Posts: 3,035
Threads: 201
Joined: Aug 2006
In general the waiting lists for the charter schools are longest for the lowest grades and get shorter as you move up through high school. Connections has an online application you can fill out to get on the list NOW, depending on the grade there may be an opening for next year by the time school starts. Lots of kids got in the high school right after school started this year. Placement is strictly by place on the waiting list, not lottery. The middle school has 40 places for each grade, the high school runs about 30 per grade and because of the stricter graduation requirements than DOE schools it is generally not recommended that students transfer in for their senior year. My classes at the high school run from 4 to 20 students and we place a lot of emphasis on developing leadership skills and a global perspective, which is sometimes an uphill battle in the current culture. This year's 9th grade class is particularly stellar; smart, funny, and caring kids who are really comfortable in their own skins.
Once one of your kids is in at Connections, then the all your kids have priority for places. Many Connections students come from Volcano and lower Puna on the school's bus. Waiakea has a good reputation but I have heard some horror stories from some of my students who went there straight from the mainland. It all depends on the kid, but Hawaii's large schools can be pretty tough places to get a toehold for students who don't have friends and family here already. Good luck, email me if you have specific questions. If I don't respond it may be the punweb mail system which is on and off. If you post your email I will respond directly. Good luck.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Posts: 1,099
Threads: 71
Joined: Jan 2009
HAAS charter school has an accelerated program for 5th and 6th graders called REAL Class. There are limited openings for 6th grade next year (but many for 5th). Admission to this particular program is _competitive_, not by lottery. If your 6th grader made the cut, your freshman would have a better chance the following year as a sibling as far as the lottery goes.
Note that the general HAAS lottery (legislatively required) is not based on a wait list, but a wait pool. No priority can be given regarding how long a student has been in the wait pool, but priority is given to siblings of students already enrolled at HAAS.
Disclosure: I am one of two teachers in the program. Info and application available at:
http://realclasshaas.com
Waiakea has the far more credible G/T programs for middle and high school compared to Pahoa or Keaau, but as Carol said, it may not all be roses...
Cheers,
Kirt
Posts: 1,062
Threads: 43
Joined: Apr 2009
Thanks for the info on Real Class! I just looked over the school info and application. Going to fill it out and get a copy to his current teacher. She was instrumental in getting him accelerated "everything" this year and had him tested for IQ, etc. He was also nominated for (and going) to the Junior National Young Leaders Council in June. He's a smart kid and works hard.
Not only would I never want a kid of mine at a school where that would happen, but the writing in the comments is appalling. I can respect pidgin but writing pidgin in all caps and texting lingo adds up to some pretty pathetic communication. Wow. And so much anger in these kids (who seem to be from various islands).
What a shame with a kid so bright that he ends up in public school in Hawai'i. I was one of those kids who got accelerated and all the honors, and in public school, but that was when public schools in California were still good. It was tough being an honor student 40 years ago. I got teased all the time. And I didn't have any kids in my high school who thought beating on each other was kool.
I wish you best of luck getting your child into something better. I would home school before I would go for public school here. My friends' kids who are born on the island AND hapa Hawaiian, look Hawaiian, still had nothing but grief in school here. Her daughter tried to commit suicide and it was all peer group issues ... she had a great home life ...
private school costs a lot but it cost her parents tons of money on therapy and alternatives to undo the damage and turn her life around ... the youngest got put into private school and no problems with him whatsoever.
Posts: 1,062
Threads: 43
Joined: Apr 2009
Bringing this back up...
No one made any real comments about Pahoa Schools. Does anyone have any thoughts on them? (for 6th grade and freshman high school).
Posts: 3,035
Threads: 201
Joined: Aug 2006
I know people whose kids graduated from Pahoa and went on to get full ride scholarships to good mainland universities and I know of families who felt it was the worst place for their kids. I think all Hawaii DOE schools are very tough for students to transfer into from mainland schools. Even Hawaiian kids with family here can have a very tough time if they transfer in. The communities are so tight knit and the local culture is so different that it can be very hard. On the other hand, the small charter schools tend to be very welcoming places for students who transfer from the mainland.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
As an example of what csgray said, a friend of mine with hapa Hawaiian kids who look 100% Hawaiian would not let her teenage son go to a music event in Hilo simply because as a Kona boy he would get beaten up. She said if you can hook up with your Hilo friends to protect you, you can go.
So beyond ethnicity differences, even what we perceive as communities that are not that different will have territorial issues. Imagine how it is to be from the mainland if a kid from Hilo would fight another kid just for being from Kona.
Before Kamehameha conquered and united the islands by force, different islands and districts were at constant war with each other, and it hasn't entirely changed from that mentality as far as I can tell.
Posts: 100
Threads: 10
Joined: Apr 2008
We've lived here about 10 months and our son started his freshman year at Pahoa high school.
He has good teachers, of which he tells us the cool things he learns in science or the crazy math problems they're learning... along with bringing home his resume he created in his elective class.
His friends are great kids, we'[ve met many of them and their parents. We kind of have a little carpool thing going, lol... you know, "who can get the kids to the movies? Who can bring them home?"
Most of them contribute to the community including my son, who volunterrs at the boys and girls club and the Teen Court in Pahoa.
He has friends who went to New York to be in the Macy Day Parade, some who went to Oahu to win awards for community service and some who in fact just left today to go to the State softball championships on Oahu!
I was soooo worried about my son and really pushed him to attend a charter school. But when we moved here he was at an age that he has his own opinions, and I respect that. We agreed that if any problems at all were to surface, he would be home schooled until he could get into a charter school.
Well, things have turned out just great. He's learning a TON about the community and how to contribute. He's getting As, Bs and has a college plan... so do his friends.
Don't believe all the hype, there are plenty of good, respectable and quality kids who attend Pahoa High School.
~ Rachael
~ Rachael
Posts: 100
Threads: 10
Joined: Apr 2008
I do have to say, I notice the territory thing though... he tells me about the hostility between his school and Kea'au, as well as Hilo...
that is worriesome to say the least!
~ Rachael
~ Rachael
Posts: 145
Threads: 13
Joined: Oct 2006
Personally, from the experience of my daughter and son-in-law and their 3 children, and from the statistics by State and County, home school your kids. Don't expect change, the DOE is dominated by career so-called educators... they do NOTHING. If one of your kids is fair skinned, you can expect name-calling, etc. If one of your kids is darker complected, they may have a different experience. Ask yourself, "What do I want my children to learn, and how do I want them to learn it?" Be a smart parent, no kid needs to be a victim of any kind of prejudice.
My daughter and son-in-law and 3 kids are now excelling in Bellevue WA.
PS They were in the best Charter Schools in Kona... and still, their education was woefully inadequate.
|
