Only about half (51%) of the graduating high school class of 2022 matriculated to a two- or four-year college, a statistic that has remained flat for the last several years. This is troubling as higher education opens the door to better-paying jobs and future success.

The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and Learning for Action wondered: How are Hawaii’s high school students supported in their quest to create a good life, and what’s getting in the way? We spoke with students at length so we could deeply understand the aspirations and concerns they hold.

What we found from these high school juniors and seniors was both inspiring and deeply worrisome.

On one hand, nearly every student we spoke with had high aspirations to attend college, secure a good career, and to live a life of purpose. They want to make their families proud. Many feel a profound connection to their community and cannot imagine leaving the islands.

But our conversations also raised many concerning issues. Students feel ill-prepared for what comes next after graduation. One student noted, “My whole family hasn’t gone to college. I don’t know where to start cause they don’t.” Others feel pressure to work right away to support themselves and their families. Students hear strong messages that the only way to make something of themselves is to leave Hawaii and attend a four-year university. This narrow outlook makes it difficult to explore the full spectrum of pathways to success.

Many worry about the high cost of attending college and don’t realize the abundance of financial resources there to help. The mixed feelings, tensions, hopes and fears that students grapple with suggest more effort is needed to help them with postsecondary exploration and planning.

Students mentioned the hands-on learning they receive from career academies, industry certifications, internships and early college as key to making informed decisions about what career to pursue.

College and career advising got decidedly mixed reviews. Some students received lots of one-on-one support to understand various postsecondary options while others were left to figure it out themselves.

One high schooler said, “Going to college is so involved and we are all doing it independently. We don’t have someone telling us what we need.” The current systems connecting students to opportunities are not consistent and vary in effectiveness. This results in greater barriers for students who are most disadvantaged socioeconomically or who don’t come from families with the knowledge to help navigate options.

Students and staff noted gaps in support for many of the students who would benefit the most, like students who would be the first in their family to attend college or those who live in rural areas. It appears that students who already show a strong interest in going to college and perform well academically often get the most help navigating their journey, while those who need the most help don’t always receive it in school.

As Hawaii’s Board of Education completes a multiyear strategic plan, policymakers would do well to understand these issues from our youths’ perspective.

Our highest priority should be to ensure that every student graduates high school on a path to success. This means improving college and career advising, linking academics to students’ career interests more tightly, giving all students life skills and adequate mental health supports, and building work-based learning opportunities — including paid internships and industry certificates of value — deeply into the high school and college experience.

Supports should be tailored for those students who are the first in the family to consider college, low income or who live in rural areas.

Interviews revealed many promising practices while showing these opportunities still depend far too much on where you live, what high school you attend or whether an adult takes a real interest in your future.

We call on leaders from public education and business to collectively restore hope to our youth so that they have promising options to stay in these islands that they love so much. We thank the students and staff from six public high schools across three islands and several youth-serving nonprofits for entering into this conversation.

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For the full report:

>> See castlefoundation.org/youth-voice-hawaii-year-2-report/.

Laura Bekes is a senior consultant and Alem Tecle is a senior research associate for Learning for Action; Alex Harris is vice president of programs for the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.