Working at UH Manoa? + Assets School? (and other school questions) (Hana: health insurance, how much) - Oahu - Hawaii (HI) -Includes Honolulu - City-Data Forum

calculus1 · 01-29-2011, 10:41 AM

We likely will have a job offer at UH Manoa (staff not faculty). Any input about working there- the good, the bad, the ugly?

Has anyone had any experience with their kids at Assets school? How long would it to get from UH to Assets during school hours?

Are any of the private schools considered feeders for Punahou or Iolani once high school comes around? (or if it's easier to answer- are there any schools that are considered not good prep for getting in)

Are there any charters that are decent up to 8th grade (and again- might feed into the big two)?

I have read through the forum and searched and had many of my questions answered already-- I couldn't find these.
Thanks for your time and effort in answering!!

newUHprof · 01-29-2011, 06:16 PM

I'm faculty at UH, and my husband is staff. But I'm not really sure what you want to know.

The good depends a lot on what department you're in and who your co-workers are and how much you like your job. I love my job, so that's the biggest thing.

The bad: where to start? State budget cuts that made all of us (faculty & staff) take pay cuts for two years? The fact that the staff are currently in contentious contract negotiations yet again? The seemingly unlimited funds for things like building a brand new athletic facility in the middle of campus, but no money to upgrade dilapidated classrooms or decrepit buildings (or, you know, pay faculty & staff the salary that's in our job offer paperwork)? The fact that many of us expect to make slightly lower salary working for the state in exchange for better benefits, but those are being cut right and left? (Examples: state employees were, until recently, paying a higher percentage for their health insurance than would be legally allowed for any private company, and current talks to take away the health insurance of retired state employees? This last bit has got me seriously eying the job market and thinking about a move if it passes, unfortunately.)

What you really need to know: It's a big state agency. So it's a bureaucratic nightmare at the university level. But of course, depending on your job, you rarely have to work at that level. Like I said, the most important thing is how you feel about your job and the people you do see every day.

I can't really help with the school questions, since I don't have kids. I do work with a lot of local schools, but all public & charter, not private. A quick look at the map suggests a pretty hellish drive between Assets school and UH during rush hour (say 7-8:30am is probably bad, and again 4-6ish pm). I stay off H-1 at all costs during those time, but I don't see any way you'd be able to do that.

isaackko · 01-30-2011, 03:12 AM

Try see if you can get your kid into Midpac or UH Lab school

calculus1 · 01-30-2011, 10:30 AM

Thanks for the answers. Newprof- We just wanted a general feel for the place. Seems about like we thought-- but don't like them taking away promised benefits! All that time off is enticing- they aren't taking away vacation or sick leave are they? Guess we will see what the offer says (knock on wood).

What is the feeling you get when you work with the charter/public schools? Any seem to have it together?

isaackko- Midpac seems like it might work, but UH lab- not so sure (for high school). It seems like it might not be challenging enough. We just went through the college application process with our older child and see how a school can make a big difference. (public school was good in this case). Our older child turned out to be a very good student- straight A's, 7AP's, 2200+ SAT etc. We are not sure our younger one will be that way, but homework is done as soon as we get home without prompting & loves math, so maybe.

UH Lab school is no AP's and the reviews I can find by alums are that they didn't feel well prepared for college. But the reviews are few and far between and could be old so who knows. Grain of salt included.

isaackko · 01-30-2011, 01:23 PM

I'll keep my trap shut as far as college goes, but you could always use UH lab as a jumping point for getting into Iolani or Punahou.

isaackko · 01-30-2011, 01:30 PM

where are you guys going to be living?

newUHprof · 01-30-2011, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calculus1

What is the feeling you get when you work with the charter/public schools? Any seem to have it together?

Well, I've only worked with a few, but no... the charter schools especially are really troubled. How old is your youngest? Noelani elementary was pretty good. And Moanalua middle has some nice programs. Other than that... it seems to be a real roll of the dice. There are some really good teachers at each school, but nothing really consistently high quality.

I have actually been really impressed with the UH lab school (I've only seen 1st-5th grade... one of my grad students is working with their calculus class now but I haven't had a chance to visit). They probably have the best elementary program I've seen. But they have very limited enrollment. Kids can only start in kindergarten or (I think) 5th grade. You can't just come in at other times.

calculus1 · 02-01-2011, 06:04 AM

We plan to live as close to UH as possible, walking or short bike ride. Our youngest will be in 5th next year, most schools (including Lab) seem to say 6th is the entry point. This makes sense, middle school being 6-8. Not sure what it means for us. Maybe we could home school for a year, with tutoring and some kind of group sports/interest activity for friendships. Then we can cast our net wide for 6th.

manoamom · 03-09-2011, 01:56 PM

No need to worry about homeschooling. Not around Manoa, anyways.

If you're planning to live close to UH Manoa, and you're child will be in 5th grade, send them to Noelani for 5th. It's an excellent public elementary school (one of the top in the state, and considered a "feeder" into the top private schools). You'll want to look at private starting in 6th grade, though, because the middle-schools in the Manoa area are probably not what you're looking for. If you want to start with private from the get-go, though, Punahou is right next door, and 5th grade is one of their admission points. Hanaha'ouli is also close by, along with an assortment of other private schools.

Quote:

Originally Posted by calculus1

We plan to live as close to UH as possible, walking or short bike ride. Our youngest will be in 5th next year, most schools (including Lab) seem to say 6th is the entry point. This makes sense, middle school being 6-8. Not sure what it means for us. Maybe we could home school for a year, with tutoring and some kind of group sports/interest activity for friendships. Then we can cast our net wide for 6th.