Enrollment declined in Hawaii’s public and charter schools for the fourth straight year, according to figures from the Hawaii State Department of Education.
"Enrollment at HIDOE for the 2022-23 school year decreased to 168,634 students, compared with an enrollment of 171,600 students at the start of last school year — a difference of 1.7%," according to Communications Specialist Derek Inoshita in a release from Gov. David Ige’s office.
HIDOE schools enrolled a total of 156,518 students this year. That is a 1.9% decrease from a year ago when 159,503 students enrolled. The figures include students enrolled in schools and the state distance learning program, according to the release. Figures for the state’s 37 charter schools showed a slight increase. A total of 12,116 students enrolled this year, compared with 12,097 the previous year.
The overall declining trend in enrollment over the past four school years is believed to be a reflection of Hawaii’s overall declining birth rate during the last decade. Department data also shows that the primary reason families are removing their students from public schools is for relocation to mainland states.
Based on enrollment for the 2022-23 school year, the five largest HIDOE public schools by grade level are: High schools (grades 9-12): Campbell (3,039), Waipahu (2,661), Mililani (2,565), Farrington (2,238), Moanalua (2,064); Middle (grades 6-8) and intermediate schools (grades 7-8): Mililani Middle (1,580), ‘Ewa Makai Middle (1,119), Waipahu Intermediate (1,084), Maui Waena Intermediate (1,044), Kaimukī Middle (950), and elementary schools: August Ahrens (1,164), ‘Ewa (1,086), Holomua (1,071), Keone‘ula (915), Waipahu (853)
The five smallest HIDOE schools in the state include: Ni‘ihau High and Elementary (17), Maunaloa Elementary (46), the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind (53), Kilohana Elementary (75), and Waiāhole Elementary (91), according to the release.
The five largest charter schools are Hawaiʻi Technology Academy (1,403), Kamaile Academy (949), Kīhei Charter School (693), the Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts and Sciences (683), and Kanu O Ka ʻĀina (612).