Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Kamuela, Hawaii
Academics
As the Pacific region's leading boarding and day school, Hawai'i Preparatory Academy, an independent, co-educational school, provides students in grades K-12 (plus Post-Graduate) a full range of academic and extra-curricular experiences in small classes. The rigorous college-preparatory academic program, taught in the midst of the world's most diverse ecosystem on the Island of Hawai'i, has attracted students from throughout the state, the U.S. Mainland and territories, and every continent in the world. "The HPA Experience" offers students an unmatched global education beyond classroom walls.
HPA's boarding program for students in grades 6-12 enables all students to live and learn in the island's amazing natural "laboratory." The school's ambitious, well-rounded curriculum taught by dedicated, highly professional faculty takes advantage of its campus setting, while partnerships with high-tech neighbors enable student participation in real-world, cutting edge research.
Athletics
HPA believes that physical exercise is an integral part of daily life. Each student is required to participate in interscholastic competition, intramural sports, or noncompetitive activities each weekday. Our athletic program stresses school-wide participation and teaches the values of sportsmanship and fair play. Although HPA teams have earned many state and league titles, the emphasis is on participation, not winning.
Arts
The Performing Arts department at the Upper School consists of classes and co-curricular activities which enable students to explore and refine their abilities in theatre, music, and dance. The department produces numerous productions throughout the year including plays, musicals, choir concerts, chamber ensemble performances, and dance concerts. Performing Arts faculty support and facilitate individual lessons in instrumental music and voice. By using artists and teachers from the community to teach instrumental music, dance, voice, and technical theatre, in addition to the regular curriculum (Theatre Production, Choir, Vocal Ensemble) the department offers any and every student a chance to excel in the Performing Arts.
Unique Programs or Strengths of School
Residential Program
For many students, the boarding program at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy is central to the HPA
experience. The ability to live with students from around the island of Hawai‘i—and from around the world—gives each student the opportunity to be a part of a community of motivated students and dedicated teachers. The connections that are made between students go beyond life-long friendships to a feeling of ‘ohana (Hawaiian word for family).
The residential life curriculum provides a safe, healthy, environment with high standards for social conduct and personal integrity. Students are expected to strive for honorable, respectful, and responsible lives as they support, and learn from, their community.
The Hawai’i Preparatory Academy residential life program supports social and emotional growth focused on mutual respect and meeting obligations and responsibilities through the following components:
Close mentoring relationships with faculty and staff.
Well-structured and active schedules.
Opportunities to participate in a rich variety of evening and weekend activities.
A focus on peer friendships and camaraderie.
Quality supervision and coordination of health care.
Comfortable dorms that provide a range of amenities including functional student rooms, laundry facilities, computers, and television lounge.
A unique dining facility that provides a variety of excellent and nutritious foods.
Support and encouragement of student-parent communication and understanding.
An environment that encourages students to meet personal responsibilities and community obligations.
Development of ethnic awareness and cultural identity.
Academic Assistance
Extra help from teachers is available upon the student’s request. The boarding and day faculty have duties in the dorm on a weekly basis. They represent various academic departments, which allows boarders to have easy access to help. In cases where more academic support is needed, tutoring can be arranged through the school office.
Upper School Boarding (9-12 & PG)
There are three dorms on campus separated by gender. Most students live in a double room and many upper class students are assigned a single room. All rooms have high-speed Internet access and the dorms’ common area include computers, table games, and fireplaces. Residential dorm parents also serve as classroom teachers and coaches. Students benefit from the availability of their teachers in the dorms and develop important relationships with their dorm parents because of the multiple connections in the classroom, on the playing field, and in the dorm halls. The small average number of students per dorm parent (8:1) means that dorm parents can focus on each student individually to help ensure a successful HPA Experience, academically and socially.
The HPA campus is located outside of Waimea (Kamuela), Hawai‘i, a small town located in the heart of the world-famous Parker Ranch. The spirit of aloha with a Western flair provides a welcoming and safe location for students to live. Round the clock campus security supplement the residential staff living on every floor. In addition, the campus has a full-time Health Center with nurses on call 24/7.
The community-oriented residential life curriculum focuses on healthy socialization and personal responsibility. Students participate in campus community service tasks, such as cleaning the dorms, classrooms, or helping in the dining hall. There are various opportunities for residential students to gain valuable leadership skills at HPA as a dorm prefect or a dorm representative for the Student Council and by participating in the many ongoing leadership training sessions in the dorms throughout the year.
Students enjoy a robust, engaging, and fun student-run activities program. A variety of activities are available to students on and off campus and take advantage of the cultural, social, and natural opportunities available on the island. In addition, every Wednesday and weekend, there are regular shuttles to Waimea (Kamuela) where there are several restaurants and shops. There is a regular weekend van to the beach and regular trips to Kona or Hilo for movies or shopping at the larger department stores. Monday nights are traditional formal dinners with faculty families at each table and students in formal attire.
The daily schedule provides structure for students with opportunities for interaction between students and dorm faculty/dorm parents. After classes end, the typical boarding student schedule would include:
Afternoon sports and activities
Free time
Dinner
Supervised study hall
Dorm chores
Free time
Mandatory lights out
Middle School Boarding (6-8)
The Middle School offers a full boarding program at the Village Campus for students in grades 6-8. A five-day boarding program is an option for families who reside on the Big Island.
The Waimea Wing of the dormitory was renovated in 1993 and the residential suites in the summer of 1997. Two students share a room with their own bathroom. Six to eight students live on a hallway with boarding faculty on each floor. The small ratio of students to boarding faculty cultivates commitment and respect that transforms mere adult-child relationships into a close-knit family.
All boarding students are actively involved in various activities on the weekends and after school and are expected to participate willingly in the campus work program. Besides the usual beach outings on weekends, students have the opportunity to visit island attractions and sites of interest such as Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, local rainforests, Mauna Kea observatories, towns (Kona, Hilo), and historical sites (Lapakahi State Park, Puako petroglyphs, etc.). Evening trips to the theatre are regularly scheduled, as are movies in Kona, Hilo, or on campus. Students are also encouraged to support their Upper School classmates by attending sports events.
Although boarding students have scheduled “free time” every day, structured study periods are mandatory and supervised by faculty.
Work Program
Every HPA student must participate in the school work program. Our goal is to build a sense of community. Each student contributes to the welfare of the school by working in one of many jobs critical to the school's daily operation. The program is administered by the assistant principal. Senior and junior prefects direct most work program areas and are immediate supervisors of assigned students.
Sea Turtle Research Program
Since 1987, HPA has had a close working relationship with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Pacific Islands Fisheries Center of NOAA Fisheries Protected Species Division, in conducting turtle research and conservation activities. Middle and Upper School students assist with the safe capture, measuring, health assessment, and tagging of many hundreds of sea turtles at various Big Island sites supervised by Marc Rice, director of the Sea Turtle Research Program, and George Balazs, leader of the Marine Turtle Research Program for NMFS. The work has grown in scope, magnitude, and importance to overall species conservation.
Costs
Please be aware that the costs provided below are designed to provide approximate comparisons. For a precise reckoning of costs, contact an education advisor.
Tuition: USD 43,600
Varies
English Language Study
Many Consortium Schools allow students to improve their English abilities while they are studying. The precise nature of the ESL programs tend to vary from school to school; please contact an advisor for a specific description.
ESL Program: Yes
Cost of ESL Program: $0
Visualizing the School
Website: www.hpa.edu
Map: View
