Frequently Asked Questions

No! We want the keiki to spend their evenings in the ways they and their families feel are best. There is plenty of time to learn and learn more deeply through our teaching methodology (project-based learning) during the school day.

Click here to see many ways to support our school. Donations help provide for school supplies, field trips, facilities, etc. If you have special skills or equipment that you would like to volunteer, or if you are part of another community organization that would like to collaborate, please contact us. If you are a parent of a student, your help in the classroom, chaperoning events and field trips, and offering your time outside the school is always needed and welcomed. Please contact your child’s teacher or other school admin.

Parents are encouraged and welcomed to join with us as partners in their child’s education. We will welcome parents in the classrooms, in maintaining the school, in volunteering for help with before, during and after school, for events and activities, chaperoning on field trips, and providing services of expertise. Credit will also be given for assisting teachers, who, outside of family, are the major influence in your child’s life. Interested in volunteering? Click here.

We have a contract with Akita Transportation to provide bussing. Should you need additional details on this program, please contact the office to discover the pickup points, pricing, and other information.

The application is available online. You can submit the application at our office, by email to info@alakaiokauai.org, or by mail to Alakaʻi O Kauaʻi, PO Box 1122, Koloa, HI 96756.

Meal service is not currently provided. Learners must bring their own lunch and snacks.

School Hours – Monday through Thursday: 8:45AM – 2:45PM
School Hours – Friday: 8:45AM – 12:30PM

Drop off no earlier than 8:15AM
Office Hours -Monday through Friday: 8:00AM – 4:00PM

Not at this time.

There is no uniform, but we do have T-shirts for all our learners available at the school office. Extra shirts for youth are $10, and $20 for adult sizes.

Not at this time.

Call the office at 808-635-5110 for any of these issues.

It is easy to reset account passwords if this is the problem.

If you are not receiving emails sent through SchoolMint, there are two things you can do:

1. Log in to your SchoolMint account. Go to “Parent/Guardian Info” and click the gray pencil button to edit. Under “Contact Preference,” be sure to select the option to receive both emails and texts. You MUST opt to receive emails, not only texts, as all our school communications will be via the SchoolMint server.
2. The other thing you can do to be sure you receive our emails is to search your junk mail box for SchoolMint. Make sure to mark those emails as “not junk.”

Yes, click here for school supply lists.

We are a free public charter school funded by the state of Hawaii, grants, and generous donors.

We are located at Kahili Mountain Park off Kuhio Highway just past the Tunnel of Trees. The location of our road leading to the school is 2-4035 Kaumualii Highway, Koloa, HI 96756

Admissions begin in January for the following school year. After the admissions window closes, if there are more applicants than seats available, a lottery is held. After the lottery process, applications to enroll are accepted all year long and seats are offered as seats are available.

If a lottery is needed, the event will be held at a specified date at the school. Parents will be notified that their child has been accepted through seat availability or lottery and directed to complete the enrollment packet. Parents/guardians will then have 14 days to complete and send in the enrollment packet. If the enrollment packet is not received by the due date, the next person on the wait list will be invited to enroll. After all seats are filled in a grade, a wait list will be established for that grade. For any remaining open seats, applications and enrollment will continue to be made available through the end of the school year.

Charter schools are subject to the Common Core State Standards. At Alakaʻi we work to meet and surpass Hawai’i Common Core standards by balancing direct instruction of mathematics and English language arts with their integration into our project-based learning curriculum. It’s important to note that the Common Core is not curriculum or teaching methods but standards. Standards define what students should understand and be able to do at each grade level. Schools and teachers choose curriculum and choose how standards are taught in the classroom. In other words, the standards are the platform from which teachers and schools can innovate. For more information, click here and here.

Hawaii charter schools are under the authority of the Hawaii State Charter School Commission. Their annual assessments include student academic outcomes as measured and mandated by the state’s Strive HI performance system. Currently this does include statewide assessments in math and English language arts beginning in grade 3.

Our vaccine policy is mandated by the state of Hawaii and is the same for all public and private schools. Hawaii law does allow for religious and medical exemptions in writing. Click here for more information.