School History

In the Church's very beginning in 1841, the missionaries established classes for the children in the district. At first, these classes were instructions about the Catholic faith; very quickly they included reading, writing, arithmetic, and a little geography.

In 1871, a boarding school was established for eight boys by Fr. Mattias Limburg, SS.CC. The following year, 1872, a regular day school was started for boys and girls. The McCabe family was instrumental in running the school until the arrival of the Maryknoll Sisters in 1927.

In 1960, St. Ann's School extended its curriculum to include a high school for young women. The high school closed in 1969. Twenty years later, in 1989, the Early Learning Center opened in the renovated building once used for the high school.

In 1988, the administration of St. Ann's School saw the need to provide quality child care coupled with an opportunity to prepare younger children for our own kindergarten. Thus, on September 11, 1989, the ELC was opened and has established itself as the feeder to the school.

In 1994 and again in 2000, St. Ann's Schools was granted a six year accreditation certificate from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA). The ELC was the first preschool in the state of Hawaii to be accredited by both organizations.