The number of children attending private school in Hawaii is down 8 percent — or by nearly 3,200 students — from the 2007-08 school year, new figures show.
The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools’ annual enrollment report also shows this is the fifth consecutive year that Hawaii private school enrollment has declined.
Private school administrators and onlookers say the situation underscores the toll the economic downturn has taken on private schools — and some families — and also reflects the growing popularity of public charter schools.
Nationally, too, private school enrollment is down.
"People have less disposable income and there are more (education) options out there," said Phil Bossert, director of the association’s Institute for 21st Century Teaching and Learning.
According to the HAIS report, 37,097 Hawaii children are attending private schools this school year, down 1.6 percent (or by 598 students) from 2011.
The declines in private school enrollment have disproportionately affected small and medium-size schools, which depend more on tuition revenue for operating expenses and have little or no financial cushion.
Bossert said several small private schools have closed in Hawaii in recent years, though no schools have shuttered their doors so far this school year.
And while top-tier private schools, like Punahou and ‘Iolani, have not seen declines in enrollment, they have had to expand tuition assistance programs.
"We have increased financial aid substantially," said ‘Iolani spokeswoman Cathy Lee Chong. The school set aside $3.3 million for financial aid this year, $100,000 more than 2011-12.
Schools statewide have been hit by the enrollment declines. The HAIS report shows Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Molokai have fewer private school students this year, while enrollment is up slightly on Hawaii island.
Kauai’s six private schools lost 46 students altogether, the largest decline among the neighbor islands, and started the school year with 721 children enrolled.
St. Theresa School in Kekaha saw its enrollment drop by about 17 students this school year, to 100 students.
Principal Mary Buza-Sims said enrollment has been on the decline at the school for the past three years, and was at about 167 in 2009.
"We are struggling," she said, adding the school is at a "critical stage" right now.
If enrollment continues to fall, she said, the school could close.
Tuition at St. Theresa is $3,900 a year, and $4,900 for preschoolers. Most students come from blue-collar families, she said.
The economic downturn "hit us hard here," Buza-Sims said.
The decline in private school enrollment comes as public schools and public charter schools are seeing their numbers rise slightly.
Even so, the percentage of students in private school continues to represent about one-fifth of all school-age children in the islands, among the highest rates of private school attendance in the nation.
And despite the overall declines, many private schools are holding enrollment steady — or seeing growth.
Hawaii Baptist Academy enrollment is up by about 20 students this school year, and the school has added additional classes in the sixth and ninth grades.
Kaimuki Christian School has seen enrollment rise over the past decade, from about 212 students to 346 today.
The school started a ninth grade class this school year, and will add one more high school grade each year for the next three years.
The school’s ninth-grade class has seven students.
Mark Gallagher, school principal, said he hopes to eventually enroll 80 high-schoolers — 20 per class.
"We’re a niche, as a smaller school," he said.
Damien Memorial School saw its enrollment jump from 360 to 475 this year after going coed. Seventy-one girls attend the school in Kalihi, which had seen years of declining enrollment as an all-boys school.
"I honestly think we’re going to continue to grow," said Brent Limos, Damien admissions director. Going coed, he added, "was just a sign of the times."
The enrollment decline statewide comes as private schools have tried hard to keep tuition increases reasonable and to expand financial aid offerings.
That hasn’t always been enough, though.
St. Anthony School in Kailua lost about 51 students this school year, and its enrollment is now at 345 in preschool to eighth grade.
Principal Bridget Olsen said families "left their kids in the school as long as they could."
"We’re just victims" of the economy, she said.
St. Anthony has tried to entice students — and parents — by making big changes to how students are taught.
Teachers have undergone intensive professional development. In the middle school, every student is lent an iPad. Younger students have sets of the computer tablets in class. And classrooms are also equipped with other high-tech gadgets, all meant to maximize learning for modern kids.
Tuition at the school is $6,525 for sixth- to eighth-graders.
At the school on a recent weekday, Erika Robertson sat in the office consoling her son, a kindergartner, who was apprehensive about a visit to the dentist.
Robertson said she knew she wanted to send both her sons to private school, and so has made sacrifices to make it happen.
Robertson, 31, of Waimanalo, is a medical billing clerk at Tripler Army Medical Center and started waiting tables on the weekends to help cover expenses.
Her oldest son, BJ Rezentes, 5, attended St. Anthony’s preschool program before moving on to kindergarten at the school. Her 4-year-old, JJ, is now also in preschool at St. Anthony.
"It’s a loving school," Robertson said. "I just know it is the best thing for them."
Vince Lowell, a Hawaiian Airlines pilot, has five children — ages 5 to 11 — at St. Anthony. (He also has a 2-year-old at home, and another on the way.)
Lowell said he and his wife chose the school because of its Catholic-centered education, and its innovative approach to teaching.
Of his kids, he said, "I think they’re thriving in this environment."
Other Oahu schools have also seen declines.
Academy of the Pacific in Nuuanu has 60 students enrolled in grades 6 to 12 this year, down from 85 last school year.
Head of School Lou Young said the current enrollment level "is a struggle." Before the economic downturn hit, the school had about 130 students.
Young said he believes the tough times are behind the drop in enrollment. The school has also seen more students opting for home school or public charter schools.
Thanks to grants and other support, he said, programs at the campus —where tuition is $17,300 a year this school year — haven’t suffered. But he said that isn’t sustainable in the long run.
If enrollment doesn’t increase in the coming school year, Young said, the campus may have to downsize programs and cut other expenses.
Honolulu Waldorf School saw enrollment drop by about 20 students this year, and now has 288 students in preschool through 12th grade.
Bonnie Ozaki-James, interim administrative director at the school, said some students left for public schools. Other families moved to the mainland, and some students transferred to larger schools.
She said the school usually gains about 10 students during the school year, but she added that the school’s optimal enrollment is about 300.
"We’re trying to work with the nearby schools … to get more interest from students," Ozaki-James said. "We find that word of mouth is our most powerful tool."
