Wai`anae High School

Waianae High School is located on the Leeward Coast of Oahu, 35 miles from Honolulu. Waianae High School students come from the rural communities of Maili, Waianae and Makaha. The Nanakuli and Waianae Complexes (which include Waianae High School and our feeder schools) are targeted to be part of the Zone of School Innovation (ZSI) under Hawaii’s Race-To-The-Top (RTTT) educational reform model. Schools in the ZSI will be required to implement Hawaii’s RTTT initiatives. Waianae High School is in the process of redesigning our academy structure to meet the 21st century needs of our students, and is working towards providing more personalized education, more rigor and relevance in our classrooms, increasing parent communication and involvement, and fostering and supporting a professional learning community for teachers and staff .

To support this vision, Waianae High School’s academy structure promotes a smaller learning community (SLC) philosophy beginning with our Ninth Grade Success Academy (NGSA) for all incoming 9th grade students. The SLC support structure continues into 10th grade as students move into either our Sophomore Academy or into the Searider Productions 
Academy – a New Tech Network School. Two career academies service WHS’s upper grade students. Upper grade career academies are organized into the following areas of student interest: Natural Resources/Arts & Communication (NR/AC), and the Business, Industrial, Engineering and Technology/Health and Human Services (BIET/HHS) academies.

Waiʻanae High School uses a 4x4 block schedule to accommodate student needs and interests. It provides each student an opportunity to earn eight (8) credits during the school year. Upper grade levels focus on academic elective choices tailored to a career and technical education or fi ne arts pathway. Pathways include: Arts and Communications; Business; Health Services; Industrial and Engineering Technology; Natural Resources; Public and Human Services; Band and Choir; and Art. Students focus their academic elective choices around a major area of interest in the pathways. Students enroll in a sequence of CTE and academic courses based on their pathway selection. Pathways employ a project based learning approach to engage students in relevant and rigorous programs of study. 

The Natural Resources Pathway, Hawaiian Studies Program students engage in community activism through place-based projects, legislative participation, and ʻāina advocacy. Waiʻanae High School is also home to the Marine Science Learning Center.

Searider Productions students have earned multiple local and national awards, including an Emmy. The 4x4 block also provides students with opportunities to participate in Running Start and early admission courses as college credit options.