Our Story
Hālau Kū Māna (HKM) was founded in 1999 and opened to students in 2001, by a group of bold Hawaiian educators and members of the Maunalaha and Papakōlea communities. The vision was to make Hawaiian cultural knowledge and practices—such as hula, sailing, fishpond restoration, and taro cultivation—centerpieces for cultural revival, community empowerment, and academic excellence. Ka Papa Loʻi ʻo Kānewai and the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies provided the first home for HKM in our opening year. Hālau Kū Māna moved to its current, permanent home in Makiki in 2007. HKM remains one of the only Hawaiian culture-based charter schools located in urban Honolulu.
Campus
Hālau Kū Māna is located on a beautiful campus in the Makiki District of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu. Surrounded by lush greenery and bordered by a running stream, our campus makes the ideal environment for hands-on education including our on-campus gardens and taro patch.
Inside the classroom, modern, air-conditioned facilities help us learn. Our 1:1 laptop program and campus-wide WIFI internet keep us on the leading edge, even as we keep our roots deep in our history and heritage.
Student Life
Hālau Kū Māna students have a rich and diverse educational experience. Value is placed on exploration and outdoor investigation just as much as book learning.
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Values & Mission
Hoʻokumu
Build grounding and foundation.
To foster a sense of esteem, stewardship, and kuleana to the ʻāina, our communities and ourselves, through grounding in ancestral knowledge and practices of Hawai’i and the academic skills necessary to excel in the 21st century.
Hoʻokele
Forge direction and connections.
To explore and inquire in ways that build upon our ancestral wisdom and bridge to other communities and cultures in a harmonious manner.
Hoʻomāna
Provide sustenance and empowerment.
To provide sustenance and empowerment for ourselves and our communities by striving for high academic, cultural, social, environmental, and economic standards, thus nourishing all piko: cognitive, emotional, spiritual and physical.