Island School used several portable classrooms at the Puhi campus, all of which were destroyed by Hurricane Iniki in September 1992.

Island School's academic program takes its impetus from Howard Gardner's ideas of multiple intelligences.

In other words, in addition to verbal and mathematical knowledge, each human is capable of realizing his or her potential in music and art, in self-understanding and social interactions, in physical strength and coordination (as in athletics), and in making discoveries (as in science).

The value of aloha is extended to include akahai (kindness), lokahi (unity), ʻoluʻolu (pleasantness), haʻahaʻa (humility) and ahonui (patience).

As early as fifth grade, students take overnight trips to the Big Island of Hawaii to study Hawaiian culture, as it was before the 18th-century arrival of foreign influences.