Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi Campus

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The Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi Campus is a private school for kindergarten through 12th grade on Hawaiʻi Island, in Keaʻau, about 10 miles from Hilo. It opened in August 2001 and sits on about 300 acres. Students come from all over the island, and those from the western side can apply to the Kapālama Campus as boarders.

The campus sits on land once owned by William Herbert Shipman and others. Construction cost around $225 million. The first high school class started in 2002 with about 100 students, and the first graduates finished in 2006. The school includes separate elementary, middle, and high school buildings plus a shared learning center, administration building, and dining/band facilities.

Traditions and programs at the Hawaiʻi Campus include Hoʻike (an annual student performance), elementary concerts, Greek Day, Freshmen Makahiki, May Day, and Ho‘olauleʻa (a festival with games, food, vendors, and music). The school partners with the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College, and its curriculum draws on Mauna Kea’s observatories and Hawaiʻi’s forestry, geology, marine life, and agriculture. The marching band performed in the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade, and students can study Hawaiian language (middle and high school) as well as Japanese and Spanish (high school).

School colors are white, light blue, and dark blue, and the mascot is the Warrior. The campus offers a wide range of extracurricular activities and sports within the Big Island Interscholastic Federation.