A New Chapter for Kaimukī's Historic Campus

If you live in Kaimukī, you've probably driven past 1041 10th Avenue dozens of times. The main building and the iconic red schoolhouse have stood here since the 1950s, serving as Epiphany School for half a century and Cole Academy for nearly two decades after that. For over 70 years, this campus has been where Kaimukī children learn.

Now, it's returning to that purpose—but with a twist. Tradewinds School is Hawaiʻi's first elementary program built specifically for gifted learners, right here in the heart of Kaimukī.

Why Kaimukī Families Choose Tradewinds

Kaimukī has always been a neighborhood that values education and community. It's a place where families walk to Town for breakfast, shop at the farmers market at KCC on Saturday mornings, and know their neighbors by name. The streets feel like a village, not a suburb. Institutions have deep roots here.

Tradewinds fits naturally into that fabric. We're not a commuter school where families drive in from across the island. We're embedded in Kaimukī life—a school where some scholars can walk to campus, where parents grab coffee at Morning Brew after drop-off, where afternoon pickup might include a stop at Waiola Shave Ice on the way home.

For families in Kaimukī, Kapahulu, Palolo, St. Louis Heights, and Wilhelmina Rise, Tradewinds is your neighborhood school. And unlike most neighborhood schools, it's designed specifically for children whose minds work differently—who need depth over breadth, challenge over repetition, and intellectual peers who share their intensity.

The Campus: Where History Meets Innovation

Drive up 10th Avenue toward Wilhelmina Rise and you'll find our campus on a quiet residential street, shaded by mature trees. The red schoolhouse is the first thing you'll notice—a landmark building that's been part of Kaimukī's landscape for generations. Behind it sits the main building, 5,775 square feet of dedicated learning space that we've transformed for modern gifted education.

Inside these historic walls, you'll find state-of-the-art learning environments: flexible classrooms designed for small-group seminars, maker spaces where students build and experiment, quiet corners for deep reading and writing, and outdoor areas where learning happens under Hawaiʻi's perfect skies. We've preserved the architectural character while creating something entirely new.

And unlike most Kaimukī locations, we have parking—28 spaces on-site, making drop-off and pickup straightforward even for families driving in from Diamond Head or Hawaiʻi Kai.

Kaimukī's Educational Heritage

Education runs deep in Kaimukī. Kaimukī High School has anchored the neighborhood since 1922. Jefferson Elementary, St. Patrick School, and other institutions have shaped generations of students. The Episcopal Church maintained this campus as Epiphany School for over 50 years, making it one of the longest-running school sites in East Honolulu.

Tradewinds builds on that heritage while bringing something entirely new: gifted-specific programming that meets children at their developmental level, not their age level. Our 8:1 student-teacher ratio ensures every scholar receives the individualized attention their extraordinary minds require. No more waiting for the class to catch up. No more being told to help other students instead of advancing their own learning.

The Kaimukī Family Experience

Picture your morning routine: you drop your child at a school on a quiet residential street, not a traffic-choked parking lot. If you live nearby, you might walk. If you're coming from Kahala or Diamond Head, it's a five-minute drive. Either way, there's no chaos, no fighting for parking, no stress.

Your child heads into a classroom where they'll spend the morning in deep discussion with intellectual peers—maybe analyzing a poem, designing an experiment, or diving into a mathematical concept that fascinates them. At lunch, they might join a student-led chess club or work on a coding project with classmates who share their intensity.

Afternoon pickup at 3:00 PM gives you the rest of the day. Walk to Diamond Head. Hit the Saturday farmers market at KCC. Stop at Whole Foods for groceries. Grab shave ice at Waiola. Tradewinds fits into Kaimukī life, not the other way around.

Only in Kaimuki

This specific campus, this specific history, this specific community—you can't replicate it anywhere else. Tradewinds isn't a chain of schools or a franchise model. It's a single campus, deeply rooted in Kaimukī, serving Hawaiʻi's gifted learners with a level of specialization that didn't exist here until now.

For families across East Honolulu, from Manoa to Hawaiʻi Kai, this means access to gifted education without leaving the island or compromising on quality. For Kaimukī families, it means something even rarer: a school in your own neighborhood designed specifically for children who think differently.

1041 10th Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816

From Kahala: 5 minutes via Waialae Avenue From Hawaiʻi Kai: 15 minutes via Kalanianaole Highway From Manoa: 10 minutes via Wilder Avenue From Diamond Head: 5 minutes via Monsarrat Avenue

Located near the intersection of 10th Avenue and Wilhelmina Rise. 28 on-site parking spaces. Campus tours available by appointment.