Hahaione Elementary School in Hawaii Kai has been approved to offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate program to students, meaning the rigorous curriculum is now being taught from kindergarten through 12th grade in East Oahu.

The International Baccalaureate program, or IB for short, was founded in 1968 in Geneva, and is designed to "help develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world," according to the nonprofit educational foundation.

Hahaione joins Niu Valley Middle School and Kaiser High School to offer the IB program’s full curriculum within a single school complex area (a high school and its feeder schools) — a first for the state Department of Education.

"This is a huge, huge opportunity for students," said Hahaione Principal Cindy Giorgis, who oversees the student body of 528. "There aren’t many public schools in the country that offer this for K through 12."

In Hawaii, only one other school — Le Jardin Academy in Kailua — offers the full IB program, while four others are accredited to offer parts of the program. They include Iroquois Point Elementary and Campbell High School, along with Island Pacific Academy and Mid-Pacific Institute.

Hahaione Elementary’s designation as a so-called IB World School comes three years after it started the application process. Along the way, the school rolled out its IB curriculum in classrooms while it awaited final approval.

Some examples of the rigorous curriculum: Kindergarteners at Hahaione are taking Mandarin classes while second-graders are studying the supply-and-demand concept of economics.

"The engagement level among students since we started this is through the roof," Giorgis said. "They love coming to school."

Teaching methods and curriculum had to be revamped to meet IB standards, and all teachers, full- and part-time, had to under go extensive training.

"The teachers have shifted from being the sage on the stage to more facilitators," Giorgis said. "It’s not an easy program to run. It’s a major shift."

She credited parents with the school’s Parent Teacher Student Association for raising funds to help cover the upfront costs for teacher training required for the accreditation, including $100,000 raised last year.

The area’s three other elementary schools — Aina Haina, Kamiloiki and Koko Head — are working to become authorized IB schools.

When<$o($)> Hahaione students move on to Niu Valley Middle School, they advance to the next phase of the IB program, which is designed for students in grades 6 to 10. Students entering ninth grade at Kaiser have the option of continuing the middle-school program. Continuing on to the IB diploma program at Kaiser, which is for 11th- and 12th-graders, is also optional.

"It’s a big step," said Kaiser High School Principal John Sosa. "To do it as a complex is going to set us apart."

Last year, Kaiser graduated its first IB class of 22 students out of the 48 who went through the two-year diploma program. This year, the school has 65 seniors in the program.

"It’s a very rigorous college-geared program," Sosa said. "It’s focused on making students college-successful, not just college-ready. There is a big difference."

Sosa said about 750 students — more than 60 percent of Kaiser’s 1,185 students — are involved in either International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement courses.

"I want us to be on the radar screen when parents are making the decision of where their children will go to school," he said.