Kīhei Charter Enrollment Grows to 720

Kīhei Charter School begins its second school year in their recently completed three-story campus building at the Maui Research and Technology Park in South Maui.

Enrollment at the tuition free school is up by 100 students over last school year, with an expected 720 students to begin attending classes in the coming semester, according to John Colson, executive director and Head of School.

James Vietz, a 2009 Kihei Charter School graduate, now teaches a high school class in technology at the school. Students at the school are taught using custom-designed educational programs and innovative learning environments. The school is proud of its innovative 21st Century tuition free public education. PC: Kīhei Charter School

Not only is the school growing, according to administrators, but a new educational organization will also be in place when the new students arrive.  The educational organization is reportedly based on project-based learning featuring directed student projects, field trips and community involvement.

Students will be in two groups: kindergarten to sixth grade; and seventh to 12th grade. “There will be an increased focus on the sixth grade, which is a major school entry point and transition to the higher grades. We want to assist these students in making the transition to a project-based learning environment,” said Colson.

According to Colson, the goal is to send kids into the seventh grade better prepared and with more skills that will help them in the ninth through 12th grades.

School administrators note that Kīhei Charter School has a large number of students attending classes at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, while still in high school.  On Fridays the school will offer a “Bridges Program” to pull together the Kīhei Charter School experience with field trips and seminars on college preparatory classes.