Top 4 Best Special Needs Schools in Mililani, Hawaii (2026)

Hanalani began in 1952 as King's School in Wahiawa. In 1973 it incorporated as an independent nonprofit and took the name Hanalani (hana means work, lani means heaven), and by 1986 the whole school had moved to our six-acre campus in Mililani Town, where we now serve families from across Oahu. We are a private Christian school for preschool through grade 12, with programs built on STEAM and on three pillars: core knowledge, critical skills, and Christian character. Average class sizes run 12 to 18 students. Students choose from more than 30 electives and over 20 AP and honors classes, our Botball robotics teams have won the international championship twice, and Lower and Upper School students compete in interscholastic sports. Our Early Childhood program serves K3 and K4, with classes capped at 12 and 16 students. We are accredited by WASC, CESA, and Cognia, and our Tuition Assistance Program provides need-based aid alongside merit scholarships.

• Private Christian school (PreK-12)
• STEAM
• College preparatory
• Christian education

Mililani Tech Park Preschool has held national accreditation from NECPA since 1998. We sit in the green, tradewind-cooled Mililani Tech Park with easy freeway access for families from Mililani, Wahiawa, Schofield, Wheeler and the North Shore, and we are part of Kama'aina Kids, a Hawaii nonprofit that has served island families since 1987. We care for children from 12 months to 5 years old in four toddler and twos classrooms and four classrooms for 3- to 5-year-olds. Each age group has its own outdoor playground, all eight classrooms have covered lanais, and a large multipurpose room serves as an indoor playground in the rainy season. Teachers plan with Creative Curriculum and keep an individual portfolio for each child tracking physical, cognitive, language and social-emotional growth. Three-year-olds explore weekly themes like pets, bugs and community helpers, and our four-year-old classrooms have computers. Meals and snacks follow USDA CACFP guidelines. We are open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Families can pay with tuition assistance from DHS, Pauahi Keiki Scholars, NACCRRA and Preschool Open Doors, and Kama'aina Kids scholarships may also be available.

• Preschool and child care center (12 months to 5 years)
• Creative Curriculum
• Developmental portfolios
• Accredited

Mililani Mauka Elementary was planned around Harvard's Project Zero Smart School concept, which treats learning as a result of thinking, so our lessons aim for deep understanding. We hold WASC accreditation and have been named a Hawaii Distinguished School. Teachers build English language arts instruction on the Common Core State Standards using McGraw Hill Wonders, a K-5 program centered on reading, writing and speaking. Families stay closely involved. Our PTO has funded arts, technology, music and physical education initiatives, including weaving, drama, raku pottery, a tile mural and a part-time art teacher. Parents volunteer as tutors, library helpers and classroom helpers through our Parent Community Networking Center.

• Public elementary school (K-5)
• Project Zero Smart School model
• Technology integration
• Public school

Mililani Waena means the beloved place of the chiefs between heaven and earth, and our public elementary school sits on Kipapa Drive in Mililani. Through our Access Learning initiative, students use 1-to-1 digital devices to find information, share ideas and produce their own work. We teach reading with the Wonders curriculum, leveled texts and authentic literature, math with Ready Math, and writing with Write From the Beginning, and Thinking Maps give students a common language for learning. STEM is a major emphasis, built around the engineering design process. Our school-wide student support system brings together Response to Intervention, co-teaching and inclusion for students with disabilities, special education, speech language services, a literacy center, English learner support, a gifted and talented program and counseling. The YMCA runs our A+ after-school program, and our school promotes the Six Pillars of Character.

• Public elementary school
• Gifted and talented
• STEM
• 1-to-1 devices