The History of Our School

The history of Hawaiian Mission Elementary & Intermediate School began in 1895 when H. H. Brand established classes for Chinese boys in cooperation with Honolulu’s Chinese merchants.  This school was housed in buildings supplied by the Hawaiian chief, Nawahi, on Banyon Street near downtown Honolulu.

 This Palama Chinese School became the Anglo-Chinese Academy in 1899 and existed until insurmountable financial problems closed the school in 1903, though education continued in teachers' homes until 1905.  However, in 1913 Adventist leaders started a new school in the basement of their church on Kinau Street near Punahou College and in 1914 Matilda Tampka, from Canada, became its teacher–principal.   Its outgrowth, Bethel Grammar School opened in Kaimuki in 1916.  By 1919 there was enough interest by non-Seventh-day Adventists in Bethel Grammar School that the church purchased property on Young Street in Makiki and grade 9 was added to the curriculum in 1920.  The classrooms were houses purchased or rented in the Makiki district.

With this purchase and move also came a name change and the present Hawaiian Mission Academy was born.  What is presently known as Hawaiian Mission Elementary & Intermediate School continued until 1965 as an auxiliary of Hawaiian Mission Academy in the area of Cartwright Field in the Makiki Valley.  In effect, Bethel Grammar School became Hawaiian Mission Academy – Elementary Division.  In 1965 the name was changed to Hawaiian Mission Elementary School.  Its campus, located at 1415 Makiki Street, is the site that the academy left to the elementary division when in 1949 grades 9 – 12 were moved to the present Pensacola Street campus.

In 1986 the school board of this now conference-operated church school approved the addition of “intermediate” to Hawaiian Mission Elementary so patrons would realize that the school was for more than grades K - 6.  Grades 7 and 8 are recognized as junior high students. The name, Hawaiian Mission Elementary & Intermediate School (HMEI) served well for 22 years.

Then In 2008, It was voted by both constituencies to combine HMEI with the Academy (High School), HMA, on the HMA Pensacola campus.  This was done to maximize the facilities and resources of both schools to more efficiently meet the goals of their mission to the greater Honolulu community.  Once again a name change (but not purpose) was involved.  The combined schools took the long-standing name, Hawaiian Mission Academy as its formall name.  And the functional name for the elementary & Intermediate school became Hawaiian Mission Academy, K-8 (HMA K-8).

HMA is one of 10 schools in the state of Hawaii that are owned and operated by the Hawaii Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and these 10 schools are part of a worldwide system of approximately 5,300 elementary and secondary schools.  The Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the National Council for Private School Accreditation accredit HMA K-8.  Locally, HMA K-8 is licensed by the Hawaii Council of Private Schools and is also a member of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.