Maui Waena, Kīhei Charter among largest middle and charter schools respectively

Maui Waena Intermediate School in Kahului has among the largest middle school enrollment in the state with 1,044 students. Kīhei Charter School has the third largest charter school enrollment in Hawaiʻi with 693 students, according to the latest data compiled by the state Department of Education.

Enrollment at Hawaiʻi’s public and charter schools 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%.

Hawaiʻi State Department of Education schools enrolled a total of 156,518 students this year, compared with 159,503 students at the start of last school year, a 1.9% decrease. The figures include students enrolled in schools and the state distance learning program. The state’s 37 charter schools, meanwhile, enrolled a total of 12,116 students, compared with 12,097 the previous year.

The declining trend in enrollment counts over the past four school years reflects Hawaiʻi’s overall declining birth rate over the last decade. Department data also show that families’ leading reason for 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)
• 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 Hawaiʻi School for the Deaf and the Blind (53), Kilohana Elementary (75), and Waiāhole Elementary (91).

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).