful week ahead. Malama pono.

DJ Adams
Po’okumu (Director)
Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School
Koloa, Hawai’i