Can you Successfully Raise a Family in Hawaii? (schools, salary)

[manoagirl]

Originally Posted by kkkkk

Thank you very much manoagirl, I would think a score of 80 and above would be an A grade?

Would you say Mililani Mauka or Ike or Momilani be the same quality as private schools then?

KKKK
90-100= A grade school

Well according to that report yes I would say that those 2 public schools in Mililani would be considered similar quality as a private school. Your kids should be fine if you send them to either school. That means grade K-6 they would have a public school education at private school level. When they get to intermediate school(Middle) You might have to either move, or send them to a private school or get an outer district school pass because it appeared that Mililani middle schools the education level went down. Also prepared your kids for lots of homework and reading assignments/ Pre Algebra by 3-4th grade. Some schools even teach intro to foreign language. Physical Science and Biology 5th-6th grade.

You also might want to check into the JPO programs at the school (Junior Police Officer) that is if there is any worry about your kids getting into fight with other students or discipline problems. Most little kids don't mess with the CPO (campus police officer) or JPO because they can write up other kids if they are misbehaving and give out demerits resulting in school suspensions. They have authority on the elementary school campus. Some kids have to salute them and stand at attention depending upon their rank. It also teaches leadership to young kids. The kids that go into the program must maintain a certain grade point average. The Honolulu police department comes to the school campus and teaches the JPO varies training procedures the Cops are their friends in other words. Sometime the cops bring the little kids donuts and hot chocolate as treats., they act as a parent or father to that child. Many times JPO are also sent to Disneyland and other special benefits are given to them for their dedication and service to their school.

[HankDfrmSD]

Originally Posted by kkkkk

HankDfrmSD,
Your link points me to a 'no matches' page. Can you repost your URL? Or let me know the search term?

Thank you ManoaGirl and HankDfrmSD.

I found the link by clicking search at the top of the page, then selecting Hawaii in the forum list, then putting Le Jardin in the search box.

Hank

[HankDfrmSD]

Originally Posted by HankDfrmSD

I found the link by clicking search at the top of the page, then selecting Hawaii in the forum list, then putting Le Jardin in the search box.

Hank

Oooops:

click search at the top of the page, click advanced then selecting......................................... ................................................

[kkkkk]

Thank you manoagirl and HankDfrmSD. You've been so generous!

[kkkkk]

I have one more elementary school question. Any thoughts on Enchanted Lake elementary? Any good there? Thank you!

[MagaMarie]

A huge thanks to everyone for your opinions! You have ALL been great to talk with and have given me some very useful insight. Thanks again for everything - it's much appreciated!

[Mililani Gal]

The problem with Manoa schools is that the average cost of a home in Manoa is around $700-$800,000. The average cost of a home in Mililani Town (not Mililani Mauka) is about $500-$600,000. I live in Mililani Town and purchased a 30 year old, 4br/ 2.5 ba townhome (1400 sq ft; pretty large) just over a year ago for just over $400,000. Mililani Mauka is more expensive, and is a newer part of Mililani. Mililani as a community has just finished building it's last new home and it took 40 years from start to finish to build Mililani Town and Mililani Mauka. It is smack dab in the middle of Oahu. I have many aunties working for Mililani and Mauka schools and they do not speak "pidgin." I went to Mililani Uka, Wheeler Intermediate, and Mililani H.S. Most students don't go to Wheeler any longer as the community finally built an intermediate school about 12 years ago in the Mauka area. Mililani has a good community, neighborhood feel. Something you'll be hard pressed to find in the heart of Honolulu. Hawaii Kai is also an "exclusive" neighborhood like Manoa and expensive. I would say that best public school district on Oahu is the Moanalua Elem, Intermediate and High school district. You'll be fairly close to town and past the worst traffic gridlock if you can find a place in this school district. You'll need to search in the Moanalua and Salt Lake areas if researching on line. Good luck. I love Mililani and Hawaii but due to the cost of living and the hope of getting our kids into better public schools and then take advantage of in-state tuition for college we may be moving to Western WA.

[arteacher1]

Does anyone know a good place to raise kids on the island of hawaii or Kauai? I'm applying for a teaching position I'm sick of snow and have an eleven year old daughter. I understand the DOE places you and I do not want to accept a position in a bad area.

Originally Posted by We're All Aliens

Well I'm raising my family of 5 here. Am I successful? I guess I'll have to wait until my kids grow up some more to see if there's any weird backlashes. I have a 13 yr old girl and 4 boys of descending ages. My daughter absolutely LOVES Honolulu, she is blond haired and blue eyed. Well she started out that way, then she dyed her hair black to fit in more. I made her go brown as a compromise. All her best friends are Asian and Hawaiian, she has crushes on Asian boys. She hates the beach and the sun, so I asked her "then what DO you like about Hawaii?" "The people," she said. Unfortunately she started running away with this 17 1/2 Damien High (a private catholic school for boys) graduate, who was Korean. So I sent her off to Idaho for the year to be with her grandma hoping a cold winter will cool her hormones off. She hates it because all the boys are white and dorky Mormons.....*boring* in her words. So I guess one downfall could be that if you have a teen aged daughter she may run off with an older local boy.

My boys have lots of friends of all races and they are the minority here. My son's best friends are Japanese and Hispanic. They did get bullied at a park in Palolo once by some boys just because they were white, but it was an isolated incidence and we've been here over 6 years. In the end they were all playing together and everything was fine.

A lot of the schools are substandard. I can say this because we've moved around this rock a bit and have attended 4 different schools.

Makapalapa Elementary: A school with lots of Military and local kids. Huge thumbs down! P.E. was once every two weeks. Classrooms have dividers and no real walls that reach to the ceilings. The teachers spoke pidgin and chatted with each other more than they taught. Very little play equipment and P.E. equipment. Most classes share one ball for recess if they even have one. My daughter would spend recess just walking around the grassy area with her friends. And this school get Federal monies because of all the military brats! Where's all the money going Hmmm?!

Jefferson Elementary: The Worst!!!! Right across from the zoo. It would be better if the apes were teaching your kids. I had a teacher tell me it wasn't worth her time to catch my son up since he had started school 2 weeks late since we were still on the mainland. The principal would yell at the kids in pidgin while driving around on her golf cart. I had teachers yelling at me during one of my son's IEP's. I went home in tears. Too much politics! And yes the fact that I was white really mattered here. I picked up my kids at 2:25 instead of 2:15 one day and was harshly reprimanded by 2 teachers for being late. There were plenty of other *local* parents picking up their kids late and they got smiles and a wave.

Noelani Elementary: THE ABSOLUTE BEST!!!! This school is always in the top ranking schools. They are the best in attitude and academics. I was shocked at how nice everyone was compared to Jefferson. The principal at Noelani is an Asian female, so is the one at Jefferson, but their attitudes are night and day. Noelani is a public school with a private school atmosphere. My kids were still the minority but it didn't matter here. No Pidgin in da classroom hea.

Stevenson Middle School: Alright. My daughter loved it because she had tons of friends. Teachers are really nice, she had a great English teacher. The world view is pretty small since most social studies are only of the islands. My daughter didn't realize there was a state named *Missouri* until I hung up a u.s. map on our wall. Lots and lots of Hawaiian history and geography of the Pacific Islands. Good but a very small piece of the world view. NO LOCKERS!!!!!!! Most schools here don't have lockers. My daughter had to carry all of her books and supplies in her backpack to every class. Huge downfall. Even in Podunk Idaho in my Jr. High we had lockers! She had her backpack STOLEN during the last week of school since she wasn't watching it one day during recess. She got it back a few day later but alot of her work did not get turned in on time. My son is there now in 6th grade. He likes it and has many friends.

I do like the fact that my kids are very accepting of all races and people. I don't know if they'd be this way if we'd stayed in Idaho

It is EXTREMELY expensive. Food, gas, HOUSING!!!!!! Even the thrift stores here are pricey. People are overweight here because they eat too much cheapo Spam and white rice, carbs and fat. Even pineapples are more expensive than the mainland, go figure.

We live in a very local area, Makiki. We like our close neighbors, all some sort of Polynesian. Except for one grumpy old white man who complains about all the bad elements 'round here. Will we stay? For a little while longer, probably until this school year ends. We want to move mainly because of the high cost of living. Even in Makiki we are paying 2x what we would in most places on the mainland.

Good Luck and I hope this helps.

[arteacher1]

Does anyone know a good place to raise kids on the island of hawaii or Kauai? I'm applying for a teaching position I'm sick of snow and have an eleven year old daughter. I understand the DOE places you and I do not want to accept a position in a bad area.

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by arteacher1

Does anyone know a good place to raise kids on the island of hawaii or Kauai? I'm applying for a teaching position I'm sick of snow and have an eleven year old daughter. I understand the DOE places you and I do not want to accept a position in a bad area.

Look at the charter schools...