
High School
Aloha mai kākou!
During these high school years, we prepare our graduates for college and to find their place in the real world. Our kumu seek to teach our haumāna to be self-motivated and grounded in their Hawaiian values as they prepare for graduation. Within these last years, we want our haumāna to find their passions and cherish every moment with their friends and 'ohana at Kanu.
High School Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students are prepared to:
1. Demonstrate cultural perseverance through oral and visual communication.
2. Value and examine indigenous and global perspectives through leadership and community engagement.
3. Formulate and critically apply the skills necessary to activate positive change in society.

Early College Program
High school haumāna are provided with opportunity to participate in Kanu’s early college program.

Senior Capstone
The Senior Capstone is a haumāna-selected exploration of a topic of special interest that they research or an important topic related to the haumāna’s future career or college interests.

ʻĀina-Based Learning
Inquiry or project-based learning is the preferred instructional strategy because it provides an effective, authentic way for our kumu to simultaneously address nature, place, curricular integration, relationships, relevance, rigor and habits of mind.

Community Involvement
The community and surrounding environment become living learning laboratories where haumāna and community work together to create a future that is pono.
Senior Capstone Highlight:
Voyaging Across a Sea of Stars
ʻAnoʻi Straus, 2016 graduate of Kanu, talks about her dreams of becoming an astronaut and the cultural responsibilities that come with being a kanaka in the twenty-first century.
Our High School Kumu

Nālei Kahakalau
HS Social Studies Kumu
haloa@kalo.org

Heather sarsona
HS Kumu
heathers@kalo.org

Mark Kaplon
HS English Kumu
markk@kalo.org

Kimo Wells
HS Science Kumu
kimow@kalo.org

Tim Scott
HS Kumu
timothys@kalo.org

Jamilynn Mareko
HS Resource Hula
jamim@kalo.org

Chelsea Lafrance
Early College Coordinator
chelseal@kalo.org

Travis Martinson
MS/HS Math & Capstone Kumu
travism@kalo.org

Pele Kaio
HS Kumu Hula
pele@kalo.org
“What Kanu has taught us is you go out and experience your experience, know where you’re from, but then you come home to feed your people and take care of them and make sure your community grows through everything else.”
-Keliko Hurley, Student Alumni