The Kamehameha Schools Kapālama campus and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Social Sciences partnered this summer in a six-week, dual credit program called the Mānoa Academy of Social Sciences. In the Academy, 12 KS Kapālama students participated in two college courses, English 100 and Political Science 110, earning six college credits.
The program integrated the classes Composition I and Introduction to Political Science to bridge content and writing skills. The nine KS Kapālama juniors and three graduates from the class of 2016 met four days a week on the KS Kapālama campus and one day at UH Mānoa, with the juniors also earning high school credit.
“The Mānoa Academy has been a pioneering effort to create new and exciting possibilities for our haumāna to be exposed to a college-level experience,” said KS Kapālama Interim Poʻo Kula (Head of School) Debbie Lindsey. “Thanks to the creative planning of Dr. Denise Konan’s team and our Summer School Program Director Kela Park’s promotion and support, we were able to institute the Mānoa Academy, a partnership of learning, to increase our students’ educational, as well as post-secondary, experiences. I must also credit our previous Poʻo Kula, Earl Kim, for his vision and commitment in championing this project to our campus.”
“It has been an honor to launch the Mānoa Academy of Social Sciences with Kamehameha Schools Kapālama campus as our lead partner,” said Denise Eby Konan, Dean of the College of Social Sciences at UH Mānoa. “The academy provides Kamehameha students with the opportunity to get an early start on their academic journey at the university by taking highly relevant courses for dual credit that satisfy both high school and UH Mānoa graduation requirements. We’re excited to be part of this bold, new effort to engage students and improve college readiness and attendance, and commend the individuals who have stepped up to be part of the Mānoa Academy’s inaugural class. They are outstanding, inspirational and are poised to become the next generation of leaders.”
