Hanahau‘oli is a leader in progressive education in Hawai‘i as it recognizes and celebrates childhood as its own distinct and important stage of life and honors the natural way children learn—through play. “At Hanahau‘oli children experience a childhood brimming with play, experiential learning, authentic experiences and intimate relationships at a pace that supports growth through deep reflection and inquiry,” says Head of School Lia Woo, a Hanahau‘oli graduate herself.
Lia Woo
Head of School
Meaning “joyous work” in Hawaiian, Hanahau‘oli offers families a carefully designed and developmentally appropriate learning environment, grounded in research on child development. Key to this joyous work is deep and caring relationships among children, teachers, staff, and families.
“Our close-knit community ensures every child is known and valued for their uniqueness,” says Woo. “As a progressive education school, children take active leadership roles in the running of the school, teaching them from the earliest age the value of interdependence and community.”
A multiage classroom structure is intentionally organized to meet children where they are—both cognitively and socially. Designed in a two-year cycle, the curriculum gives students, and parents, an opportunity to develop longer lasting relationships with the teachers who support them.
Hanahau‘oli’s Junior Kindergarten to 6th grade educational program includes an integrated curriculum with full-time specialist teachers in visual art, Physical World Lab (shop), music, Mandarin, orchestra/band, physical education, library studies and Hawaiian culture. Valued as an essential part of a child’s learning and growth at Hanahau‘oli, the arts offer self-expression while also nurturing in children an appreciation of the value of quality.
As a progressive school, Hanahau‘oli responds to a changing world, believing that real-life problems and situations offer the best means for developing useful skills and understandings and becoming productive members of a democratic community. Examples of issues students engage in include removing invasive fish from Kāneālole Stream through partnering with Nā Wai ‘Ekolu, studying insects and their helpful or harmful impact to our island home and participating in a student government as democratic representatives of their peers, solving community challenges.
Hanahau‘oli offers an After School Camp and Enrichment Classes to support families and learners and continue joyous work into the late afternoon. Multi-age Hui groups anchor campers and help to build community across the school as they play or join clubs, classes and clinics based on their passions and interests. Hanahau‘oli’s five-week summer program celebrates the wonder of learning. “The Skills We Need” program continues Hanahau‘oli’s commitment to supporting the community, offering tuition-free summer school for students from DOE Title 1 schools.
“At Hanahau‘oli we harness our progressive practices and creativity so that students respond to our changing world with purpose, compassion, and leadership,” reflects Woo. “Students embrace responsibility for themselves, for others, and for a better future society.”
1922 Makiki Street, Honolulu, HI 96822 | (808) 949-6461 | Hanahauoli.org
