What is it about growing up in isolated, ecologically fragile and deeply multicultural Hawai’i that shapes a person’s character?

HWS fosters a deep sense of place for students.

Does life on an island help forge the core values that Waldorf education teaches us about the need to collaborate, overlook differences and seek mutual understanding?

The first settlers of Hawaii were Polynesian seafarers who brilliantly navigated thousands of miles of open seas in double hulled canoes to find a new homeland. Today, people who find their way to these magical shores are seeking a similar utopian vision for a new home as they become a part of the unique interracial, intercultural human environment that is Hawai’i’s gift to the world.

At Haleakala Waldorf School, we are proud to be part of Hawai’i, the “Aloha State,” shining in the middle of the Pacific ocean as an example of the caring, compassion, appreciation and tolerance towards others we will need to thrive in the 21st century global community. We also believe that our host Hawaiian culture has much to teach us and is critical to a well-balanced education, so we offer one of the most comprehensive Hawaiian Studies programs for elementary school children in the state.

“The opportunity that Hawai’i offered, to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect, became an integral part of my worldview and a basis for the values I hold most dear.”
---President Barack Obama

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Academic Excellence

HWS students are prepared to meet the world.

Helping children grow stronger and smarter for over 37 years

The balanced, comprehensive education at Haleakala Waldorf School engages children's imagination and curiosity by integrating academic achievement with active, hands-on experience in an artistic environment. The teachers are dedicated to creating a genuine inner enthusiasm for learning that is essential for educational success. Humanities and sciences are blended with art, languages, music, movement, handwork and practical activities to meet the needs of the developing child. Children experience each lesson’s content through drawing, painting, song, recitation, drama and movement. As a result, our students are academically prepared to thrive at the high school of their choice.

If you’ve had the experience of binding a book, knitting a sock, playing a recorder, then you feel that you can build a rocket ship—or learn a software program you’ve never touched. It’s not bravado, just a quiet confidence. There is nothing you can’t do. Why couldn’t you? Why couldn’t anybody?

—Peter Nitze, Waldorf and Harvard graduate, director of an aerospace company

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Spirited Teaching

At Haleakala Waldorf School, our deeply committed faculty works together to foster each child's sense of self-reliance, social responsibility and moral purpose.

Most importantly, our teachers are not job holders, they are artists. They approach the children with passion, loving authority and the conscious use of skill and creative imagination. They practice the art of teaching. The art of music, the art of writing, the art of mathematics, the art of science, the art of legends and myths are not simply subjects to be read about, ingested and tested on. They are experienced through a vibrant, interactive academic curriculum lovingly and thoughtfully conveyed by our experienced and dedicated teachers.

HWS cultivates excellence in teaching through:
       • Hiring, retention and nurturing of experienced and talented master teachers.
       • A commitment to ongoing teacher education, annual trainings and conferences, and a mentoring program.
       • Upholding the ideal of the class teacher staying with the class from first through eighth grade. This allows for a deeply founded relationship between the teacher, students and parents.
       • Additional specialist teachers who bring Hawaiiana, Japanese, Spanish, Crafts, Music, Gardening, Science and more into the classroom.

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Thriving Students

Creating 3 dimensional geometric forms enables students to grasp complex mathematical relationships.

The arts and practical work are the bedrock out of which Waldorf education nourishes creativity, thinking, compassion, self discipline and health in its students. The Waldorf child acquires a unique perspective that enriches the intellect and deepens the natural joy and wonder of learning. It is this genuine inner enthusiasm for learning that is the hallmark of Waldorf education.

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Beyond Academics

Education at HWS goes far beyond a desk in a classroom.

We educate whole children, not just heads.

Environmental Stewardship
HWS offers an edible schoolyard gardening program, integrated “natural world” curriculum, and eco-conscious school wide and classroom practices.

Social Justice and Cultural Diversity
Students explore history, philosophy and anthropology from multiple perspectives through biographies and creative experiences

Community Service
Our Middle school students engage in various community outreach activities such as Maui Food Bank, entertainment for our local senior center, and highway clean-ups.

Education of Whole Children
The intellectual, physical, emotional, aesthetic, moral, and spiritual capacities are all nurtured; promoting balance and versitility in each child.

Developmentally Appropriate
Each student is seen as an individual, and educated in rhythm with his/her own unique physical, mental and emotional development.

A Moral Compass
HWS supports children’s search for higher values and how to live them in the world. Henry Barnes in his "Waldorf education...An introduction" states it this way. "When children relate what they learn to their own experience, they are interested and alive, and what they learn becomes their own. Waldorf schools are designed to foster this kind of learning."

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Generations are nurtured through the vibrant HWS 'ohana.

Engaged Community

The HWS community provides you with a warm and lively extended family, or ‘ohana, to support you through the years as you encounter your children’s developmental milestones together.

HWS weaves together a unique community of adventurous families from more than 25 different countries and cultures. Our families are deeply engaged in the education of their children and participate in a wide variety of celebrations, festivals, special events, ceremonies, and community activities. All parents are members of the lively HWS parents’ association called Lamaku. There are a wide variety of opportunities to share your talents and passions at HWS.

HWS recognizes that parents and whole families are on a journey along with their children when they step onto the path of Waldorf education. There will be sages and guides along the way to help illuminate your path, there might even be a dragon or two. In the end, parents as well as students are deeply enriched and enlightened by the experience.

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A Rich History

HWS has been a vital part of the Maui community for over 37 years

The sound of joyful children permeates our magical campus situated on the rolling verdant hills of upcountry Kula, Maui. The 100-year-old historical site of the HWS campus includes plantation-style classrooms, performance hall, lunch and meeting pavilion, numerous play areas, two athletic fields, organic biodynamic school gardens, and a majestic outdoor amphitheater, Waxman Field.

The campus of Haleakala Waldorf School has a unique past. It inhabits what was once Kealahou School---a public school which served what was then the village of Waiakoa, mainly Japanese, Chinese, and Portugese farmers. In 1964, Kula School opened and the Kealahou campus was used only by Kula farmers for storage. The long quiet years took their toll---the grass grew ever higher, and the roofs and eaves sagged ever lower.

Then, in the early 1970’s, a group of parents concerned about the educational needs of their children met to discuss the forming of a private school. In the autumn of 1972, two parents, Madelyn D’Enbeau and Mary Christopher, stepped forward and founded the Haleakala School in the Wailuku Union Church. It was a Waldorf inspired school and opened its doors with about fifty children and four teachers.

In the school’s fourth year, a lease was obtained from the State of Hawai’i for the upcountry Kealahou campus in Kula. The teachers and parents rolled up their sleeves and went to work restoring the school to its former beauty. The restoration was so well done that the school won an award in 1991 from the Historical Society of Maui for the preservation of the old buildings.

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Faculty and Staff

Faculty

Gisele LaLonde	'Apapane Preschool Teacher
Leslie Fernandez	'Apapane Preschool Assistant
Robert Adams	Pueo Kindergarten Teacher
Allison McDonald	Pueo Kindergarten Assistant
Karen Ellis	Nene Kindergarten Teacher
Shelley Henry	Nene Kindergarten Assistant
Kim Dukes	ECD Aide
Andrea Futch	ECD Aide
Mercy Kraft	Class Teacher - Class of 2017
Mark John	Class Teacher - Class of 2016
Linda Jenkins	Class Teacher - Class of 2015
Joseph Palmore	Class Teacher - Class of 2014
Virginia Fish	Class Teacher - Class of 2013
Teri Sherman	Class Teacher - Class of 2012
Jeannette Milholland	Class Teacher - Class of 2011
Jemma Haskins	Class Teacher - Class of 2010
Ryan Anderson	Middle School Specialist
Paul Levinson	Middle School Language Arts
Matthew Clement	Middle School Art
Lynette McCrary	Crafts, GR 1-8
Kim Dukes	Gardening, GR 1-5
Konstance Maka'ala Palmore	Hawaiiana, GR 1-8
Koko Wolbe	Japanese, GR 1-5
Paul Brown	Library Specialist, GR 1-8
Tana Larson	Chorus and Singing, GR 1-8
Stanley Bartlett	Physical Education, GR 1-8
Vicky Conmy	Spanish, GR 1-8
Anna Spanton	Grades Aftercare Teacher
	ECD Aftercare Teacher

Staff

Jocelyn Romero Demirbag	Chair of School
Paul Levinson	Faculty Dean
Teresa Rizzo	Finance & Operations Director
Linda Kay Whitney	Office Manager
Michael Beaulieu	Facilities Manager
Konstance Maka'ala Palmore	Marketing & Communications Director
Susie Peck	Volunteer Coordinator
Paula Berdal	Administrative Assistant & Health Room Coordinator
Astrid Grupenhoff	Advancement Coordinator
Matthew Clement	Enrollment Coordinator
Kai Quinabo	Maintenance Assistant

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