Kihei Charter School has been selected as the Hawai'i recipient of the AARP Ethel Percy Andrus Legacy Award and a $10,000 donation for outstanding educational achievement.

The award is being offered in celebration of AARP's 50th anniversary and is part of more than $1 million offered by the organization nationally "to support educational programs with a demonstrated commitment to connect generations and foster greater civic engagement among students and their communities," according to a news release.

Kihei Charter School was selected for the honor by a panel of retired Hawai'i educators. The public school's educational programs include a K-12 Virtual Academy combining home and school-based education, a High School Academy, and the state's first middle school with a core Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum.

AARP founder Ethel Percy Andrus was a retired teacher and principal from California. The award named in her honor was bestowed upon one public school in each state, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.