Pacific Buddhist Academy
Pacific Buddhist Academy is a private nonprofit Buddhist high school in Honolulu, Hawaii, serving grades 9-12 with college-preparatory academics, peace education, and a documented 100% college acceptance rate. It is affiliated with the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii and is the sole non-Japan member of the Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen Shin Buddhist school network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersHonolulu, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Pacific Buddhist Academy does
Pacific Buddhist Academy (PBA) is a private nonprofit Buddhist high school in Honolulu, Hawaii, serving students in grades 9-12 at a single campus located at 1754 Lusitana Street. Founded in 2003 and affiliated with the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, PBA is the only member of the Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen network of 24 Shin Buddhist schools located outside Japan, with a stated mission of college preparation alongside peace education and character development grounded in Buddhist values. The school's core academic offering is anchored by a college-preparatory curriculum and the distinctive PeaceBridge Project, a senior-year inquiry-based program, and it reports a 100% college acceptance rate since opening (with one Marine exception). The school operates with approximately 17 employees, ~96-100 total students across four grades, and roughly 24 graduates per class.
PBA's program surface extends beyond academics to include the annual Taiko Festival (~700 attendees, often sell-out), the All School Camp at Malaekahana State Recreational Park, a Summer School program (including Conservation Science), and a broad athletics portfolio structured across stand-alone teams, combination teams (Assets School for boys basketball, St. Andrews Priory for girls basketball), and the Pac-Five co-op program (football, soccer, baseball, softball, wrestling, judo, swimming, water polo, track and field). Technology infrastructure is limited to SchoolAdmin for admissions management and standard facility amenities; there is no proprietary AI or data platform. Revenue is generated primarily through annual tuition (not publicly disclosed), supplemented by facility rental income (campus includes Founder's Hall, Science Lecture Hall, Art Studio, Teruya Quad, Teruya Film Studio, and PBA Garden), and a multi-channel fundraising program comprising the Annual Fund, Walk/Run for Peace, Taiko Festival, Lighting Our Way, and an Ultramarathon for PBA Dragons. Distribution is purely direct-to-consumer via the Honolulu campus, with no geographic expansion evidence beyond Hawaii.
Pacific Buddhist Academy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pacific Buddhist Academy
- Legal name
- Pacific Buddhist Academy
- Website
- https://pacificbuddhistacademy.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pacific Buddhist Academy is a private nonprofit Buddhist high school in Honolulu, Hawaii, serving grades 9-12 with college-preparatory academics, peace education, and a documented 100% college acceptance rate. It is affiliated with the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii and is the sole non-Japan member of the Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen Shin Buddhist school network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pacific Buddhist Academy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Secondary Education
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)
Keywords
Where Pacific Buddhist Academy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Honolulu
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pacific Buddhist Academy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Tuition and Fees: PBA generates revenue primarily through tuition charged to enrolled students in grades 9-12, supplemented by fees for summer school, facility rental, and fundraising (annual fund, walk/run events, taiko festival).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Tuition for Grades 9-12 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Pacific Buddhist Academy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pacific Buddhist Academy is a private Buddhist-affiliated high school in Honolulu, Hawaii, serving students in grades 9-12 with college preparatory academics grounded in Shin Buddhist values and peace education. The school offers a four-year high school program complemented by athletics, taiko performing arts, summer school, and a senior-year PeaceBridge Project, and supplements tuition revenue with donations, fundraising events, and campus facility rentals.
Product overview
Pacific Buddhist Academy is a private Buddhist-affiliated high school serving grades 9-12. The institution operates as a single unified educational offering centered on college preparation with a peace-based curriculum. Key program components include the PeaceBridge Project (senior-year project-based curriculum), annual Taiko Festival, All School Camp at Malaekahana State Park, Athletics Programs (stand-alone, combination, and Pac-Five teams), Summer School programs (including Conservation Science), and Facility Rental services. The school emphasizes character development through Buddhist values, leadership training, and community engagement alongside academic excellence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Private High School Education (Grades 9-12) Four-year college preparatory high school program for grades 9-12 integrating Shin Buddhist values, peace education, and character development; delivered on campus in Honolulu with a 100% college acceptance rate since 2003.
- Summer School Program Summer enrichment program offering courses such as Conservation Science and urban gardening to enrolled students and external learners.
- Athletics Programs School athletics including stand-alone teams (bowling, cross country, golf), co-op teams (basketball with Assets School; girls basketball with St. Andrews Priory), and Pac-Five partnership teams (football, soccer, baseball, softball, wrestling, judo, swimming, water polo, track and field, surfing) competing in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
- Facility Rental Campus facility rental service offering Founder's Hall, Science Lecture Hall, Art Studio, Teruya Quad, Teruya Film Studio, and PBA Garden to outside organizations for events, with 70 parking stalls and air-conditioned spaces featuring GPS needlepoint bipolar ionization air filtration.
- Taiko Festival
Quantifiable outcome
- 100% college acceptance rate since opening in 2003
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Pacific Buddhist Academy
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Pacific Buddhist Academy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Pacific Buddhist Academy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH)corePBA is a member of the ILH, a consortium of private and public schools in Honolulu that organizes athletic competition. PBA adheres to all ILH and HHSAA rules and policies. ILH membership allows PBA students to compete in organized sports.
- Pac-Five AthleticscorePac-Five gives students from small schools like PBA the opportunity to participate in a wide array of sports (football, soccer, baseball, softball, wrestling, judo, swimming, water polo, track and field) that PBA could not field independently. PBA competes with Pac-Five in all sports beyond its stand-alone teams.
- Assets SchoolminorPBA combines with Assets School for boys basketball as part of its co-op athletic arrangements.
- St. Andrews PrioryminorPBA combines with St. Andrews Priory for girls basketball as part of its co-op athletic arrangements.
- Japanese Women's Society FoundationminorAwarded a grant supporting new happi coats from Japan for the 20th Annual Taiko Festival.
- Honpa Hongwanji Mission of HawaiicorePBA is affiliated with the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii Buddhist denomination. The school is the only member of the Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen network of 24 Shin Buddhist schools outside Japan. Baccalaureate services are held at the Hondo (main temple) of the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin. Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani and ministers of the Honpa Hongwanji participate in school ceremonies.
- Ryukoku Sogo GakuencoreInternational network of 24 Shin Buddhist schools spanning Japan and Hawaii. PBA is the only member outside Japan. The network conducts semi-annual gatherings in Kyoto, supports study abroad exchanges, and shares educational resources and philosophy.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pacific Buddhist Academy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ʻIolani School: Elite private K-12 school in Honolulu and direct competitor for tuition-paying families in the same geographic market. Both schools compete for academically-oriented Honolulu families, with 'Iolani offering a larger, more established program and PBA offering a values-based Buddhist alternative.
- Punahou School: Largest and most prestigious private K-12 school in Honolulu and direct competitor in the same private school market. Both schools serve college-preparatory families seeking values-based education, with Punahou representing the dominant incumbent against which smaller schools like PBA differentiate.
- Mid-Pacific Institute: Private K-12 school in Honolulu with a similar college-preparatory focus and similarly competes with PBA for tuition-paying families in the same market. Both schools emphasize character education and extracurricular breadth.
- Hawaii Baptist Academy: Christian-affiliated private K-12 school in Honolulu and direct competitor in the faith-based private school market. Both schools serve families seeking values-integrated education with religious grounding and college preparation as core outcomes.
- Sacred Hearts Academy: Catholic all-girls private school in Honolulu that competes for faith-conscious families in the same market. Both schools emphasize values-based education and small class environments with strong college-preparation outcomes.
- Le Jardin Academy: Private K-12 school in Honolulu (Kailua) with IB curriculum focus, competing for college-prep oriented families in the same Hawaii market. Comparable to PBA in scale and private-school positioning.
- Assets School: Small private K-12 school in Honolulu and direct peer in scale and market positioning. PBA actually partners with Assets School for boys basketball, and both schools compete for families seeking smaller, individualized private education in Honolulu.
- Maryknoll School: Catholic-affiliated private K-12 school in Honolulu and direct competitor in the same faith-based private school niche. Both schools target families seeking values-based education rooted in religious tradition, with Maryknoll serving Catholic families while PBA serves Buddhist families.
Broad incumbents
- Kamehameha Schools: Largest private school system in Hawaii serving K-12 students with extensive endowment. While it serves a specific Native Hawaiian beneficiary population, its size and resources make it the dominant force in Hawaii private K-12 education and a structural presence in PBA's market.
Emerging players
- Honolulu Waldorf School: Small private K-12 school in Honolulu offering Waldorf education philosophy. Comparable to PBA in scale and alternative-pedagogy positioning within the same Honolulu private school market, both appealing to families seeking non-traditional educational approaches.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Pacific Buddhist Academy social profiles
Digital presencePacific Buddhist Academy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pacific Buddhist Academy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Pacific Buddhist Academy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pacific Buddhist Academy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pacific Buddhist Academy
What does Pacific Buddhist Academy do?
Pacific Buddhist Academy is a private Buddhist-affiliated high school in Honolulu, Hawaii, serving students in grades 9-12 with college preparatory academics grounded in Shin Buddhist values and peace education. The school offers a four-year high school program complemented by athletics, taiko performing arts, summer school, and a senior-year PeaceBridge Project, and supplements tuition revenue with donations, fundraising events, and campus facility rentals.
Is Pacific Buddhist Academy a public or private company?
Pacific Buddhist Academy is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Pacific Buddhist Academy founded?
Pacific Buddhist Academy was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pacific Buddhist Academy based?
Pacific Buddhist Academy is headquartered in Honolulu, United States, in the North America region.
How does Pacific Buddhist Academy make money?
One revenue line is on record: tuition and Fees.
Who are Pacific Buddhist Academy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ʻIolani School, Punahou School, Mid-Pacific Institute, Hawaii Baptist Academy, Sacred Hearts Academy, Le Jardin Academy, Assets School and Maryknoll School. Kamehameha Schools is listed as a broad incumbent. Honolulu Waldorf School is listed as an emerging player.
Does Pacific Buddhist Academy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pacific Buddhist Academy.
What industry is Pacific Buddhist Academy in?
Pacific Buddhist Academy's product category is Private Secondary Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJABAC, Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools, with a secondary code of EDALAHAI, Campus Spiritual & Religious Life. Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.