School Schedule & Online Classes (spring break, 2015, home)

[mommyofmanykids]

I read somewhere that school begins in July there. It doesn't begin here until September. How do you make up the difference? Do kids not get a traditional summer break (here they're off from June thru August, return back in early September after Labor Day)? Do they get more time off throughout the year, or shorter days or something? Or isn't there a trade off at all? Perhaps because you have beautiful weather all year round, there isn't the feeling that kids need 3 months off to enjoy warmer temperatures

Also, I tried to get my middle schooler into the charter school. They said they were already full back in February by lottery. So I will try for next year instead. If the middle school in Kona is as bad as everyone claims, I might try the public school that is online (technology academy)....have they gotten their act together? I read somewhere awhile back that the director was misappropriating funds or something....I wonder if things have improved?

[OpenD]

Here's the official schedule... First day for students is July 30. Last day is May 24, 2013.

One difference is they get a week off in October.

http://doe.k12.hi.us/calendars1213/F...0612%20GBM.pdf

[CyberCity]

As a result of Hawaii having "the shortest instructional calendar in the nation", this occurred in 2010:

Under the new law, all public schools will be required to have a minimum of 180 days of instruction in the 2011-2013 school years.

In the 2013-2015 school years, all schools must have 180 instructional days but expand their instructional time to 1,080 hours.

The measure was drafted in response to the controversial furlough program for teachers, which left students with 17 fewer school days in the 2009-10 school year and gave Hawaii the shortest instructional calendar in the nation.

Hawaii now falls into the middle ground, if you use this chart as a source [Number of Instructional Days/Hours in the School Year 2013].

[OpenD]

Under the new law, all public schools will be required to have a minimum of 180 days of instruction in the 2011-2013 school years.

Yeah, I noticed that the calendar I linked to listed 88 days of classes in the first half, and 92 days in the second half (ending in May 2014, obviously... sorry for the typo), which equals 180 days exactly.

I guess they're counting on no snow days, eh?

[mommyofmanykids]

Thank you - you both are an invaluable resource to me, as always. Tried to give you rep points, but it said I have done so too much already

Hmmm...well May 24th isn't that much earlier. We end here on June 3rd. We don't have a fall break in October, but that's only a week. I did look at the DOE website to make sure I had everything needed for enrollment, but I must have skimmed over the calendar. I wonder if their school day is 8ish to 3ish?

Sheesh - speaking of snow days - I think the teachers basically had the whole winter off here this year. Must have been a record number. The kids were home for basically the entire month of February due to back-to-back blizzards.

Between Friday in-services every single month, having the entire summer off, Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, Winter Break, Spring Break, long holiday weekends, snow days, half-days all week long during conferences every trimester, half days or entire days off during state testing, countless field trips/activity days, etc...well, let's just say I already feel that I must supplement their education at home I realize I will need to do that in HI, if not even more so, given the lack of priority placed on educational standards

[hotzcatz]

On Wednesdays the students are out earlier because of teacher meetings, but the other days are about 8 to 3. Might be 2:30, not sure, but it might be on the DOE website.

[mommyofmanykids]

Thanks hotzcatz. Good stuff to know in advance.

[FallenIntoGreatness]

Some complex's let out early on Friday instead of Wednesday, whichever day it is the short day is 8 to 12:30. The average school day is 8 to 2:15. Zone schools got an extra hour which ran the school day to 3:15, this is the last week for that. You would need to speak to the actual school to know which day is their short day. Someone did a study that with out shorter days and frequent holidays that the average high school on the mainland got 2 years more school than the average Hawaii graduate. This was during DLWOP, et al. which was recently "removed."

[terracore]

Make sure your children's shot records will be acceptable to Hawaii schools. And they will need RECENT proof of negative TB, which is a less common requirement on the mainland. You may want to wait until you get here so that the TB records come from somebody they are familiar with.

As far as school times go, the class times seem to change every year. And classes never get out at the same time every day.

It's like trying to solve a Rubik's cube. Trying, but never really figuring it out.

[mommyofmanykids]

Thank you FallenIntoGreatness, that is very helpful

Terracore, yes, I researched the TB thing well in advance and recently took all six of them in for TB tests (you must have it done within 6 months to enroll) and you are accurate in your statement - it is not something that is administered here for school purposes or as a part of any routine testing/immunizations given by pediatricians.

For good measure, I also took all 6 of them in for medical physicals, full dental exams and updated/completed immunizations - all in the same day no less So I will have lots of records on hand when we arrive in HI

Wow - classes never getting out at the same time each day? That's going to be fun to plan around! (Work schedules, transportation, wrap-around/after-school care, etc.) Ugh Thank you for the heads up!