WAIPAHU CAMPUS
O‘AHU
hello!
Thanks for stopping by. Please take a look around to see how we do school differently on the Waipahu campus. We are proud of our strong relationships and the many hands-on opportunities we offer our middle and high school students.
Just a few things that make Waipahu awesome
OUR TEACHERS
& STAFF
When our students graduate, the thing they say they will miss the most is our staff. Our teachers might cook you waffles, or grill some lunch. They join in on the games. They care, and they work hard to make a difference.
CAREER-BASED LEARNING
Our innovative Career-Based Learning program allows our high school students to gain skills and experience out in the community — while earning credit! Waipahu students are environmental stewards, media mavens, entrepreneurs, scientists, and more.
CLUBS
After-school clubs are formed each year based on student interests. You might enjoy anything from crafts to astronomy, science olympiad, theatre, P.E., media, cooking, or student leadership.
THE HANDS-ON PROJECTS
Waipahu students design, build, test, and explore. They engineer and launch rockets carrying raw eggs. They simulate geological processes that melt rocks. They separate out DNA. They go into space to observe a comet. And, just saying, there's a lot of exploding that goes on in high school chemistry. We definitely learn by doing.
FIELD STUDIES
Middle school students enjoy field experiences at places such as Pu‘uokapolei, Hawai‘i’s Plantation Village, the Challenger Center, and Kualoa Ranch. High school students can be found exploring history at Pearl Harbor or the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center.
MAKERSPACE
Design! Create!
Our Makerspace is equipped with loads of tech that allows students to do hands-on making using elec-
tronics, 2D-to-3D software, textiles, laser cutting, or 3D printing.
.
THE GOOD TIMES
From middle school activity nights to high school prom, we like to have fun. Waipahu student leadership, staff, and our awesome parent ‘ohana committee lay on the good times including movie nights, poetry slams, and game nights.
PLACE-BASED LEARNING
pbHTA
WAIPAHU GRADES 7 & 8
pbHTA has a separate enrollment and schedule from our regular blended program.
Place-based HTA is at the leading edge of our innovation as students dive deeper into learning out in the field. Students’ academic material is covered in class, but also as they tackle real-world problems while working at our community partner sites around the island.
What are our pbHTA students up to?
DESIGN STUDIO
WAIPAHU GRADES 11 & 12
STEP AWAY FROM TEXTBOOKS
AND INTO THE DESIGN STUDIO
Our design studio is a creative, immersive program that harnesses new ways of teaching and learning to better equip graduates for the future. Students explore real-world topics in a hands-on studio environment, solving complex challenges using creative, critical thinking, and collaboration. The program is interdisciplinary and can be taken multiple times, including an advanced Capstone course and the option to graduate with NuVuX honors.
explore
Students explore questions
that illuminate social issues and their place in the world.
Waipahu campus news
- Waipahu campus
Waipahu’s pbHTA students do science experiments. They compose music, create websites and videos, bake, protect the ‘āina, grow sustainable food,...
Honu Productions rock! Our students are so good they were commissioned to produce a feature documentary for the venerable Smithsonian....
Waipahu grade 7 & 8 students walked — and ran — to raise more than $9,000.
![Kilo [observe]](https://hi.myhta.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pbHTAmsMokauea2023-38-1-1.jpg)
Our Waipahu pbHTA students were blessed with a morning at Mokauea, one of the historic tidal islands in Ke‘ehi Lagoon.
The blended schedules
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Monday
Independent work
Student Support
Tuesday
Zoom classes
Wednesday
On campus
Thursday
Zoom classes
Field Studies
Friday
On campus
pbHTA MIDDLE SCHOOL
Monday
Place-based learning
Student Support
Tuesday
Zoom classes
Place-based learning
Wednesday
On campus
Thursday
Zoom classes
Place-based learning
Friday
On campus
HIGH SCHOOL
Monday
Student Support
Field Studies
Tuesday
On campus
Wednesday
Zoom classes
Thursday
On campus
Friday
Virtual Support
Field Studies
Career-Based Learning
Waipahu staff
AAKASH SHAH • CAMPUS DIRECTOR • ashah@myhta.org
I have taught high school for more than 10 years. In that time, I have learned that if we offer students opportunities to showcase their abilities, they will continue to grow and develop. I originally hail from Chicago and earned my bachelor’s of applied science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and then my master’s in education from Harvard University. I joined HTA in 2019 and have served both as a teacher and administrator on our Waipahu campus. When I’m not at school, I am a software entrepreneur, an Ultimate Disc Player, and a board member for animal welfare nonprofits.
VIVIAN SHAW • HIGH SCHOOL DIRECTOR • vshaw@myhta.org
I’m an educator because kids are our future! What more important task than educating them to lead our ever-changing world? I grew up in Austin, Texas, and earned my degrees at Harvard University — first a bachelor’s in sociology and then my master’s in education. I worked as a physics and calculus teacher and as a college and career counselor before joining HTA’s administration in 2022. I love HTA’s spirit of excellence. I also play a lot of tennis!
CARRIE ARCHIBALD • MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR • carchibald@myhta.org
I joined the education field, specifically in math, because I felt I could simplify the concepts and remove the fear of math for learners. In my career, I’ve learned that students have many other fears, but when they have the support of adults at home and in school, those fears can be simplified and solved. I grew up in ‘Aiea and earned my bachelor’s in secondary education at UH-Mānoa. After working at Campbell High School, I joined HTA in 2021. In addition to teaching, I have been a math intervention specialist, and a SBA and MAP Testing Coordinator. When I’m not working I love to spend time with my husband and adult son, playing tourist and soaking up the sun.
