ABOUT OUR SCHOOL
Kamalani is a Na Mea Hawaii Arts Integration public charter school. As a public school, we are tuition-free and funded by taxpayers. We serve students in Grades K-8. Our students must meet the same academic standards as all other Hawaii public school students. Kamalani is open to all students.
Arts integration is an educational approach that combines the teaching of core academic subjects with the arts, such as visual arts, music, dance, theater, or creative writing. It involves using the arts as a pathway to enhance learning and understanding where our students actively engage in both artistic and academic processes simultaneously.
The goal of arts integration is to foster creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills in students. By integrating the arts to enhance or integrate into the curriculum, our teachers aim to make learning more engaging, meaningful, and memorable. It provides students with different ways of expressing themselves and understanding complex concepts, catering to various learning styles.
In our classrooms, depending on the specific goals and objectives of the lesson or unit, our students might create visual representations of scientific concepts, perform skits to remember historical events, or engage in novel studies to explore literary themes, cross core subject area learning and make meaningful connections to content area standards. The integration of arts into the curriculum encourages interdisciplinary connections and promotes a holistic approach to education.
"Na Mea Hawaii" is a Hawaiian phrase that translates to "Hawaiian things" or "things of Hawaii." It can refer to various aspects of Hawaiian culture, traditions, or products that are specific to the Hawaiian Islands. As the host culture for which our school is located, we believe having strong respect of place is important to recognize. At Kamalani Academy we teach our students aspects of Hawaiian culture such as traditional crafts, expose them to Hawaiian food options, engage in music, dance and language as well as Hawaiian protocol and greetings.