On Lā Kūʻokoʻa, Hawaiian Independence Day, November 28th 2020, under the sweltering Nānākuli noon, the Hoʻopulapula Academy at NHIS planted the first of its canopy trees on the newly gifted barren treeless field that would become lovingly known as the Māla. It began as four kipikipi – long hills dredged with three swales or trenches in between that could catch and hold rainwater.
Visitors to the Māla today sit in those very same hills, beneath the towering canopy of dense tree cover – hau trees spreading both tall and wide to block the ever present trades that mercilessly blow down the valley, ʻulu trees reaching out to embrace the afternoon sun, and kukui trees like giants overshadowing them all. The breeze beneath the shade of the boughs, mercifully cool on the skin. The eyes are drawn to, and surrounded by lush greenery. One can hardly imagine relaxing in this oasis, that this place looked very much like the rest of Nānākuli only a few years ago.
In 2019, former Principal Darin Pilialoha called me into his office and asked if I was up to the challenge of creating a small pocket academy within the middle school. I would develop the academy theme, thematically align the course offerings to the theme of my choice, and embed my chosen pedagogies to those courses. However, all core classes would have to be aligned to the HIDOE Subject Matter Standards. The academy would have only a small group of students, only 15 in number, and all course offerings including electives would be taught only by the academy staff. He gave me one year to plan, and things were looking great. Then COVID-19 hit.
Quarantine left me in the dark with planning, with only email communication to admin. Despite this, the academy was launched that fall in the middle of a global pandemic. Mr. Pilialoha then chose my team, teachers who were up to the challenge: Coach Devin Takahashi, Kumu Lani Alo-Chu, and Kumu Mokulani Stevens. We met in person to go over the plans I had started a year prior, and there introduced to the team the academy theme – homesteading. We are a school servicing the largest Native Hawaiian population in the world, surrounded by Hawaiian Homestead land. The name Hoʻopulapula, the Hawaiian word for homesteading, came to me from the kūpuna. It was a perfect name that pays homage to the work of HRH Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, and his desire to safeguard and secure land – ʻāina hoʻopulapula for our people. It was pono. The team agreed. With the support of our former AP Lauren Kamikawa, we were given special dispensation to be on campus on a hybridized schedule. Our academy weathered its pilot year, and slowly grew.
As Lā Kūʻokoʻa 2025 approaches, I look back and think of the memories these last five going on six years have given. Former staff members like Joylene Batalona Kalamau, Kumu Cierra Nu’uanu, and Natasha Gomes have moved on to new exciting opportunities, or continue their service to our school community in other capacities. New staff come onboard bringing unique skills and gifts to enrich the lives of our haumāna. Coach Devin spreads our story on IG showcasing our students and their shenanigans, while enriching their palates through our farm-to-table course. Kumu Alo-Chu opened enrichment opportunities to the academy staff and students through her various partnerships. Mrs. Deboma finds new ways to support our staff in scaffolding instruction and team teaching. Kumu Blossom, our EA, provides endless support in both classrooms – the one with, and the one without walls. Kumu Werner has stoked the fire to shape the landscape of our campus, filling it with food, flowers, and reforesting it to be a safe haven as a piko of the community. We now service an average of eighty students per year, and have expanded our māla outward to enrich our campus acreage with the things our homestead was meant to provide to our community – food, stability, and a future for our people.
Shortly we will begin planning to transition our former pocket academy into the high school, servicing grades 7-12 along the college and career pathways aligned with the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience. With the unending support of our new Principal Dr. Udarbe, AP Kanīʻaupiʻo, AP Manninen, and all of our partners, we hope to ground our keiki in careers centered around our ʻāina – to ensure not just their health and happiness, but to guarantee life to all generations that come hereafter. The life of our land is perpetuated through us.
Our trees have shaded dignitaries, foreign and domestic guests, fellow instructors, and most importantly upcoming generations of our keiki. At the end of this school year, we will hōʻaʻahu the last of our first cohort of haumāna in their kīhei, a testament to their journey, and a reminder to represent us well in the years to come. The sun rises and sets on another day. Let each new day fill you with the desire to kūlia beyond what you thought was possible. Happy Early Hawaiian Independence Day to us all!
Ke aloha ʻāina,
Kumu John T. Keoniʻanaokapuʻuokaʻuiki Ezell Founder, Hoʻopulapula Academy Lead
Written at Puʻu Heleakalā, Nānākuli, Oʻahu.
