Immersion school cutting high school grades

Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo, a Hilo-based K-12 Hawaiian immersion public charter school, plans to suspend its high school grades next year in a move officials hope will help improve the program and boost enrollment.

During the one-year break, the school will recruit new staff, train current teachers and vet ways to better retain the upper-level students, according to school administrator Olani Lilly, before reinstating the grades the following year.

Officials are helping its 24 high school students and incoming freshmen enroll at other schools, she said.

“We just want to take the time to really hunker down and get a real solid high school program going,” Lilly said. “… While we’re sad about losing students, we think it’s the best thing to do. It’s a smart decision to make.”

Ka ‘Umeke opened in 1987 as a state Department of Education Hawaiian immersion program, and in 2001 it became a charter school. It was among the first Hawaiian immersion schools in the state, Lilly said. About 98 percent of its students are of Native Hawaiian ancestry, according to its website, and all instruction is taught in the Hawaiian language.

The school has served younger students for decades. It began offering seventh grade about seven years ago, at the request of parents, and continued adding a grade each following year.

This year marks its third 12th-grade graduating class. However, enrollment traditionally has been low.

Lilly said lack of per-pupil funding has made it difficult to offer a robust high school program that aligns with Ka ‘Umeke’s vision and mission. About 240 students are enrolled schoolwide, but only nine are high-schoolers. Ideal incoming freshman counts hover between 20 and 30 students, Lilly said.

“If you look at charter schools, (drops in the higher grade levels) are the trend,” she said. “After (students have) been with the school for so long, and they’ve been with the same kids for so long, they want to get out and meet other kids. So that’s really a challenge.”

During the interim, school officials are looking at ways to collaborate with other charter schools and partners for when the high school program restarts — for example, shared projects — so Ka ‘Umeke students can work with new teens.

Next year’s suspension made sense because there was enough funding to retain current high school staff, Lilly added.

“I think initially there were some concerns over what’s happening,” she said. “(People thought), ‘Is Ka ‘Umeke falling apart?’ And, no, we’re not falling apart. We think it’s a smart move and we can afford it right now with our teachers to really take the time to plan it out both fiscally and (program-wise). It’s making sure we’re providing the best education we can.”

The school’s request to suspend the program was approved by the state Public Charter Schools Commission’s Performance and Accountability Committee last month and must be approved by the full commission at its May 26 meeting.

Spokeswoman Sheryl Turbeville said the commission most likely will approve the recommendation.

Turbeville said it’s uncommon for charter schools to cut grades, but it does happen. In the 2014-15 school year, the financially troubled Na Wai Ola Public Charter School in Mountain View cut seventh and eighth grades and reinstated seventh grade this year.

But in order to make payroll, Na Wai Ola plans to cut its seventh-grade program again for the 2016-17 school year. Principal Dan Caluya previously told the Tribune-Herald adding seventh grade to its program took on extra expenses.

Na Wai Ola also is under investigation by the state Ethics Commission regarding salary advances made to employees.

Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.