Learning center to open in Nanakuli

Kamehameha Schools plans to build a community learning center in Nanakuli next year, with educational programs focused on teens and young adults.

The $10.9 million center will be named for the late Agnes Kalaniho‘okaha Cope, known as “Auntie Aggie,” who championed Hawaiian health and helped found the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.

Kamehameha Schools has signed a lease with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for a 3-acre site and has selected Kiewit Building Group to design and build the Cope Center.

The center’s educational programs will be aimed at youth ages 16 to 24, and will include career development classes and work training. But it will also welcome all ages with “lifelong learning.”

“With the lease secured and design-build contractor identified, we are focusing our conversations with the communities of Nanakuli and Waianae on creating meaningful learning opportunities for keiki, kupuna and everyone in between,” said Kalei Ka‘ilihiwa, Waianae Coast regional director for Kamehameha Schools.

The learning center will be makai of Hale Makana o Nanakuli apartments and across from Nanaikapono Elementary School. Construction is slated to start next year with the opening anticipated in 2020.

“We fully support the establishment of this learning center and hope that it serves to perpetuate the legacy of Auntie Aggie’s service to the lahui,” said Peter “Kahana” Albinio, acting administrator of land management for DHHL.

The center will offer programs in the fields of health, education and agriculture, which are growing in West Oahu. The menu includes aina-based programs and opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts and math, also known as “STEAM.”

“These programs will give our young people a leading edge in the work place,” Ka‘ilihiwa said in a statement. “The Cope Center will provide platforms through which students can realize that post-secondary education is not only attainable, but leads to real career opportunities in communities they live in.”

Plans call for a 6,800-­ square-foot facility, including a multipurpose room that can be carved into smaller spaces, and covered lanai, with lots of space for outdoor activities and gardening.

In 2014 Kamehameha Schools opened a Community Learning Center in Maili. That center houses numerous community organizations and offers preschool, Hawaiian-language and cultural courses.

To learn more about the Cope Center, visit ksbe.edu, email kclcinfo@ksbe.edu or call the project hotline at 843-9655.