Hawaii Preparatory Academy

Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy (also known as HPA) is a coeducational, private, international boarding school in Kamuela, Hawaiʻi, providing K-12 education. The school is one of the most expensive in the state, with annual tuition for the upper school of $28,600 in 2020/21.[1]

Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy
Upper Campus
Address
65-1274 Kawaihae Rd.

Kamuela
,
Hawaiʻi
96743

United States
Coordinates20°1.7695′N 155°42.0606′W
Information
TypePrivate, College-prep, Day & Boarding
Established1949
FounderHarry S. Kennedy
HeadmasterPatrick Phillips
GradesK–12
GenderCoeducational
Number of studentsApprox. 600
Campus2 campuses (Village & Upper)
Campus typeRural
Color(s)Red and White
Athletics conferenceBig Island Interscholastic Federation Division II
MascotKa Makani
AccreditationNational Association of Independent Schools
MuseumIsaacs Art Center
Websitewww.hpa.edu

The school hosts many noteworthy science-related educational programs for the benefit of its students, such as Turtle Tagging with NOAA and The Energy Lab (a partnership with Stanford University). The school is also the host of the TED organization's TEDxYouth@HPA event.

History

Founded in 1949 by The Right Reverend Harry S. Kennedy, Episcopal Bishop of Honolulu, the school came of age under the leadership of James Monroe Taylor II, Headmaster from 1954-1974. Originally the school was located on the grounds of St. James Episcopal Church in Kamuela in buildings that were built as barracks for the United States Marines during World War II.

Currently the high school features four dormitories: Perry-Fiske Hall, Carter Hall, Robertson Hall, and Atherton House.

While the town is known as "Waimea", because there are multiple locations in Hawaii with that name, the term "Kamuela" is used by the USPS to distinguish it from those other locations.

HPA is now divided into a lower school, middle school and upper school. The lower and middle school together compose one campus in the ranch region of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The upper school is located at the foot of the Kohala Mountains. The school is accredited by the National Association for Independent Schools (NAIS).

The upper campus has a weight room, wrestling room, pool, school library, an indoor tennis facility, baseball field, gym, bookstore, as well as a new (2008) softball field, a newly repaired football/soccer field and a new rubber track. The school also is host to a cross country course. Along with classrooms, an art building, and a theater, and an Energy Lab, the only of its kind in the world.[2] There is also a church on the property built before the school moved to its present site.

The village campus is in the middle of the town of Waimea, and features the only school-owned professional art-gallery in the state, Isaacs Art Center. The village campus also has two soccer fields.

The school also has a successful boys cross country team. Two male champions in recent years include Mac Crommett (Class of '07) and Emmett Weatherford (Class of '05). Their girls cross country team has also been successful.[3]

The school colors are red, white and black. The school's mascot is Ka Makani. Ka Makani is the Hawaiian word for "the wind". (The campus is noteworthy for the steady winds which blow around it at speeds averaging 20 MPH.)

The school's chapel "The Davies Chapel" was designed by the world-renown architect Vladimir Ossipoff. In 2015, the Chapel bell tower was taken down for restoration. No progress has been made hence.[4]

At the end of the 2017 school year, HPA was charged with a sexual abuse case. The then-director of alumni and student programs was found to be having an inappropriate relationship with a student in the year prior.[5]

Noteworthy alumni
Scott Eastwood

Traditions
  • Olympics: A week-long competition between the four high-school classes, is one of the school's most cherished traditions. It is a bonding opportunity for the whole school that teaches teamwork, competition, rivalry, superiority, chants, cunning, and outright fun, filling students and teachers alike with school spirit.[6][7]
  • Entrance to HPA's Upper Campus
  • At HPA's Village Campus

References
  1. "Tuition at HPA". Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  2. "Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Energy Lab". www.hpa.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  3. Cross Country - Girls
  4. "News Hub - Hawaii Preparatory Academy". www.hpa.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  5. Demasters, Tiffany (2018-10-17). "Settlement reached in HPA sex abuse lawsuit". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  6. "News Hub - Hawaii Preparatory Academy". www.hpa.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  7. "HPA Traditions - Hawaii Preparatory Academy". www.hpa.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-18.

See also
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