Enrollment drops slightly at Hawaii’s public schools
At the same time, charter schools gain nearly 11 percent
Star-Bulletin staff
Hawaii public school enrollment dipped less than a half-percent to under 178,000 while charter schools saw a nearly 11 percent gain in students over the previous academic year, figures released yesterday show.
There are 177,871 students in the state's public education system, down 0.3 percent from 178,369 in the 2007-08 year. Charter schools account for 7,373 of those students, or 4.1 percent, the state Department of Education said yesterday.
Public school enrollment has been dropping in the islands since the 1997-98 school year, when it exceeded 189,000. Meanwhile, attendance at charter schools has been growing as more campuses open.
Three new charters - Hawaii Technology Academy, Kawaikini and Kona Pacific - opened this school year, helping increase enrollment 10.8 percent among the alternative public schools.
Hawaii has 257 regular public schools and 31 charters.
The state's largest regular public schools by enrollment and grade level are Farrington High with 2,635 students, Mililani Middle (1,730) and Holomua Elementary (1,404).
For charters, Kamaile Academy enrolled the most children, 662, followed by the Myron B. Thompson Academy at 612 and Ka Waihona 'o ka Na'auao at 527.
The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools expects to compile private school enrollment numbers by next month.
STUDENT STATISTICS
Here's a breakdown of public school enrollment by academic year among Hawaii's regular and charter schools.
School type |
|
Number of Schools |
|
2008-09 |
|
2007-08 |
|
DIFFERENCE |
Regular |
|
257 |
|
170,498 |
|
171,712 |
|
-0.7% |
Charter |
|
31 |
|
7,373 |
|
6,657 |
|
10.8% |
Total |
|
288 |
|
177,871 |
|
178,369 |
|
-0.3% |
Source: State Department of Education