SCHOFIELD BARRACKS , Hawaii (May 10, 2013)-- In the fall, as students return to school, Aug. 5, there will be multiple changes to where elementary children are required to attend school.
Cherise Imai, the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) military liaison, is confident that the "upcoming changes will allow for the DOE to address the overcrowding in the impacted schools and will better meet the educational needs of the students."
Solomon and Wahiawa Elementary School Changes
Students who reside on Schofield in the Kalakaua I housing area will now attend Solomon Elementary School in school year 2013-2014.
These students currently attend Wahiawa Elementary and will have the option to remain at Wahiawa Elementary, but they will not have access to bus transportation to and from school.
Students who choose to remain should obtain and complete a geographic exception (GE) form from the school office. Call 808-622-6393 for assistance.
Kalakaua I students currently attending Wahiawa Elementary (El) will be moved to Solomon next school year. However, new students moving into that housing area before the last day of school, which falls on May 24, have the option of enrolling at Wahiawa El for the remainder of the year, with bus transportation, with the plan to move to Solomon in the fall.
Or, Kalakaua I students can enroll at Solomon now and be settled and ready for the new school year. They will not be provided with bus transportation from their housing area to Solomon Elementary because they fall within a 1-mile radius of the school. Only elementary students beyond the 1-mile are eligible for bus transportation at the cost of $270 annually or $72 per quarter.
For students in middle and high school, the required distance from the school to be eligible for bus transportation is a 1.5-mile radius.
Helemano and Wahiawa Elementary School Changes
Helemano Military Reservation (HMR) will also see changes. Elementary students who live on I'a Way, Kilu Court, Kaukaalii Street, Kukaniloko Street, Puna Way and Wa'a 'Ula Lane will be moving from Helemano Elementary School to Wahiawa Elementary.
Students moving into these homes are to enroll at Helemano El for the remainder of this school year, and they will be moved to Wahiawa in the fall with bus transportation. They do have the option of enrolling in Wahiawa this school year to prepare for next school year, but transportation will not be provided.
Previously, all of HMR attended Helemano Elementary; however, with the additional homes that are under construction, the students who live on the above-mentioned streets are being redistricted to Wahiawa Elementary to avoid overcrowding at Helemano.
The new homes at Mali'o Road, Oli Court, He'e Nalu Court and Lei Court will attend Helemano El with the rest of the students who reside on HMR.
School Liaison Office
SLO, the Army and the DOE are working together to educate families and to develop a transition system that is as seamless as possible, including letters that are being sent to parents and guardians and the community.
To ease transition, members of the Wahiawa Elementary faculty plan to make a special visit to the HMR neighborhood, 9-10 a.m., Saturday, July 20.
For more information, SLO can be reached Monday-Fridays at 808-655-8326 or 656-9818.
The Leilehua Complex Superintendent, Dr. John Brummel, shared that "partnering, planning and working together to implement the redistricting will produce positive results for the schools that service students from Schofield and Helemano Military Reservation."
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