Kamehameha Schools' Ka Pua Initiative host Wai‘anae Coast community forums | Community Spirit

Information provided by: Kamehameha Schools’ Ka Pua Initiative

Kamehameha Schools' Ka Pua Initiative is seeking community input to confirm 
and help design educational program offerings on the Wai‘anae Coast.

Kamehameha Schools’ Ka Pua Initiative is a long term commitment to 
excellent education, strong community, and a committed presence on the 
Wai’anae Coast. The vision is a healthy, vibrant Native Hawaiian community 
whose youth and families lead locally and globally, firmly grounded in 
knowing who they are and where they come from.

This month, the Ka Pua Initiative will host five open community forums to 
clarify and design the educational programs that have emerged as community 
priorities through many conversations over the past few years.

The Ka Pua Initiative is a collaborative endeavor between Kamehameha Schools, 
the Hawai‘i State Department of Education (DOE) and a number of community 
organizations serving the coast.  Interested community members will 
participate in activities to further confirm the programs and needs to 
support a learning community on the Wai‘anae Coast.

Attendees will be asked to lend their voice and mana‘o in a discussion on 
what kinds of programs and learning opportunities are important to their 
‘ohana. The forums will include conversations about the types of activities 
and the spaces needed to support efforts to get kids to school, keep them in 
school and engage them in learning.

“We hope to spark creative ideas that help us to understand what these 
programs look like, feel like and smell like through the eyes of the 
community,” says Maile Keli‘ipio-Acoba, a project manager  for Kamehameha 
Schools’ Ka Pua Initiative. “These forums will help to inform our work as 
we move toward the planning of programmatic focus and design for the 
Initiative.”

By attending and contributing to this discussion, participants will help to 
inform Kamehameha Schools’ education program plan for the Ka Pua Initiative 
and physical facility design of the Kamehameha Community Learning Centers on 
the Wai‘anae Coast. This activity is part of an ongoing conversation about 
what needs to be in place so that every child on the Wai‘anae Coast has the 
choice, vision and support to achieve post-secondary success.

The forums are open to the public and will take place on:

• Thursday, March 15th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Nānākuli High & 
Intermediate School cafeteria (dinner will be provided)
• Tuesday, March 20th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Kamehameha Schools 
Community Learning Center at Nānākuli
• Tuesday March 20th from 2:45 to 5 p.m. at the Kamehameha Schools 
Community Learning Center at Nānākuli
• Wednesday March 21st from 2:45 to 5 p.m. at the Wai‘anae District Park 
multipurpose room
• Thursday, March 22nd from 5:45 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wai‘anae District 
Park multipurpose room (dinner will be provided)
“All sessions have the same format and agenda, so people only need to come 
to one in order to have the voices heard, and we are hopeful that folks can 
find a session that fits their schedule,” mentions Keli‘ipio-Acoba.

Dinner or light refreshments will be provided at each meeting. RSVPs are not 
required, but are requested for planning refreshments and materials. RSVP 
online at www.ksbe.edu/kapua/community or call 808-541-5333.