About us
I mua Kamehameha!
Since 1887, Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha has honored our founder, Ke Ali‘i Bernice Pauahi Pākī Bishop, who passed to us a kuleana to care for her ‘āina and prepare future generations, through education, to lead, compete, and restore and sustain her people’s well-being.
Guided by this kāhea, we place keiki at the center of all we do, investing in our kaiāulu and nurturing Hawai‘i’s next generation of leaders and changemakers.
Whether through culturally rooted ‘āina stewardship, Hawaiian culture-based education or work done in partnership with our communities, we uphold the wisdom of our kūpuna while caring for the Kānaka Maoli of the future.
Our mission
To fulfill Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s vision of empowering Native Hawaiians in perpetuity by improving the well-being of our people through education.
Our vision
Grounded in Native Hawaiian and Christian values, our haumāna will succeed in postsecondary education and contribute, through ‘ōiwi leadership, to a thriving and self-determined lāhui.
The will of a princess
Upon her passing on October 16, 1884, our founder Ke Ali‘i Bernice Pauahi Bishop, through Article 13 of her will, established the Kamehameha Schools. This will, as our enduring legacy, provides, in relevant parts, that we
- operate two schools, one for boys, one for girls, with boarding and day students,
- devote a portion of our budget to orphans and others in indigent circumstances,
- give preference to Native Hawaiians, and
- provide a good education in the common English branches, with instruction in morals and in such other useful knowledge as may tend to make good and industrious men and women.
Our E Ola! identity
Native Hawaiian keiki are at the center of everything we do at Kamehameha Schools. Our goal is to inspire E Ola! learners who are connected to their Hawaiian identity and contribute to their communities as ‘ōiwi leaders. We believe that such haumāna are best nurtured in engaging, robust Hawaiian culture-based education learning environments.
E holomua
Since launching our Vision 2040 in 2015, Kamehameha Schools has deepened its commitment to cultivating ‘ōiwi, supporting the growth of our people and places through E Ola! As we carry this kuleana forward through Strategic Plan 2030, Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha remains focused on inspiring haumāna, cultivating ‘āina momona, and uplifting our lāhui — now and for generations to come.
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
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