Aka'ula School offers an academically rigorous, transitional environment for 160 Molokai students in grades five to eight, while creating jobs and stimulating the economy in the process.

Reason for Need

Currently, Molokai has no “true” middle school, as fifth and sixth graders are served by the elementary schools and seventh and eighth are part of the combined intermediate-high school. With the absence of a middle school children are often sent of island to be educated or entire families leave Molokai when children reach seventh grade. When families and children leave the island, Molokai looses money and jobs.

EC Support

Aka'ula used EC funding in its initial stages to develop an operational plan. In conjunction with this, EC funding was also used to incorporate the school, identify founders, and accreditation licensure. In addition, EC funding was supportive of the opening of the school and leveraging funding from other sources.

Photo: Aka'ula School students and staff. Courtesy of Aka'ula School