©2009 Produced by NewsOK.com. All rights reserved.

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii — The third- to fifth-graders ran up to their instructor clutching a list of words using the letters B, D, and E.

More Info

Military statistics indicate there should currently be about 23,000 school-age dependents in the islands, which are home to several major installations including Pearl Harbor. But there are only 13,000 to 14,000 military dependents now enrolled in Hawaii public schools, indicating thousands of parents are choosing to educate their children elsewhere.

Split into boy and girls teams, the students offered the teacher "bed" and "bead." The boys spelled more words, beating the girls 18-15.

It's a Friday, but these students aren't in school. They're at a youth center where the U.S. Army is keeping soldiers' children engaged and learning on the 17 Fridays this school year the state of Hawaii has closed public schools to narrow a budget deficit.

The state's decision in October to shrink the school year by 10 percent, giving it the fewest number of instructional days in the nation at 163, is adding to the already dismal reputation Hawaii's public schools have among service members.

Col. Mike Davino, the director of manpower, personnel and administration for the U.S. Pacific Command, said the pared school year is another concern for officials who have long heard about servicemen and women avoiding Hawaii assignments because of the state's public education system.

"We've gotten a lot of anecdotal information. For example, one of my neighbors just this week said she wasn't going to extend in Hawaii because of the education," Davino said.

Commanders are so concerned about the overall health of state's schools that the military is paying researchers from Johns Hopkins University $1.5 million to study military attitudes toward Hawaii public education over a three-year period to see if there's any concrete data to support the stories.

The study will track families who have received assignments to Hawaii, those who are currently here and those who have left the islands.

The study will also document how many troops choose Hawaii's public schools and how many choose alternatives like homeschooling, private schools or even leaving their children with family on the mainland.

More than 300 children are enrolled in Army child youth services programs that focus on learning each Furlough Friday.

Children work in the computer lab, do homework, and have been on excursions. Other services have similar programs.


Leave a Comment

Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online

Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.


Log in below or sign up (it's free).


News Photo Galleriesview all