Changes aplenty at private schools

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer

Tuition increases, two brand new campuses and expansions at a number of campuses mark a year of change at Hawai'i's 134 licensed private schools, where students will return to classes during the next few weeks.

Mid-Pacific Institute students Cody Walker, left, 17; Kip Masuda, 16; Mariko Strickland, 17; and Staci Follante, 16, head back to classes after lunch. Mid-Pac, one of 134 licensed private schools in the state, began its new school year yesterday. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It's pretty exciting," said Robert Witt, executive director of the Hawai'i Association of Independent Schools. "It wasn't happening five years ago."

In addition, Hanahau'oli School has a new kindergarten building, Hanalani Schools has a new student activities center with a gym, library and arts rooms, and Kamehameha's outer island campuses have new facilities to accommodate their 11th-graders.

Last year Iolani School opened a multipurpose building including a 500-seat auditorium and 1,300-capacity stadium at a cost of nearly $30 million. Mid-Pacific Institute unveiled a $12.5 million math/science/technology complex.

Parents appreciate the effort the schools put into improving the facilities.

"I think it's great," said Mid-Pac parent Lesley Johnson. "Mid-Pac is probably the school that has adapted most to the 21st century."

Schools in Kapolei and 'Aiea will boast new campuses.

The small Calvary Chapel school, with 20 students so far, will be part of a new site for the chapel, which moved to 'Aiea from downtown Honolulu in May.

Daniel White, headmaster at the new Island Pacific Academy, is busy preparing for a Sept. 13 opening — which still involves moving in furniture, hanging white boards and bulletin boards, moving in the textbooks, wiring the computers and putting up playground equipment.

"It's not quite a 24-hour operation — we do get to go home — but it does take up all our waking hours now," White said.

About 38,000 school age children — 16 percent of students in Hawai'i — attended private school last year. With many of the students at these two new schools switching from another private school and both new campuses expecting small enrollments, the changes will add only about 500 to 1,000 students.

Tuition increases this fall range from $100 to $850 per student at the largest and most prestigious schools. Such increases are generally an annual occurrence, as private schools strive to remain competitive.

This year, many of the better known schools are raising tuition by at least 5 percent. Tuition generally covers 70 percent to 80 percent of faculty and staff salaries and benefits, so as they get raises, tuition must be increased to cover them.

"I think parents are fairly accustomed to that," Witt said.

While families might feel sticker shock at various private schools, said White of Island Pacific Academy, "My attitude is none of us charge what they cost to run."

Schools rely a lot on fund-raising and philanthropy to make up the difference, he said.

Fund-raising has paid for the new Case Middle School at Punahou, the most ambitious new building opening this year. Sixth-graders will use the new building when they return to school Aug. 24, with the seventh- and eighth-graders moving in later.

The community near Hawai'i Preparatory Academy will benefit from the new Isaacs Art Center at Hawai'i. It is housed in the original Waimea Elementary and Intermediate School building, which has been restored and transformed into galleries that will feature the school's permanent art collection and host other retrospectives, exhibits and shows.

Yesterday's return of Mid-Pacific Institute students marked the first opening among the large private schools. Smaller schools had opened earlier. Kamehameha and Maryknoll students return next week, with Iolani and Punahou starting a week later.

Mid-Pac is among a number of schools that will see larger student bodies this year with the addition of new grade levels. The former Epiphany School becomes Mid-Pac's kindergarten through fifth-grade campus this year.

Other additions include a middle school at Damien Memorial School, 11th-grade classes at Kamehameha Schools' Maui and Big Island campuses and a 10th grade at Pacific Buddhist Academy.

While returning Mid-Pacific Institute students may not have noticed much of a difference at the Manoa campus yesterday, new students marveled at the technology center, the choices at the food court and the size.

"It's bigger, and it's just kind of better," said sixth-grader Ryan Ogawa, who previously attended Momilani Elementary. His favorite part was lunch, when he realized the school offered spam musubi, pizza, french fries and all sorts of drinks.

For Lindsey Okubo, who came from Hahaione Elementary, the school seemed much larger and more crowded with older kids. "There's only a slight change," the 11-year-old said. "The buildings are nicer."

Mid-Pac's younger students in kindergarten through fifth grade will return to their familiar campus in Kaimuki, but instead of being called Epiphany School, it will be called Mid-Pac.

For a year, the only major change the former Epiphany students will see is the name and the absence of sixth-graders, who will be at the Manoa campus. In Manoa, however, students will see a new elementary school being built where old dormitories used to stand.

Expanding the school to more grades follows a decadelong trend that helps parents avoid the headache of switching schools every few years and eases the recruitment process for the schools.

In addition, Joe Rice, Mid-Pacific Institute's president, said, "It's better for the educational program. We get to work with kids over a longer period of time, and get to know the students and the parents better."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.

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