In 1961 the Honolulu Junior Academy was founded by a committee of educational and community leaders.
At this point students began to ask, why the school was called the "Junior Academy" even though there was a class of seniors.
Victoria Lee gave AOP her Alewa property in 1982 and the Trustees vote to buy the John Mason Young estate and turn the entire knoll of Pu'u-o-Hoku into the academy's campus.
[5] Students at all grade levels took courses in math, language arts, social studies, and health or science, meeting the minimum graduation guidelines established by the Hawai'i Department of Education.
AOP students were encouraged to exceed those requirements and to earn an Honors diploma.