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Aloha, I am moving to Oahu from Big Island Kona for work and I want to get my girls 10 and 12 in a good school. Our move to Hawaii wasn't planned and was for safety, they have been thru alot so I want to get them into a good environment that will be a positive experience for them to continue on with friends thru high school. They are caucasian and blonde but friendly and nice. Need a good experience to start a new life for us all. We are not well off...single working mom who does ok with a degree. charter public school or only private school for us and any recommendations???? (I will be working at hospitals) Mahalo:
Last edited by girls3; 01-29-2013 at 12:49 PM..
Reason: added info
Aloha, I am moving to Oahu from Big Island Kona for work and I want to get my girls 10 and 12 in a good school. Our move to Hawaii wasn't planned and was for safety, they have been thru alot so I want to get them into a good environment that will be a positive experience for them to continue on with friends thru high school. They are caucasian and blonde but friendly and nice. Need a good experience to start a new life for us all. We are not well off...single working mom who does ok with a degree. charter public school or only private school for us and any recommendations???? (I will be working at hospitals) Mahalo:
You should pull up the Honolulu Magazine edition that has rating the schools. Here is a recent article comparing Nanakuli to Moanalua High School.
I know your daughters aren't quite high school age yet but Moanalua High School is excellent. There is a significant population of students from the nearby Navy housing so your daughters wouldn't be the only Caucasian students, if that is a concern for you. Both of my children attend Moanalua and I have been very pleased. If your daughters are interested in music (band/orchestra) they have an excellent program. The surrounding Salt Lake neighborhood is fairly affordable, as well. Hope this helps!
I know your daughters aren't quite high school age yet but Moanalua High School is excellent. There is a significant population of students from the nearby Navy housing so your daughters wouldn't be the only Caucasian students, if that is a concern for you. Both of my children attend Moanalua and I have been very pleased. If your daughters are interested in music (band/orchestra) they have an excellent program. The surrounding Salt Lake neighborhood is fairly affordable, as well. Hope this helps!
I've heard similar things about Kalaheo High School and the other schools in its service area in northern Kailua, but can't confirm from personal experience. Can anyone from the windward side (or who grew up there or had friends there growing up) perhaps chime in? Just looking at the course catalog from their web site, that certainly seems like a pretty great public school district to me, at least compared to the mainland schools (both public and private) I attended myself. They appear to have well planned out guidance "paths" for different career fields, plenty of diverse and advanced classes, computer lab resources, etc.
Unless the "path" system has changed in the past couple of years, it is disadvantageous in some ways. For example, when the student sets onto a "path", those are the limited courses they must follow. It does not allow for "trying" various paths, to learn and experiment (as a high school student) just which avenues actually interest you the most. Pick something as a freshman, and you are stuck with it until you grad.
Unless it has changed ... I'd speak with the DOE or principal(s) before I based my decisions upon thinking the path program was the best way to help high school students learn "about their interests".
Unless the "path" system has changed in the past couple of years, it is disadvantageous in some ways. For example, when the student sets onto a "path", those are the limited courses they must follow.
I'd definitely look into this further, the PDF I linked to makes repeated mentions of those paths in conditional ways, implying that they're entirely optional and that you can graduate without completing one...you just get recognized for having done so if you do. I could be wrong, but I didn't read it as anyone being required to choose a path and stick to it. Now, if guidance counselors and parents are overbearing about such a thing, that's a whole separate issue and you're right, kids should be able to experiment if they want to. Other kids, though, are bored out of their skulls and chomping at the bit for specialized classes and a themed/specific path to college by eight grade (I sure was).
My only intention was to point out that for a school of Kalaheo High's population, by "average" mainland standards, this is a seemingly impressive offering. Unless you live in a lucky or privileged district, in most of the USA, in a high school of around 500 kids you might never see that kind of specialization. Multiple art classes, multiple science classes, business classes, "participation in a democracy," etc? That's fantastic compared to what a lot of kids are offered in flyover country and poorer suburbs. That's all I meant to point out.
If we are speaking about the same thing, the pathways program is available at most (if not all) high schools. It is a replacement for vocational classes. But it varies in what each school offers.
Luckily, many of Hawaii’s students recognize the need for real-world skills and are enrolling in Career and Technical Education courses. Enrollment in Hawaii’s courses has been rising since a federal law in 2006 provided CTE funding to the states, set some rules and formally adopted CTE as the proper term instead of the older phrase, vocational education.
Quote:
One main difference is the emphasis on career pathways, which are broad groupings of occupations that share skills and knowledge. Hawaii has six career pathways:
arts and communication;
business;
health services;
natural resources;
industrial and engineering technology; and
public and human services.
Quote:
The programs offered vary with each high school, depending on teacher expertise and student interest, according to Lau. “It’s pretty much up to the schools,” she says. “However, the schools try to offer as many as they can because their funding is tied to the programs.”
Lau estimates that most schools have courses in four of the six pathways. They must provide at least three programs of study within each pathway; for instance, the business pathway includes accounting, entrepreneurship finance and management programs. Charter schools, she says, are eligible to teach CTE courses and receive federal funds, but only a few currently do.
Most jobs fall within one of these six pathways, and each pathway has technical skills that need to be learned. High school students begin by choosing a core course that lays the groundwork for the pathway, with subsequent courses building on the first.
Here is the chart of which school offer which paths (2012).
Jumping from one path to another could be problematic, because often the course build upon each other (ie prerequisite). The above link is very informative about what the schools offer. [But the path program is sometimes the key to getting into a class you want.]
Aloha, I am moving to Oahu from Big Island Kona for work and I want to get my girls 10 and 12 in a good school. Our move to Hawaii wasn't planned and was for safety, they have been thru alot so I want to get them into a good environment that will be a positive experience for them to continue on with friends thru high school. They are caucasian and blonde but friendly and nice. Need a good experience to start a new life for us all. We are not well off...single working mom who does ok with a degree. charter public school or only private school for us and any recommendations???? (I will be working at hospitals) Mahalo:
We are moving in July 2014 and are also looking for schooling for our 11 year old daughter. Have you placed your daughters in school? Could you give me details of what you do and don't like about the school?
We are moving in July 2014 and are also looking for schooling for our 11 year old daughter. Have you placed your daughters in school? Could you give me details of what you do and don't like about the school?
Please be aware that August 1, 2014 is the first day of school in Hawai'i, so you'll want to get as much done before you arrive as possible. If you are looking at public schools, which one she goes to will depend on where you live.
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Have you placed the girls?
