Its charter was developed in conjunction with the Hawaii State Teachers Association. In keeping with its motto, the school offers students a curriculum that is interdisciplinary, as well as intercultural and interlingual. In addition to weaving together academic subject areas with the arts, science, and the humanities, Lanikai plans to reformulate the school's schedule to integrate foreign languages into the regular curriculum. Children will study Spanish, Japanese, French, or Hawaiian in multi-month blocks that promote an understanding of culture as well as foreign language proficiency. Mentors visit the school regularly to instruct students in their particular areas of expertise.
Mentors also direct the children in community-based projects.
Each classroom, for example, is encouraged to have a class purpose and a TQL checklist to which students can refer daily. Alternative assessment tools used by the school include student portfolios, individual and group projects, student reflection and self-evaluation, teacher observations, and peer assessment. The school also will use the state's content standards to guide curriculum. Lanikai will implement these standards through the Wilhelm Schole model which provides the conceptual framework for the school's interdisciplinary curriculum. Teachers at Lanikai will continue to be governed by the collective bargaining agreement, except that teachers who subscribe to the school's philosophy are given preference in the hiring process.