Kapolei High School

I have one son that has graduated from Kapolei High School and one currently enrolled. He is a junior.I am very pleased with the opportunities afforded my children at this high school. Academically, my sons have had a number of very good teachers. Kapolei is a project-based school. In addition to the traditional, one subject courses, students are required to integrate the different subject areas into projects – much like the real world. Students are also taught reading strategies in all their classes (reading scores are fairly high – forgot the number) and there is a strong emphasis on writing in the upper grades.Kapolei High understands that young people need to feel that they belong. The school has adopted a “Rigor, Relevance, Relationships” structure. Students are placed in teams or academies for each of their 4 years and have the same teachers and students in their core classes for that particular year. (Students are placed in teams for their underclassmen years, then choose one of 8? academies for their junior and senior years.) Because of this design, my sons have developed close relationships with both their peers and many of their teachers. My oldest son has maintained many of those relationships and returns to the high school to help out and mentor other students. This is not a rare occurrence here. Quite a few graduates return to help out at the school or to talk to students about their post-high school experiences.In the younger grades, teaming can sometimes have its downsides as one member may not do his fair share of the work and another student may do it to save his own grade. In the academy my sons have been in, students are encouraged to be assertive about addressing the “non-working” student directly and encouraging him to complete his part. I heard that one group actually called the mom of one of the non-working students.The school has a multitude of extracurricular activities, ranging from sports (~ 20 different sports at a range of levels), cultural clubs, dance clubs, service clubs, etc. The majority of the adults leading these programs are teachers at the high school. I’ve noticed they’ve developed strong and positive relationships with their students.My oldest son was a learning disabled SPED student. He was fully integrated into the regular ed classroom and was given the same opportunities as other students, with modifications for his handicap. By his Senior year he had earned the right to participate in both national and international science competitions and programs outside of Hawaii. Other students from this school have competed in national exhibitions and competitions in art, graphics, music, and video production.As a SPED parent, the entire 4 years did not always run smoothly. Each concern I had was addressed with modifications to my satisfaction, but its implementation was not always to my satisfaction by all his teachers - but most did well. His SPED Care Coordinator, did a fantastic job helping him through high school without enabling him. I appreciated that. KHS is a new school (2000) composed of 4 “neighborhoods” or large buildings that house students. There are handicap elevators, a library, cybercafé, cafeteria, kiosks, a gym, weightroom, training room with a certified trainer, locker rooms, football and regulation soccer field, softball and baseball fields, bandroom, and most important – air conditioning. It’s a beautiful campus!As for parent involvement, this past week I attended my son’s “Academy Parent Night.” There were over 120 people in attendance. Another academy was concurrently having their parent night. Again, over 120 people attended. Each team and academy has their own Parent Night. I’ve heard they are all pretty well attended.When both of my boys entered KHS, they were self-centered teenagers. My oldest has learned how to be apart of a working community and the personal and social skills he had acquired at Kapolei High School has continued to be an asset for him. Most of his teams/academy had set very high expectations for quality work and I noticed that he has adopted that expectation. As for my Junior son, I am very pleased with his reading, writing, math, oral communication, and social skills.It has been my experience that KHS has a lot to offer its students. As with any large (~2,300) campus, there will be a range that exists. As a parent, I had occasional frustrations, but, by and large, it has been a very positive experience. When I reflect back on what my boys were like when they entered high school and how they have grown into responsible and capable young men, I don’t think I could have chosen a better high school for them to attend.