The 13 Largest Learning Institutions in Hawaii

HTA is Hawaii’s premier public charter school, providing its students with a blended learning approach integrating face-to-face instruction, virtual education, and independent study. Teachers at HTA are deeply engaged with their student’s lives and create solid parent-teacher partnerships.

Before being fired in December, the former director of HTA Maui Campus used about $100,000 in school funds for travel expenses – leading the state auditor to investigate.

We Do School Differently!

Hawaii offers much in terms of education. From its top universities to top-tier public schools, Hawaii is home to numerous institutions shaping future generations’ lives. Here we showcase 13 major learning institutions making an impactful statement about themselves in Hawaii.

Hawaii Technology Academy is a tuition-free public charter school accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It is known for its innovative learning model that blends face-to-face instruction, virtual learning, and independent study. Students are given access to courses aligning with Hawaii Common Core Standards and encouraged to collaborate with peers while practicing self-discipline online. Parents also play an essential part in their children’s education by serving as learning coaches who monitor progress.

The school is housed in a warehouse-like building off Farrington Highway in Waipahu and shares space with the Kirby dealership, vet clinic, and Sherwin-Williams paint store. Over 900 students throughout Hawaii enroll and follow courses taught and monitored online by teachers. Students receive Macbooks equipped with textbooks and supplies as they work at their own pace on various systems throughout the year; tests are taken periodically throughout the year to monitor student academic development so their teachers can keep challenging them academically.

Hawaii Technology Academy’s test scores exceed the state average, with 68% of students performing at or above grade level in English and 43% in mathematics. The school also is well known for providing an array of enrichment programs such as seven art courses, two music courses, and four world language programs – and 97% of teachers hold professional certifications! Students also have the chance to enroll in Advanced Placement courses to earn college credits while still attending high school; an open enrollment policy accepts both local and non-resident students; 23 majors are offered, with liberal arts and humanities majors being popular options among them both!

Social Distancing

Hawaii is an environment-rich region. HTA teachers take full advantage of Hawaii’s rich natural landscape and cultural history to create learning experiences for their students that help them better comprehend where they fit in this globalized world. HTA employs numerous teaching strategies – such as experiential field studies – and innovative technologies in classroom instruction to facilitate this goal.

Hawaii Technology Academy’s teachers worked to ensure their students received an optimal education despite limited resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, employing their unique blended learning model consisting of face-to-face, virtual, and independent lessons each week to keep students on track with their studies.

The school’s e-learning model also allowed teachers to provide their students with access to numerous statewide virtual opportunities. Students took virtual field trips to Costa Rica, learned entrepreneurship from peers in other states, and even competed in innovation contests against one another across their states. Safety was always put first; therefore, meetings between teachers, community partners, and their students occurred online only, with minimal in-person conferences between meetings between sessions.

HTA’s new campus location allows students to resume in-person classes starting Feb 8 — for the first time in its two-year history that their Maui campus will be open for K-12 grades. HTA enrollment is underway; parents interested can sign up by attending an information session.

Districts serving predominantly students of color typically receive significantly less local and state funding than similar districts that serve primarily white students. DonorsChoose allows people worldwide to support projects that make a difference in those communities, moving us one step closer to creating an equal education opportunity for every child in America. Hawaii Technology Academy teachers alone have had 24 projects funded on DonorsChoose this year alone!

pbHTA (Place-Based HTA)

Students at pbHTA learn through an integrated approach combining face-to-face learning in HTA Learning Centers, online synchronous and asynchronous instruction, independent study in their homes, and being monitored and encouraged by a Learning Coach – all underpinned by a hybrid model explicitly tailored to meet student’s unique learning needs.

Students select their courses each spring for both semesters of the coming school year with guidance from HTA counselors, considering both relevance and challenge that fits within their schedule and abilities.

Our teachers at pbHTA are specially trained in innovative teaching practices and employ top-of-the-line educational technology to deliver lessons and content. Field trips and community events are integral to their curriculum so children can connect to the world around them while building an appreciation of learning through place-based education.

HTA students follow the Hawaii Common Core State Standards (HCSSC) for English language arts and mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards in science. Both sets of standards define what each grade-level student should understand and be capable of doing at each grade level.

Our pbHTA middle school programs can be found across eight locations throughout Hawaii, with Waipahu serving as our main campus. Each campus provides its distinctive learning environment equipped with Lincoln Empowered technology, seamlessly combining traditional classroom content with personalized digital instruction.

After every academic year, our students perform exceptionally well compared to their peers across the state and country. Their math proficiency rate ranks them among the top 30%, while their reading/language arts score ranks them in the top 20%.

Join our Waipahu pbHTA team! We seek an energetic and highly motivated individual to join our part-time position supporting middle school students and teachers through our pbHTA program. You will communicate with community partners, assist with administrative duties and provide overall program support – this is a fantastic opportunity to be part of an innovative learning community!

The Future

Before dawn, a line began forming outside an unassuming mixed-use building on Farrington Highway in Waipahu. A small white sign alerted passersby that today was Hawaii Technology Academy’s inaugural day – its fast-growing charter school with nearly 1,800 students enrolled and eager parents desperate for their chance to enroll their children and experience this unique form of learning firsthand.

HTA, Hawaii’s largest virtual public charter school, offers online and on-campus classes at two learning centers on Oahu and Kauai. Taught by certified teachers, their online lessons are enhanced through face-to-face time at the Waipahu campus.

Students take Hawaiian studies and a range of arts and career-related courses alongside traditional academic subjects. Furthermore, teachers and advisors encourage them to follow their passions with support from them both.

HTA School may still be relatively young, yet already its students are showing promising results. Last year alone, HTA students scored in the top 30 percent for math and reading proficiency across grades K-3; for grades 4-9, they take standardized state exams, while middle and high schoolers take more tailored assessments that measure their growth over time.

Our curriculum at school is guided by the Common Core State Standards, which establish what students should understand and be capable of accomplishing at each grade level. This ensures that we offer students a top-quality education while meeting all state requirements.

According to founder and executive director Leigh Fitzgerald, HTA’s virtual instruction offers many benefits to its students. According to her, virtual education allows them to better engage with instructors, peers, and communities while encouraging a healthy work/life balance.

Fitzgerald takes great pride in her school’s diverse student body; nearly half its enrollment consists of non-white students – something which she describes as an extremely rare feat for an educational establishment to accomplish and which fills her with pride. “This achievement makes me particularly pleased and honored,” she states.

DonorsChoose works to close this achievement gap by offering safe and straightforward ways for anyone to support educators through giving back. DonorsChoose works hard to bring equity to education for every child by connecting them directly with educators who need support through DonorsChoose donations.