Opening Preschool Hawaii/Maui - Is there a need? (Honolulu: transplants, renting)

[Kelsterg3]

Hello ,

I am currently wanting to open up a preschool in the next few years in Hawaii, with an interest in Maui. After what I have read and heard, it seems the public school system does not satisfy many of the expectations for families. What I am wondering are the following things;

Does Hawaii, specifically Maui, have a need for preschools? If so, what qualities are being looked for when choosing a school?
Is there a market for families wanting a curriculum based around Eco/Vegetarian education in the local community?
What price range do people afford when looking into Preschools?

Here is my information and intent-
1. Opening a Preschool which supports a long school year for children <no more than 6 weeks closed per year>.
2. Offering curriculum from Teacher with B.A. in Early Childhood Education and Master of Education and experience working in school with Reggio Emilia philosophy.
3. Focused on Eco Friendly/Vegetarian Care; Cloth Diapers, Gardening, Recycling, Vegetarian diets. Curriculum places strong emphasis in balancing individual growth and how child functions within group tasks.
4. Providing high artistic focus within environmental space for a uniquely designed space for learning (I have a strong artistic background)

In Portland these kinds of things are what is in demand with an EXTREME shortage, but I do not know enough about local Hawaiian/Maui populations to want to assume this is a popular plan. Any helpful hints or opinions are welcomed!

[mdand3boys]

I know very little about Maui, but if anything like the Big Island of Hawaii, you will severely limit your possible clientele by going the vegetarian route. Locals tend to be meat eaters, and transplants and hippies are the vegetarians, with the latter group (hippies) not having money to spend and being part of the "anti-establishment" crowd, don't put their kids into school anyway. They home school.

[Kelsterg3]

Good to know. After reading through a lot of the forums on here, it seems to be that homeschooling is a typical route. Looking through educational needs though, I found a lot of schools in need of qualified teachers so I suppose that could be a way to "start" new educational learning models. I did not think that the vegetarian thing would probably go over in a huge way, but I only want a small preschool of about 8 children anyway eventually, so maybe a few of those could find a way to my school

[hotzcatz]

There is a certain number of kids where if you have more than that number you go from being a babysitter to a becoming a child care provider (or some such terminology difference) and the permits and paperwork involved are hugely different. If you only needed a half dozen kids or so, perhaps you could find enough of a specific variety such as vegetarian ones to fill your facility.

One of our friend's grandkids went to some sort of different school where they let the kids learn whatever they were interested in and didn't require any specific things to be learned. I forget the name but it always seemed some sort of a culinary name to me. Their grandkid decided reading and math weren't for him and he eventually ended up with about a year's worth of special tutors to get him up to an acceptable level when they wanted to put him in a different school. I'm not sure how many of these "alternative" schools are around or how much they have affected how folks choose which schools to put their kids in. The best schools are the upper end private prep schools but most folks can't afford those anyway.

[whynot?]

I'm in West Maui and no expert on early childhood education, but I am a marketing person, and I could see possibilities for the kind of school you describe. Location would be critical, and it might take you some time to figure out where your market actually is (lives).

Despite the Hawaiian culture of ohana taking care of younger children, there are certainly parents here who need and want preschool for their kids. While every town here has families with small children, you'd need a fair number of prospects for a school of the type you describe. Those parents might be in South Kihei or Haiku or Wailuku. They're probably already driving somewhere else to work, and would want their preschool nearby.

In other words, they're more likely to choose a preschool based on locality (and convenience) over curriculum. There are probably places on Maui with even a strong enough vegetarian base (perhaps Makawao or Paia, etc.) but you'd want to locate at a place with enough families with kids in the right age group at any one time to get started and keep your school going.

You'd almost have to be here for a while to find the right community, but it could probably be done. There are a lot of interesting and creative child care solutions already in practice. A massage therapist that we know runs a childcare co-op, for instance. Maui has a fairly small population spread out over a good-sized area and limited disposable income (due to high cost of living). That makes it quite different from suburban areas of the same size on the mainland.

Best of luck.

[thyroid_gal]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

One of our friend's grandkids went to some sort of different school where they let the kids learn whatever they were interested in and didn't require any specific things to be learned. I forget the name but it always seemed some sort of a culinary name to me. Their grandkid decided reading and math weren't for him and he eventually ended up with about a year's worth of special tutors to get him up to an acceptable level when they wanted to put him in a different school.

I believe you're thinking of a Waldorf school, or possibly Montessori. Both types of schools take a different route than "normal" to producing educated students, but if you research them, its pretty hard to argue with their results.



(I'm not a supporter of either method, just a homeschooling mom who's done a lot of reading and research on education methods.)

[Kelsterg3]

Thank you all for posting your information. It sounds like the cultural things I need to keep aware are of a close family (which is AWESOME for Reggio and RIE based philosophy). I am glad to hear that someone in marketing thinks this might work. I hope to keep my numbers below 8 children and do the program out of my own home. I have been looking around on craigslist for the cost of renting a home. Granted, I will be doing this in a few years but I still like to plan WAY ahead.

[Calico Salsa]

One thing I'd strongly advise is that you be considerate of your neighbors when you start a business like this. We had a neighbor start a daycare, with 12 kids. They did this without mentioning it to anyone in the neighborhood, and it impacted everyone, with a lot of negative feelings because of it.

Parents parking everywhere during drop off/pick up, lots and lots more noise of cars doors slamming, alarms chirping on/off, kids yelling they don't want to go, parents yelling back. Parents blocked residents parking areas & driveways, and when the subject was brought up there was a lot of defensive reaction by the daycare/homeowners. Then of course it's Maui, so the kids can play outside all day, which means yelling and screaming all day long. People lost tenants, windows had to be kept closed for the noise... it's been rough.

Then we heard that they have applied to go to a 30 child daycare, and potentially add nights & weekends. It's ridiculous to contemplate that kind of school in a neighborhood. especially our cul de sac. Plus it would be below tsunami water line; all the public schools are above. Threats of tsunami would mean 30 frantic parents blocking all the residents from exiting.

Sorry, long personal rant, but essentially you should be sure to communicate in advance with your neighbors, and make sure you figure out how to accommodate the changes that will affect everyone. Bringing any home business into a neighborhood does this, and you can minimize conflicts by being open to dealing with it all together.

[whynot?]

Originally Posted by Calico Salsa

One thing I'd strongly advise is that you be considerate of your neighbors when you start a business like this. We had a neighbor start a daycare, with 12 kids. They did this without mentioning it to anyone in the neighborhood, and it impacted everyone, with a lot of negative feelings because of it. . . . .
Sorry, long personal rant, but essentially you should be sure to communicate in advance with your neighbors, and make sure you figure out how to accommodate the changes that will affect everyone. Bringing any home business into a neighborhood does this, and you can minimize conflicts by being open to dealing with it all together.

THIS is Maui! Very tolerant (but), very practical. Believe it or not. We happen to live on a cul de sac, too, but have had different (home furnishings retailer and upscale builder) issues to deal with.

What she says . . . and good luck!

[newUHprof]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

One of our friend's grandkids went to some sort of different school where they let the kids learn whatever they were interested in and didn't require any specific things to be learned. I forget the name but it always seemed some sort of a culinary name to me.

Sounds like the Waldorf school. (There's one in Honolulu.) I love that it reminded you of the salad and that's what you remembered!