Alright, take a look to your left and you’ll spot Myron B. Thompson Academy. Now, at first glance, you might assume you’re standing next to a regular school-the kind where you hear bells ringing and students running around. But here’s the twist: MBTA is a pioneer among schools that doesn’t actually need much of a traditional classroom at all. Think of it as the “Netflix” of education in Honolulu-a school you can attend in your pajamas, provided you have a solid internet connection.
Let’s rewind to the mid-90s. The internet was barely out of its dial-up diapers, but a sharp-minded educator named Diana Oshiro had a radical idea-she wondered, what if you could actually run a whole school... online? Instead of textbooks and blackboards, you’d have laptops and Wi-Fi. Her proposal even won a five-year federal grant-worth about $750,000 then, which would be over $1.4 million today. That’s not bad for betting on an online classroom back when surfing meant waves, not web browsers.
The school rolled out in 1999 as “Hawaii e-Charter.” It wasn’t until 2002 that they renamed it after Myron “Pinky” Thompson-a true local legend who championed better education for everyone in Hawaiʻi. Today, it offers education for students all over the islands, not just here on Oʻahu. Elementary kids learn from home-parents get guidance, plenty of support, and even a stipend for supplies. Older students log in online, study at their own pace, and get help from teachers based, well, right here.
Now, MBTA doesn’t just offer schoolwork-you’ll spot some spirited basketball games and student elections, and their most famous graduate is Bethany Hamilton, the pro surfer who quite literally got back on the board after a shark attack.
It’s a clever answer to Hawaiʻi’s geography-when your classroom can move as easily as an island breeze, you don’t need four walls to learn. Not a bad way to avoid Honolulu’s rush hour, either.
Ready for our next stop? Washington Place is just a 6-minute walk northeast up the street. Let’s head that way.
