College Counselor Keenan Reader helps Maui Preparatory Academy students (from left) Santana Huck, Parker Robb and Jaime Advincula.

NAPILI – Maui Preparatory Academy has received a $10,000 one-year grant from the Atherton Foundation to reshape the school’s curriculum through the development of the islands’ first STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics)-inspired curriculum at the middle and high school level.

The grant will allow Maui Prep to continue advancing the school’s work over the past five years as one of Hawaii’s leading Schools of the Future and establish MPA at the forefront of what is a transformative educational movement.

The STEAM program will serve as a foundation for building lasting and meaningful relationships between the school and the community, provide an incubator for curricular innovation and cultivate a campus culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

“This grant will allow Maui Prep to maintain the great momentum we have gathered over the last few years, increasing Maui Prep’s capacity to develop and sustain STEAM-focused, inquiry-based instruction,” said Jonathan Silver, head of school.

“It is our goal, with the help of the Atherton Foundation grant, to offer the critical integration of the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics with the creative arts disciplines.”

Recently, Maui Prep was also awarded a tuition aid grant of $5,000 from G.N. Wilcox Trust. Tuition aid provided through the trust will be available to new and continuing students that demonstrate need and capability.

More than 40 percent of Maui Prep’s students receive tuition assistance each year.

“We are honored to accept this support and recognition from G.N. Wilcox Trust,” said Silver.

“It is our goal, with the help of the G.N. Wilcox Trust grant, to serve highly motivated students reflecting broad racial, ethnic and economic diversity, as well as diversity of interests and talents.”

For more information, or to schedule a campus tour, call Cathi Minami, director of admissions, at 665-9966 or visit www.mauiprep.org.