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Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

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  • Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

    Aloha

    My daughter has recently accepted a teaching job at Kailua Public High School. Her initial excitement has been somewhat dampened by the feedback she has received from realtors in the Kailua area when mentioning where she will be teaching.

    We would love to hear some positives related to the Kailua High School and the area in general.

    Thanks for any informed responses.

    Mahalo,

    SciGuy

  • #2
    Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

    Best golf team around! Great water polo team, too. Wonderful softball team! I used to write sports for that area, so that's all I know. She shouldn't worry. I don't consider that a rough area. Maybe others from Kailua will pipe up!
    Aloha from Lavagal

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    • #3
      Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

      Originally posted by SciGuy
      Her initial excitement has been somewhat dampened by the feedback she has received from realtors in the Kailua area when mentioning where she will be teaching. We would love to hear some positives related to the Kailua High School and the area in general.
      Was the negative feedback specifically about the school? My guess is that the realtors were more concerned about your ability to buy or lease a home in the Kailua area. There are precious few available and prices are through the roof, and on a teacher's salary, well... maybe that's what the negativity was about?
      .
      .

      That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

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      • #4
        Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

        Originally posted by LikaNui
        Was the negative feedback specifically about the school? My guess is that the realtors were more concerned about your ability to buy or lease a home in the Kailua area. There are precious few available and prices are through the roof, and on a teacher's salary, well... maybe that's what the negativity was about?
        My impression was that the feedback related directly to the school. Its my experience that unless you are really directly involved with a school (as a student, parent, teacher or administator) its nearly impossible to know what "goes on" there.

        We're just looking for a few positives to focus on before the school year begins.

        Thanks for the quick and useful feedback. Any addition information would be very welcome.

        SciGuy

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        • #5
          Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

          I don't know anything about Kailua High's internal dynamics, but the student body is sure interesting. You've got a huge income range in the neighborhoods served, from Lanikai to Waimānalo.

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          • #6
            Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

            I don't know anything about Kailua High specifically, but my from-a-distance impression is a positive one (even though my ex went there!). I certainly have a fondness for that side of the island, and while there is a wide range of backgrounds among the students, I don't think relations are anywhere near as strained as they clearly get at other schools.

            Let's just say KHS students don't end up on the news as often as the students at other schools (for bad things) -- and I know I've seen them featured for excellence in certain areas.

            And if Kailua is your daughter's first-ever teaching assignment in the public school system, I have to say, it sounds to me like she lucked out.

            Don't fret. Even schools with "bad reputations" often turn out to be diamonds in the rough, with parents and students that really care. And schools that have everything handed to them often fall short in the things that matter. Whatever KHS is like, or was like, your daughter can play a big part in what it becomes... and that's what matters.

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            • #7
              Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

              Listen, SciGuy. I got what you want right here. I'm a high school teacher, and while I have never taught at Kailua, I know people who have. One of my best friends, one of the three or four most dedicated teachers I know, taught there before moving to the private school where I taught.

              I've been a coach in the Oahu Mathematics League, where I had the honor of knowing Winona Oato, Hawaii's teacher of the year in 2005. Winona used to have math-team practices at her house the nights before we had meets. She volunteered Saturday mornings to meet with new coaches in the OML so they wouldn't feel lost. Unfortunately for us all, she retired at the end of last year, but she earned it, perhaps more than anyone I know.

              It might not sound like good news when I mention two excellent teachers I know who no longer teach there, but Winona taught there for thirty-eight years, and the primary reason my friend left is that he wanted to teach at a Christian school. The fact that two of the best, most devoted teachers I've ever known came out of Kailua High is significant. Your daughter's going to have to deal with a lot of crap, because that's just how large bureaucracies work, but if she wants to be an excellent teacher, Kailua seems to be a place that encourages and enables that.

              But with all due respect to Lavagal, Kailua does NOT have the best golf team. Compare Kailua's record with Hawaii Baptist Academy's and it's no contest! Eagles represent!
              But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
              GrouchyTeacher.com

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              • #8
                Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

                You can't compare private to public schools when it comes to athletics. Private schools can recruit and pick the cream of the crop while public schools have to keep what's in their districts. Same goes for academics.

                As for Kailua...well I grad from Kalani so no comment since I'm biased...Go Falcons!
                Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                • #9
                  Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

                  Originally posted by craigwatanabe
                  You can't compare private to public schools when it comes to athletics. Private schools can recruit and pick the cream of the crop while public schools have to keep what's in their districts.
                  In most cases, this is true, Craig, but I can say with certainty (and some amount of pride) that HBA is one of only a handful of competitive schools that never recruits athletes; athletes who want to attend have to go through the same admissions process as all other students and are held to the same standards.

                  This doesn't mean that some athletes don't choose to attend because of athletics. HBA's real domain is ILH bowling (I know; it's kinda funny) and I know of at least one bowler in recent years who transferred from another ILH school just to sit out his junior year and to compete as a senior for HBA. That's very rare, though, and if that student hadn't met the criteria for admissions or hadn't been able to keep up with the academics, he'd have been out for sure.

                  There are other advantages ILH schools have--namely, their students obviously come from families that can afford to send them to these private schools, meaning many of them can afford private golf instructors or memberships at the exclusive country clubs.

                  I consider athletic recruiting abhorrent and would never boast of a high school team if it practiced it.
                  But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                  GrouchyTeacher.com

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                  • #10
                    Re: Please tell me some good things about Kailua Public High School

                    Scrivener said:
                    But with all due respect to Lavagal, Kailua does NOT have the best golf team. Compare Kailua's record with Hawaii Baptist Academy's and it's no contest! Eagles represent!

                    DUDE! I didn't cover private school sports, just windward high schools for about a year, a gig that just wrapped up. Honestly all I know about are sports for Kalaheo, Kailua and Castle. Sometimes Kahuku. I just worked with the OIA teams.
                    Now I'm doing features. @
                    Aloha from Lavagal

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