Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i

‘ŌIWI EDGE - OUR CAMPUS IDENTITY

To reclaim and collectively advance a narrative of native Hawaiians thriving, Kamehameha Hawai‘i haumāna will have an ‘Ōiwi Edge—a strong ancestral foundation that shapes their agency, adaptability, and well-being giving them a competitive advantage to fulfill their unique purpose and kuleana.

‘Ōiwi Edge is our campus identity unique to Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i, which is inspired by Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s lineage to Hawai‘i, our kūpuna, and generations of heroes and innovators who shaped our communities. ‘Ōiwi Edge empowers us with a worldview and mindsets to actively shape a rapidly changing world with vision, courage, and aloha

‘Ōiwi Edge is rooted in the belief that Native Hawaiian identity is a source of mana, inspiration, and cultural armor for our learners as they venture into a global economy where the most valuable job skills are no longer technical in nature—they are skills such as empathy, adaptability, creativity, innovation, critical reflection, and the ability to navigate complexity.

Our ‘Ōiwi Edge Learning and Teaching Expectations are guided by three main pillars:

KAUHALE | ‘Ōiwi Center

Our Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i kauhale is a nexus of pilina whose structures and values put the learner at the center.

MO‘OLELO | ‘Ōiwi Narrative

Learners are aware of their history, good and bad, and use it to inform their future by telling their own story, using multiple perspectives aimed at solutions that de-center destructive and toxic narratives.

NA‘AUAO | An ‘Ōiwi Edge

Learners identify as learned persons who understand that knowledge is crucial to countering generational socioeconomic and political inequity.

Our community is blessed to be a center of Hawaiian education, which means ‘ohana have many choices. We are humbled and grateful every time an ‘ohana chooses Kamehameha Hawai‘i for their keiki’s educational journey. Our students distinguish themselves through a very rigorous process and the collection of these many talents and mo‘okū‘auhau enriches our school significantly. At Kamehameha Hawai‘i, haumāna co-create a vision for their future. Our graduates go on to top tier universities both here locally in Hawai‘i and across the continent. We are here to support each student’s pathway in finding their unique purpose and kuleana in service to our lāhui. KSH prepares students through issues-based learning in today's global world, alongside the innovative thinking and design for tomorrow.

Our Kauhale Commitment is that we will nurture and invest in knowing the truth of who we are, instilling within us a strong sense of identity. Giving us the confidence to exert our agency towards empowering socioeconomic and political equity. Our students are held to the highest academic expectations.

Through a rigorous Hawaiian Culture-Based Education(HCBE) approach, we teach our haumāna to explore innovative solutions to real-world problems and to realize their academic potential through an ‘ōiwi lens.