Looking for a good-quality grade school near Keaau.... (Hilo, Pahoa: 2010, rentals)

[denge938]

Aloha, some of you may remember me posting about moving to the Big Island, and we are here! I am now looking into schools for my 5 year old, he will enter kindergarten next fall. I know public schools aren't the greatest, can someone recommend any GOOD schools near Keaau? We have a house in HPP. I really don't want to have to drive more than 1/2 hour or so, but will consider further schools if I need to! I know there are charter schools in the area, but I don't know much about them.

Your help is much appreciated! Mahalo!

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by denge938

Aloha, some of you may remember me posting about moving to the Big Island, and we are here! I am now looking into schools for my 5 year old, he will enter kindergarten next fall. I know public schools aren't the greatest, can someone recommend any GOOD schools near Keaau? We have a house in HPP. I really don't want to have to drive more than 1/2 hour or so, but will consider further schools if I need to! I know there are charter schools in the area, but I don't know much about them.

Your help is much appreciated! Mahalo!

Congratulations!

We will be joining you in a few more weeks. We should meet.

By "next fall", do you mean 2009 or 2010? School begins July 30th as the first day for students. Here is a link to the calendar. All schools use the same basic calendar but each school can pick several days to have off that have meaning for that school. 2010 Calendar

We had no luck in getting both of ours into charter school this year (one is in the process for going to RealClass thru HAAS, but that is only for 5th and 6th grades and is competitive entry, not first-come, first serve like other Hawaii charter schools.

Here is the Hawaii Board of Education web site that has a listing of schools. I sorted them by island, grade and type to help you get started.
School Listing Hawaii

Hawaii Board of Ed home page:
HI-BOE

[Gibs07GTcpe]

www.greatschools.net


I found alot of good info there.

Gib

[hotzcatz]

A lot of folks like to homeschool but I don't know any particulars.

[shrtck74]

I've never posted before so I may not be doing this right ... but...I noticed you have just moved into HPP, i am moving to the Pahoa area in 5 weeks and I wondered how you are liking that area. I will be teaching in either Pahoa elementary or Keauu elementary and I am trying to find a house to rent. Any input you have would be greatly appreciated.

[mdand3boys]

Go with a vacation rental for the 1st month. Due to the economy, you can get drastically reduced rates from what is published. Don't email - phone the owner and go from there. This will allow you to become familiar with the area you rent in and if you don't like it, you have plenty of time to find your longer-term rental. vrbo.com is a good place to start.

[denge938]

I love HPP, its really sunny and nice here, even when it is raining in Hilo! Our landlady told us this is called the blue hole, so far I agree! Not too sure about further south in Pahoa, we did venture to the hot pond and tide pools, and it looks like a nice area. I looked on craigslist for rentals, just beware the scammers! I found that people are willing to be flexible on the rent due to the economy. Like mdand3boys said, go with a vacation rental at first, and DO call and bargain on the rates! Lots of vacation homes sit vacant, many owners would rather rent them for a lesser rate than let it sit empty! Good luck, we love Hawaii, hope you do too!

[denge938]

mdand3boys: How old are your boys? I am looking for nice kids for my boy to play with, if you find any good activities in the area let me know! I think we are going to homeschool him, so I really want him to get involved in other things that give him time with other children! He really misses his friends.

Thanks to everyone for the information, I think its best we homeschool him now, at least until we can better afford private school.

[mdand3boys]

Mine are 11 and 14 (both have birthdays in Sept) Will be in 6th and freshman in school. The oldest turned 18 this week and is staying behind to finish his senior year as he is in all honors classes, etc. and I don't want to disrupt him on his way to a scholarship. (Please, a scholarship...)

[KoaKine]

Lol ya Please scholarship I hear that! My son b day is Sept. 16