Across ‘āina and within kaiāulu, learning is shaped by Hawaiian culture-based education, stewardship, and intentional partnerships. Guided by E Ola! and rooted in Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s love, this experience forms a kahua of kuleana that prepares haumāna to contribute to the strength and well-being of her people. What emerges is Pauahi’s enduring gift: an education rooted in responsibility, purpose, and aloha for our lāhui.
Rooted in Ke Aliʻi Pauahi’s intent, Kamehameha Schools is deepening its commitment to education as a shared kuleana, grounded in pilina and trust.
Aloha nō e nā mākua,
Mahalo nui for taking the time to read the recent message from our trustees and CEO Jack Wong, “A Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha Education: A Kahua of Kuleana.” We are grateful for the many thoughtful conversations it has sparked across our school communities.
As po‘o kula, we write today as a follow-up to deepen our collective understanding and to offer kula-specific mana‘o for you as mākua and guardians who anchor, guide, and shape the learning journeys of your keiki.
In the weeks ahead, following our receipt of the Probate Court’s advisement, we will update you, potentially with more specifics. For now, this moment invites us to pause and reflect on who we are—and who we are becoming—as a Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha community.
Many of us can see the kahua forming in the lives of our keiki—through their learning, their relationships, and their developing sense of kuleana. That kahua is the essence of Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s gift, which has always been more about kuleana and less about kālā. Pauahi’s gift is an expression of relationship, hope, and trust in her people, and an invitation to participate in something larger than any one ‘ohana. As Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha continues to evolve, we seek to honor that intent by restoring education to its rightful foundation: a kahua of kuleana, grounded in responsibility and shared purpose.
Our invitation is for mākua to engage Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s gift of education alongside your keiki—not just as recipients, but as partners and stewards of the kahua being laid for this generation and many more to come.
Rooted in Relationship, Guided by E Ola! and SP2030
Guided by E Ola! and Strategic Plan 2030 (SP2030), the evolution of Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha reflects our growing alignment with the traditional relationship between Ke Ali‘i Pauahi and her lāhui—a relationship of kuleana for the well-being of ‘āina, kaiāulu, and lāhui. This cultural understanding reminds us that education is a relationship we steward together, rather than a transaction we fulfill. The “complete gift of education” envisioned by our trustees and CEO affirms this enduring relationship.
Helping Steward the Kahua of Your Keiki
As mākua, you are the first and most important kumu of your keiki. We seek your partnership in helping your keiki understand the kahua they are building alongside your ‘ohana and Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha. To support this effort, we also have shared a letter directly with your keiki today.
We invite you to take time to read and discuss the letter together, helping your keiki understand the significance, honor, and kuleana of standing on the kahua Ke Ali‘i Pauahi has entrusted to them. Our hope is that these interactions will uplift and inspire your keiki, deepening their sense of kuleana to care for and extend that foundation in their own lives.
An Invitation to Share Forward
We also invite ‘ohana to consider how Pauahi’s gift might be shared forward. If tuition is no longer required after this school year, families will still be able to contribute and be part of Pauahi’s generosity.
We invite you to contemplate how your ‘ohana’s resources, time, or talents might help to uplift our larger lāhui. One pathway is the Kaiāulu Fund, which supports scholarships for learners beyond Kamehameha preschools and campuses. The Kaiāulu Fund also provides grants to 150 KS Kaiāulu community partner organizations that serve such learners across the pae ‘āina.
We encourage you to explore the breadth of this work and find opportunities to model for your keiki how Pauahi’s gift can be extended outward in care and service to others. Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha will match all donations to the Kaiāulu Fund.
Staying in Conversation
We welcome continued dialogue through campus leadership, parent gatherings, and established school channels. Your questions and mana‘o are an important part of how we steward Pauahi’s trust together. As a helpful reference, we invite you to review our webpage on Pauahi’s gift and the kahua of kuleana we share.
Me ke aloha pumehana,
M. Kāhealani Nae‘ole-Wong Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i Po‘o Kula
Scott Parker Kamehameha Schools Maui Po‘o Kula
Wai‘ale‘ale Arroyo Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Interim Po‘o Kula
In this season of celebration and gratitude, we write to you with deep respect and humility as one community bound together by Ke Aliʻi Pauahi’s living legacy.
Aloha mai kākou e ka ‘ohana a me nā hoa o Kamehameha,
In this season of celebration and gratitude, we write to you with deep respect and humility as one community bound together by Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s living legacy.
Across our campuses, communities, churches, and at Mauna ‘Ala, our people honor Ke Ali‘i Pauahi not only through ceremony and tradition, but also by standing strong together when her intent, her relationships, and her legacy are challenged. To stand strong is to exercise ea: the kuleana and authority to define who we are and how we relate to one another. Through a collective practice of ea, we live Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s gift today and carry it forward with care for generations to come.
The step we share in this letter is not an isolated decision. It is part of a broader, intentional effort to clarify Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s enduring relationships with her haumāna, her lāhui, and her ‘āina and to bring Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha’s practices into closer alignment with the truth of her aloha for her people.
Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s Kauoha
In her final kauoha, Ke Ali‘i Pauahi expressed her chiefly vision clearly: the restoration and future strength of her people and her nation through education. She did not act as a benefactress offering services in exchange for payment. She acted as an ali‘i, exercising kuleana to create the conditions necessary for the well-being, continuity, and capacity of her people.
That chiefly intent lives today through an enduring ali‘i–lāhui–‘āina relationship:
Over the past decades, Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha has intentionally evolved to emphasize this relationship. Guided by E Ola! and Strategic Plan 2030 (SP2030), a Kamehameha Schools education is experienced not only in classrooms, but also across ‘āina and in kaiāulu, shaped by Hawaiian culture-based education, stewardship, and deep partnerships with lāhui-serving organizations.
Together, these form an ecosystem of learning that prepares haumāna not only to succeed, but also to contribute with purpose to care for ‘ohana, kaiāulu, Hawai‘i, and the wider world. In this way, ‘āina serves as both classroom and compass for kuleana.
A Gift of Education
For many decades, Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s endowment has borne nearly the full cost of educating our haumāna. Where tuition was charged, it represented only a small fraction of the true cost of education.
With a deeper understanding of Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s intent, E Ola!, and ali‘i–lāhui relationships, it has become clear that tuition no longer reflects either the reality or the values of a Kamehameha Schools education. Tuition suggests a transactional exchange. Yet, responsibility at Kamehameha has never flowed from payment. It flows from aloha, ancestral connection, and preparation.
For this reason, pending Probate Court approval and beginning with the 2026–27 school year, Kamehameha preschools and K–12 campuses will no longer require tuition. The full cost of education for every haumāna will be borne by Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s endowment.
This is not a change in Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s generosity. Her trust has always carried the primary responsibility to provide the resources needed for a Kamehameha Schools education. This is a clarification of this special relationship.
A Kahua of Kuleana
Through E Ola!, education at Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha creates a kahua of kuleana—a strong and enduring foundation upon which haumāna build their lives. Students form this kahua through learning grounded in ‘ike kupuna and aloha ‘āina; through building relationships of care and accountability; and through daily experiences that cultivate skill, character, and purpose.
From this kahua, haumāna are prepared to be “good and industrious men and women” not for their own individual advancement alone, but for the well-being of others and the strengthening of our lāhui. We hold high expectations of ourselves and our graduates.
For staff, this work is lived daily through teaching, planning, stewardship, and care-giving. For ‘ohana, it is lived alongside keiki by nurturing, guiding, modeling, and loving. Together, this is how we deliver a Kamehameha education that Ke Ali‘i Pauahi desired. This is her gift to our lāhui.
Ke Ali‘i Pauahi — Our Model for Gifting and Giving
Kuleana is not a legal obligation. It is a cultural honor and responsibility; it is the foundation of our ea. Each person and ‘ohana chooses whether, when, and how, to carry this kuleana.
With this understanding, all families who receive Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s gift of education are invited — never required — to share forward her makana in ways that feel pono and meaningful, including:
For Our Community Partners: Continuity and Shared Direction
We want to be clear and reassure our valued partners: this transition will not reduce Kamehameha’s commitment to the lāhui beyond our K-12 campuses and preschools.
As part of this transition, all tuition collected during the 2025–26 school year will be transferred to the Kaiāulu Fund, strengthening scholarships and community grants from the outset.
I Mua Kākou!
Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha has always been more than a set of campuses. It is a commitment across generations to a thriving, cohesive, self-determined lāhui. That commitment is carried by mākua, haumāna, staff, alumni, community partners, and all who walk alongside Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s legacy.
Mahalo nui loa for all you do to carry Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s gifts forward—each in your own way, and together as a lāhui, extending her legacy in perpetuity. We remain dedicated to supporting and fulfilling her vision with you.
Ola Pauahi!
Me ke aloha pumehana,
Board of Trustees
Crystal Rose, Chair
Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Vice Chair
Michelle Ka‘uhane, Secretary and Treasurer
Elliot Kawaiho‘olana Mills, Board Member
Chief Executive Officer
Jack Wong
This step reflects a clearer alignment with Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s intent and with who we are becoming through E Ola! and SP2030.
For many years, most Kamehameha haumāna have already been receiving full or nearly full tuition support. Even where tuition was charged, it represented only a small fraction of the true cost of a Kamehameha education. What has changed is not Pauahi’s generosity, but our clarity.
Through E Ola!, we have come to understand more fully that a Kamehameha education is not transactional. It is a chiefly gift rooted in ea, ‘ōiwi leadership, and kuleana. The payment of tuition, which has mostly been symbolic, no longer reflects the relationship Pauahi intended or the education we are already providing.
Removing tuition allows us to more fully fulfill Pauahi’s vision and our responsibility to the lāhui.
Beginning with 2026 summer programs and the 2026-27 school year, tuition will no longer be required for any haumāna enrolled at Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha preschools or K-12 campuses. This change is pending Probate Court approval.
Eliminating tuition reflects a permanent commitment grounded in Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s Will, E Ola!, and Strategic Plan 2030. While trustees will always have kuleana to steward Pauahi’s resources wisely for future generations, this change reflects careful planning and analysis and is intended to endure.
For decades, Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s generosity has supported the vast majority of the costs of educating haumāna. For preschool and campus learners, this support equates to about 85 to 90 percent of the true costs. As such, 100 percent of Kamehameha learners receive deep financial support from Ke Ali‘i Pauahi.
Beyond this significant support, three-fourths of our haumāna receive additional financial aid from Ke Ali‘i Pauahi to fully or partially cover the remaining costs of a Kamehameha education. Only about a quarter of students/‘ohana had paid the tuition amount determined by trustees. All told, the tuition collected has historically accounted for about 3 to 4 percent of actual costs.
No. The current level of investment in education, whether through our preschools, campuses, scholarships, or community grants, will remain steady.
External parties have attempted to frame Pauahi’s relationship with her po‘e keiki through a Western contractual lens. Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha rejects that framing. This decision strengthens the clarity that a Kamehameha education is Pauahi’s gift, defined by her intent.
At this time, it is anticipated that all costs associated with a Kamehameha education will be borne by Ke Ali‘i Pauahi’s estate. Additional details will be forthcoming if Probate Court approval is received.
Your keiki will continue to receive the same high-quality, culturally grounded Kamehameha education as they are now receiving. The difference is that tuition payments will no longer be required.
For some ‘ohana, this change in annual expenses will enable opportunities to consider how resources that would have been invested in their keiki’s Kamehameha education might now be shared forward to support the education of other keiki. One pathway for such opportunities is the Kaiāulu Fund, which supports scholarships for learners beyond Kamehameha preschools and campuses. The Kaiāulu Fund also provides grants to 150 KS Kaiāulu community partner organizations that serve such learners across the pae ‘āina.
No. There is no expectation or requirement to donate, volunteer, or participate in any way. Kuleana is not a legal obligation. It is a cultural value, lived through choices, care, and contribution over time. Each ‘ohana will carry this in their own way, and all choices are respected.
For ‘ohana who wish to share forward what they have received from Pauahi, optional pathways will be available, including:
Opportunities for giving and sharing are being made available because Pauahi’s gift was never meant to uplift individuals alone, but to strengthen her people across generations.
For some ‘ohana, kōkua will be possible. For others, it will not. Both are understood and respected. What matters is remaining mindful of one another and of the many keiki and ‘ohana who do not have access to a Kamehameha education.
This is how ea is exercised collectively — through care, balance, and shared kuleana.
No. Donations, volunteer service, or any form of giving and serving will never influence admissions decisions, continued enrollment, or student placement in any way.
All tuition collected during the 2025-26 school year will be transferred to the Kaiāulu Fund. This will serve to strengthen scholarships and community grants as this transition begins. Tuition paid during the 2025-26 school year will not be funded to families.
Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha will express mahalo to all who kōkua. Participation in giving and serving is voluntary and may be acknowledged, unless donors wish to remain anonymous. However, recognition is not what we hope will motivate giving.
This shift helps to:
This is what a thriving, self-determined lāhui looks like in practice.
The process for enrollment will not change. Enrollment will still be conducted through Infinite Campus. As in previous years, KS will send existing and new families email instructions on how to enroll for the summer and new school year.
Yes. Nothing will change about how your child currently selects and obtains class schedules.
Yes. Families will still purchase personal uniforms through our third-party vendor, Lands’ End.
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
