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Charter school
enrollment surges
There are nearly 15% more
students in the alternative schools
The number of students attending charter schools in Hawaii surged nearly 15 percent over the last year, while overall public school enrollment remained basically flat across the state.
Roughly half of the increase in charter enrollment came from the conversion over the summer of Kualapu'u Elementary School on Molokai, which has 341 students, into a charter school. Two other charters -- Ka Waihona 'o Na'auao in Waianae and Myron Thompson Academy in downtown Honolulu -- both showed strong growth.
Overall, charter school enrollment climbed to 5,167 at the start of this year, up from 4,502 last year, according to figures released yesterday by the Department of Education. In contrast, enrollment in regular public schools dropped 0.7 percent to 176,730 students at the start of this school year.
Charter schools are self-governing public schools that are free of many state regulations and have more flexibility in policy, hiring and teaching strategies.
"I think the state, as is the nation, is ready for an alternative to the traditional education," said Diana Oshiro, principal of Thompson Academy, which saw its elementary enrollment jump to 385 students from 256 last year. "I'm referring not so much to the instruction as to the schedule of the day and the delivery."
The academy offers a popular online school that serves 375 students across the state in grades seven through 12 through the Internet. In March 2003, it launched a homeschool support program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade who work with parent educators.
Students are also flocking to Ka Waihona 'o Na'auao, which is housed at the former campus of Nanaikapono Elementary School. Enrollment this year jumped 60 percent to 215 students, from 134 at the start of the last school year.
Superintendent Alvin Parker said families seem to appreciate the intimate student-teacher ratio at the school, with each class of 20 students assigned both a teacher and an educational aide. Financial support from Kamehameha Schools makes the extra staff possible, he said.
"We expect to be at 300 students next year," Parker said. The school emphasizes academic rigor, Hawaiian culture and values, and appropriate social behavior.
Overall public school enrollment peaked at 189,281 in the 1997-1998 school year and is now 181,897 students.
The only district to show growth over the last year was Leeward Oahu, which is up 1.5 percent to 39,409 students. The Windward district shrank by 2.6 percent, Maui by 2.4 percent, Kauai by 1.7 percent, Honolulu by 1.1 percent, and Central Oahu by 0.5 percent.
School size ranges from the largest, Farrington High in Kalihi, with 2,490 students, to tiny Keanae School on Maui, with just seven students.
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