It is with deep kaumaha that we share the passing of a community icon and our beloved former kumu, Piʻilani Kaʻawaloa, who passed away on Friday, March 27, 2026. Piʻilani faithfully served our haumāna and school community here at Kamehameha Schools Hawai’i until her retirement in July 2025, leaving behind a legacy grounded in aloha, ʻike, and an unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation. Her presence on campus was a source of strength and inspiration for our culture, our ‘ohana, and our ‘āina. Her dedication to our students extended far beyond the classroom.

Kumu Piʻilani was not only a gifted educator, but also a deeply respected Hawaiian cultural practitioner. She carried and shared her ʻike in ʻāina, oli, mele, moʻolelo, and hula with authenticity and purpose, helping to perpetuate our culture and identity in meaningful ways. Through her guidance, many of us grew in our understanding of what it means to live and learn with kuleana and aloha. Kumu Piʻilani was also a revered Kahu who shared the word of our Akua with her congregation and in our island community.

We send our prayers of comfort to her mother, Aunty Mary Jane, and her daughter, Hīnano, during this time. May through your thoughts and words may it bring reflections of aloha. 

As we remember Kumu Piʻilani, may we honor her legacy by continuing to uplift one another and perpetuate the ʻike she so generously shared with so many.

We will celebrate her in prayer on Monday, March 30, 2026 as a high school.

Prior to her retirement last year, she sat down with our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi haumāna for an interview about preserving and perpetuating the Hawaiian language, conducted entirely in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. What a blessing to have the opportunity to capture so much of her ʻike in a session like this. 

Kumu Piʻilani instilled and shared her love of hula with her haumāna.

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ks hawaii, piʻilani kaʻawaloa

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Kaipuolono Article, Hawaii Newsroom, KS Hawaii Home, Hawaii High School, Hawaii campus

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