While a lot of parents who live in Hawaii choose to send their children to private school, a study just released gave some good news about high school students continuing on to college. About 51 percent of Hawai'i's 2008 public high school graduates continued on to college, with a third entering a four-year university. Kalani High School sent the most students to college, about 79 percent. Kaiser High School in Hawaii Kai had 64% continue.
Ron Nozoe, a Honolulu complex area superintendent, who oversees the Kalani High School complex, among others, noted that the school had the highest college-going rate in the state, but also that a majority of those students went to a community college. According to the report, 40 percent of Kalani's graduates in 2008 went on to a two-year college, while 39 percent went on to a four-year college. "The college-going culture has to start when they are very young. ... The expectation has to be there early on," he said. Statewide, the goal is that 55 percent of working-age adults will have a post-secondary degree by the year 2025. The national average is 60%.
Just announced today is a new Step Up Program, an effort in the public school system to get students to strive toward a more rigorous, voluntary high school diploma, known as the "College and Career Readiness" diploma. The diploma will be offered for the first time to the new freshman class, the class of 2013, and requires students to earn credits in advanced science, math and writing. The regular diploma will still be offered.
Hawai'i president M.R.C. Greenwood said students who earn the recognition diploma with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 will receive automatic acceptance to a University of Hawai'i campus. Hawai'i Pacific University and Chaminade University have offered similar guarantees. "It's estimated that by 2014, 90 percent of the fastest-growing careers will require some post-secondary education," Greenwood said.
As President Obama has repeatedly emphasized, not everyone necessarily will go on to get a four-year degree or even a two-year degree. But there is a certificate or training program or something after secondary school that is going to be important for their future and the means to get there has to be available to all students.
If you are considering a move to Hawaii Kai, and want information and resources on our schools, visit my web site and contact me for a free Relocation Package - or call or email for information on any of our Oahu schools.
(resource: Honolulu Advertiser)
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