Good to know
Good to Know
- Maui has no IB (International Baccalaureate) school and no school marketed as a true 'international' or dual-language bilingual school — families wanting IB need to look at Oahu (Le Jardin Academy, Island Pacific Academy, or Mid-Pacific Institute).
- Kamehameha Schools Maui gives admissions preference to students of Hawaiian ancestry and became tuition-free starting the 2026-27 school year, but this makes it a poor fit/likely inaccessible option for most relocating nomad families.
- Several smaller Maui schools (Carden Academy, St. Joseph School, Christ The King, Maui Christian Academy) don't publish tuition online — you'll need to contact them directly for a current quote.
- Some of the lower-cost parochial school tuition figures above come from a 2020-2021 tuition survey and are likely understated relative to current pricing — always confirm directly with the school before budgeting.
- Seabury Hall and Maui Preparatory Academy are the two most internationally-recognizable, college-prep-focused options and are the ones most commonly chosen by relocating professional/expat families.
- Maui has no true 'international school' — foreign families use the island's small set of private/independent schools (e.g., Maui Preparatory Academy, Seabury Hall) instead, which run on general US-style admissions, not an international-curriculum-specific process.
- Rolling admissions at schools like Maui Preparatory Academy sounds relaxed, but on a small island with limited private-school seats, applying early (ideally most of a school year ahead) is still the safer approach.
- If pursuing financial aid, note that aid applications are typically due by late February for the following school year, well before a 'rolling' general application deadline.
- Homeschooling in Hawaii is legally straightforward: it requires a one-time notice of intent (not an application needing approval) plus annual progress reporting — no teaching credential is required of the parent.
- Maui does have a real, documented homeschooling community (Maui Homeschool Friends, Christian Home Educators of Maui) offering informal co-op classes and field trips, but these are volunteer-run and less structured than a formal co-op campus.
Schools And Curricula
- Summary
- Maui has no IB World School or dedicated 'international' school on the island — Hawaii's IB-authorized schools (Le Jardin Academy, Island Pacific Academy, Mid-Pacific Institute) are all on Oahu. Maui's private-school market instead consists of American college-prep, Catholic parochial, Montessori, Waldorf, and a Hawaiian-culture-focused school. All instruction is in English; none advertise a bilingual dual-language program as a core curriculum.
Schools
Seabury Hall
- Grades
- 5-12
- Tuition
- $28,376
- Location
- Makawao
- Curriculum
- American college-preparatory (Episcopal-affiliated, non-denominational admissions), Advanced Placement (AP) courses
- Boarding Or Day
- Primarily day school; has a small boarding component
- Notes
- Requires a non-refundable enrollment deposit; additional fees for AP tests, senior graduation, etc.
Maui Preparatory Academy
- Grades
- PK-12
- Tuition
- $25,600
- Location
- Lahaina (West Maui)
- Curriculum
- American college-preparatory with AP courses; emphasis on environmental sustainability and fine arts
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Small class sizes (student-teacher ratio around 7:1).
Kamehameha Schools Maui
- Grades
- K-12 (plus preschool)
- Tuition
- $0.00
- Location
- Pukalani
- Curriculum
- American college-preparatory curriculum integrating Hawaiian culture, language, and Christian values
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school (some boarding options exist within the wider Kamehameha Schools system on other islands)
- Notes
- Admission gives preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry, which effectively excludes most nomad families. Starting with the 2026-27 school year the school eliminated tuition entirely; the prior 2025-26 tuition ranged from roughly $2,800-$4,000/year for preschool up to about $7,000/year for grades 6-12.
Haleakala Waldorf School
- Grades
- PK-12
- Tuition
- $18,600
- Location
- Kula (Upcountry Maui)
- Curriculum
- Waldorf (Rudolf Steiner method) — arts- and movement-integrated curriculum
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- A new scholarship program for incoming 9th graders can discount tuition significantly for qualifying families.
Montessori School of Maui
- Grades
- PK-8
- Tuition
- $17,412
- Location
- Haiku/Central Maui
- Curriculum
- Montessori method
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Small class sizes; figure is dated and should be reconfirmed directly with the school.
Carden Academy of Maui
- Grades
- K-11 (per current listings)
- Location
- Makawao
- Curriculum
- Carden Method — a structured, phonics-based American curriculum
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Very small school (roughly 46 students); tuition not listed on aggregator sites.
St. Anthony School
- Grades
- PK-12
- Tuition
- $15,000
- Location
- Wailuku
- Curriculum
- American curriculum with Catholic religious instruction
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Figure is dated; reconfirm with the school directly.
Sacred Hearts School
- Grades
- PK-8
- Tuition
- $8,620
- Location
- Lahaina
- Curriculum
- American curriculum with Catholic religious instruction
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Figure is dated; reconfirm with the school directly.
St. Joseph School
- Grades
- PK-12
- Location
- Makawao
- Curriculum
- American curriculum with Catholic religious instruction
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Listed among top-ranked Maui County private schools; tuition figure not independently verified at the time of research.
ROOTS School of Maui
- Grades
- Not fully specified in current sources
- Tuition
- $8,850
- Location
- Haiku area
- Curriculum
- Alternative, project/place-based curriculum
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Figure is dated; reconfirm with the school directly.
Christ The King School
- Grades
- PK-4
- Location
- Kahului
- Curriculum
- American curriculum with Catholic religious instruction
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
- Notes
- Small school, ranked among Maui County's top private schools by one aggregator.
Maui Christian Academy
- Grades
- Not fully specified in current sources
- Location
- Central Maui
- Curriculum
- American curriculum with non-denominational Christian religious instruction
- Boarding Or Day
- Day school
Enrollment And Homeschooling
- Landscape Summary
- Maui does not have a dedicated 'international school' in the IB/expat-campus sense found in cities like Bangkok or Dubai. Foreign families instead apply to Maui's small pool of private/independent K-12 schools, the most commonly cited being Maui Preparatory Academy (West Maui), Seabury Hall, Kamehameha Schools Maui, Montessori School of Maui, Carden Academy of Maui, and Haleakala Waldorf School. None of these market themselves specifically as 'international' or 'bilingual' schools.
- Waitlist Expectations
- No Maui-specific published waitlist statistics or acceptance-rate data were found. Generic private-school-review sites describe Maui Preparatory Academy as having comparatively low acceptance rates among Hawaii private schools, but this is a directory ranking, not an official school-published figure, so treat it as indicative rather than precise.
Homeschooling Legality
- Status
- Fully legal and regulated
- Renewal
- The notice of intent generally does not need to be resubmitted every year, unless the family moves to a different school's geographic area or the child transitions between school levels (e.g., elementary to middle school).
- Framework
- Homeschooling is a recognized legal alternative to public/private school attendance under Hawaii's compulsory attendance exceptions.
- Notice Of Intent
- Parents must provide the local public school principal (the school the child would otherwise attend) with a notice of intent to home educate before initiating homeschooling, submitted either on the Hawaii DOE's Form 4140 or as a letter containing the child's name, address, phone number, birthdate, grade level, and the parent's signature.
- No Official Diploma
- Homeschooled students do not receive a Hawaii DOE high school diploma; a child must attend public high school for a minimum of three full years to earn one, though a homeschooled student can pursue a High School Equivalency Credential via GED-type testing instead.
- Ongoing Requirements
- There is no requirement to submit a curriculum for approval, but parents must submit an annual report of the student's progress to the local school principal, and for grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 specifically, results of a nationally-normed standardized achievement test demonstrating grade-level achievement are required.
Local Homeschool Community
- Caveat
- These groups are volunteer-run and informal (mostly coordinated via Facebook/email), not accredited co-ops with facilities — actual class/field-trip offerings vary year to year based on member volunteers.
- Exists Locally
- Yes
Groups Identified
Maui Homeschool Friends
- Source Type
- Local parenting publication (Maui Family Magazine) and a Maui-specific homeschooling blog (Mauimama)
- Description
- A free, secular, all-inclusive Facebook-based group open to all homeschooling and unschooling families on Maui, focused on networking, information-sharing, co-op classes, and field trips rather than organizing formal classes itself.
Christian Home Educators of Maui (CHEM)
- Source Type
- Local parenting publication (Maui Family Magazine) and homeschool-organization directory (home-school.com)
- Description
- A Maui-based Christian homeschooling support organization; most of its organized activities are reserved for members, though parent meetings are open to interested families.
Maui Community Home School
- Source Type
- The organization's own website
- Description
- A Maui-specific homeschooling community website/organization, though its public-facing content is limited.
Typical Application Process
- Admissions Model
- The largest island private school, Maui Preparatory Academy, uses rolling admissions rather than a single hard application deadline.
- Timing Recommendation
- Because admissions are rolling but seats are limited on a small island with few private-school options, applying well before the desired start date (several months to a full school year ahead) is the realistic safe margin, even though no single fixed 'deadline' forces this the way it does at large, highly competitive Oahu independent schools.
- Required Documents Example
- For Maui Preparatory Academy, a complete application requires a completed Parent Assessment of the student, a Student Component (grades 5-12), three letters of recommendation (from a current Math teacher, an ELA teacher, and one additional reference), and official transcripts or report cards covering the last two years of schooling. The school also conducts a personal interview with each applicant.
- Financial Aid Deadline Example
- If financial aid is being sought, families are told to apply early since financial aid applications for K-12 students are due by February 28, with tax documentation required or the application is considered incomplete.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
More About Maui
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.