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I currently received a job offer in Honolulu it's a federal job and very secure, we have two children ages 11, and 7. Initially my wife and I were very excited but after reading some of the posts on public schools our excitement turned to concerns and doubts. So my questions, are the public schools really that bad, is there violence in the schools? I found a few posts about the schooling but a lot of them were a few years ago, are they still bad? I think private school is out of the question, just too expensive. We were originally considering the Windward side, I heard that's the best area to commute to Hickam AFB. Any suggestions or opinions would be helpful.
I found a few posts about the schooling but a lot of them were a few years ago, are they still bad?
There have been hundreds and hundreds of posts about schools in Hawai'i. It's one of the perennial top topics here.
I got 985 hits using this criteria:
Using the Advanced Search feature to search on keyword "School",
search the Hawaii Forum
check "also search in child forums"
check "return search results as Posts"
But for the Executive Summary: Hawai'i's school system is among the worst in the country.
I'm gov't too. I came over less than a year ago. My kids are grown but I've dealt with my other half's teenager WHO LEAVES IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS!! WOO HOO!! Um... where was I?
It's an experience, that's for sure. One I'm glad I was able to have. Plus it established my current pay grade.
The great thing about how expensive this place is - it's how free the beaches are!
If you care about your kids, you will give them several hours of extra schooling per week, right there at home -- then it doesn't matter how bad the schools are.
The commute from Windward to HAFB will be . . ."educational" . . .and the first thing you'll learn is why most people live on the City side of the island.
I'd rather live Windward than Ewa, where we are now.
Agreed wholeheartedly -- but you have to decide which trade-offs to make.
If I didn't need a job, I'd be living Windward right now. For that matter, I'd be living in Hawaii right now, but I'm not willing to live in a lava tube, so I'm stuck on the 9th island, until I build up some savings to live on while establishing myself on Oahu. When I get there, I'd love to live Windward, but will probably be stuck on the City side of the island.
I would suggest, first, figuring out where you will live, then investigate the nearby schools. Not all the public schools are terrible. If you decide to go private, the Catholic schools are usually among the most reasonable. I was a Federal employee over there also and it was not unusual, at the Shipyard, for the family to live on the husband's salary while the mom's salary went entirely to school fees.
Last edited by eureka1; 09-29-2013 at 01:52 PM..
Reason: typo
Thanks for all the responses, we have a lot to consider. We also have heard about Caucasian children not really being accepted in the schools and having difficulties making friends is this true? As far as the area I think we would definitely go Windward, like Kailua or Kaneohe just based on what I've heard about the schools and commute. Also, if any knows of a property management company that posts rentals online that would be helpful, I've checked craigslist but haven't really seen to much. Thanks again.
Also, if any knows of a property management company that posts rentals online that would be helpful, I've checked craigslist but haven't really seen to much. Thanks again.
Every property management company on Oahu posts their rentals on craigslist - Oct to Dec is a slower period for available rentals - Spring/Summer has the most.
Is this a DoD job because you might be able to use AHRN.
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