Hawaii Preparatory Academy is a coeducational, private, international boarding school in Kamuela, Hawaii, providing K-12 education. The school is one of the most expensive in the state, with annual tuition for the upper school of $27,500. The school hosts many noteworthy science-related educational programs for the benefit of its students, such as Turtle Tagging with NOAA and . The school is also the host of the TED organization's TEDxYouth@HPA event.
History
Founded in 1949 by The Right Reverend Harry S. Kennedy, Episcopal Bishop of Honolulu, the school came of age under the leadership of James Monroe Taylor II, Headmaster from 1954-1974. Originally the school was located on the grounds of St. James Episcopal Church in Kamuela in buildings that were built as barracks for the United States Marines during World War II. Currently the high school features four dormitories: Perry-Fiske Hall, Carter Hall, Robertson Hall, and Atherton House. While the town is known as "Waimea", because there are multiple locations in Hawaii with that name, the term "Kamuela" is used by the USPS to distinguish it from those other locations. HPA is now divided into a lower school, middle school and upper school. The lower and middle school together compose one campus in the ranch region of the Big Island of Hawaii. The upper school is located at the foot of the Kohala Mountains. The school is accredited by the National Association for Independent Schools. The upper campus has a weight room, wrestling room, pool, school library, an indoor tennis facility, baseball field, gym, bookstore, as well as a new softball field, a newly repaired football/soccer field and a new rubber track. The school also is host to a cross country course. Along with classrooms, an art building, and a theater, and an Energy Lab, the only of its kind in the world. There is also a church on the property built before the school moved to its present site. The village campus is in the middle of the town of Waimea, and features the only school-owned professional art-gallery in the state, Isaacs Art Center. The village campus also has two soccer fields. The school also has a successful boys cross country team. Two male champions in recent years include Mac Crommett and Emmett Weatherford. Their girls cross country team has also been successful. The school colors are red, white and black. The school's mascot is Ka Makani. Ka Makani is the Hawaiian word for "the wind". The school's chapel "The Davies Chapel" was designed by the world-renown architect Vladimir Ossipoff. In 2015, the Chapel bell tower was taken down for restoration. No progress has been made hence. At the end of the 2017 school year, HPA was charged with a sexual abuse case. The then-director of alumni and student programs was found to be having an inappropriate relationship with a student in the year prior.
Sky Feuer: PhD Biochemist, Academic Coordinator of UCSF's .
Traditions
Olympics: A week-long competition between the four high-school classes, is one of the school's most cherished traditions. It is a bonding opportunity for the whole school that teaches teamwork, competition, rivalry, superiority, chants, cunning, and outright fun, filling students and teachers alike with school spirit.
