Kosasa Community

Sidney and Minnie Kosasa Community for Grades 2 – 5

Facilities and educational programs at Punahou have become so intertwined that one cannot be explained or experienced without the other.

Reflecting dramatic changes in education, learning environments have undergone a radical transformation in recent years. If self-contained classrooms defined school for most of the 20th century, it appears that collaborative and interdisciplinary spaces signal its evolution in the 21st.

We invite you to experience Punahou’s newest learning environment through the eyes of our students and through a tour given by Junior School Principal Todd Chow-Hoy.

Kosasa’s outdoor landscapes are inspired by the Hawaiian ahupua‘a to support a curriculum grounded in our unique island culture and history. Building on the successes of Case Middle School (LEED Gold) and the Omidyar K – 1 Neighborhood (LEED Platinum), we take Punahou’s commitment to sustainability beyond building design and make it a learning experience.

Take a 360° Virtual Tour

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Get to Know Kosasa Community

List of 3 items.

Classroom Studios

Seven two-story classroom studios with 28 new classrooms overall. Classrooms measure 1,220 square feet with 447-square-feet lanais. Each floor contains two classrooms that can be unified via moveable partitions and a shared 271-square-foot breakout room.
Junior School Learning Commons

The centerpiece of the new community is a 19,541-square-foot Learning Commons for K – grade 8 students. This includes technology/media facilities, design and fabrication spaces, administrative, instructional and conference rooms, flexible creative, social gathering and outdoor areas, and traditional reading and research spaces.
Patrick H. Quilter Lab For Creative Arts

This 10,000-square-foot visual and performing arts building will house an array of spaces – including music and art classrooms, a covered lanai for outdoor work, a ceramics kiln and an exhibit area – that support students’ learning and provide opportunities to translate their questions, interests and passions into concrete forms.

Outdoor Learning

Children at the Kosasa Community are blessed with diverse outdoor environments to explore, play and learn in. These carefully planned spaces, including bioswales, forested trails, agricultural terraces and gardens, were created to support Hawaiian cultural education, allow for exploration of the natural world, and teach students about our island ecology and the importance of stewarding resources.