School collaborators

Overview

Welcome to our school collaborators site. Here you will find links to various resources to assist your working with us.

Eligibility requirements

PKS Scholarship

Preschool located in Hawai‘i
Currently licensed by the State of Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS) or the United States Department of Defense (DOD).
Confirmed members in good standing and accredited by a KS recognized accreditation system.

Kipona Scholarship

Private school located in Hawaiʻi
Licensed or compliant under the Hawaiʻi Council of Private Schols (HCPS)

How to apply

If you are a private school located in Hawai’I and interested in becoming a Kipona or PKS Scholarship participating school for the 2023-2024 school year, please email ksrc@ksbe.edu.

No. The parent needs to determine if their keiki will be enrolled in kindergarten or continue preschool enrollment. If the student is continuing Preschool, the student will be eligible for PKS. However, if the parent indicated kindergarten on the application, the student will be ineligible for PKS and be eligible for Kipona, if the Kipona fund and school is reflected in the application. The parent cannot apply to both PKS and Kipona Scholarships. If parent selected preschool and plans for the child to attend kindergarten then the parents will need to notify KS FASS in writing to switch scholarships.

The reconsideration form and information is posted at the KS website. KS accepts reconsideration using the form, an email, or a written letter. The reconsideration needs to be received by KS within 30 days after the notification.

No. An application must be submitted for the Kipona scholarship program.

The review process is based on income, assets, expenses, equity, etc.

Yes. The families may complete the 20 hours. However, when submitting the hours, the hours must be submitted by quarters (5 hours each quarter).

Yes. KS FASS conducts an audit on 5% of the submission. Schools may request KS to conduct a random audit of the school’s families.

Yes. The school collaborator may advertise they are a KS school collaborator participant, but cannot use the KS logo.

No. However, please submit the updated licenses and accreditation to KS.

Yes. Award is based from August to July.

Yes. KS will confirm with the school the school’s tuition rate.

No. The PKS award will not cover for kindergarten summer school and the PKS award will be terminated. Keiki must be enrolled in preschool summer school to receive assistance.

No. If the class is for 4-year-old kindergarteners, the keiki is not eligible for PKS or summer school.

Yes. KS will adjust the award amount and will notify school of award amount change via SCP. School should inform KS if keiki is receiving a non-KS subsidy (i.e. POD, CCC, and etc.).

KS is considering a Cycle 2 for 2020-2021 school year and will communicate to the schools whether a Cycle 2 is being offered.

No. There is no automatic notification.

No. Changes to the award amount occurs constantly (changes in subsidy amounts, change of keiki’s school, etc.)

We have waived PKS parent quarterly requirements (PQRs) for all quarters of the 2021-2022 school year. Families do not need to complete or submit service hours or attendance requirements in the Ho‘oulu Kaiāulu Parent Portal (HKPP) in order to maintain their keiki’s PKS scholarships for the 2021-2022 school year.

Yes, this fall applications for new recipients to the Kipona program will open for Grade 6 and 9 only.

Our standard process is to utilize the School Portal so, no, Kipona recipient information will not be available to schools before the School Portal is open.

Yes, pending no unforeseen events in the future, we will resume our normal notification schedule, planned for March 2021.

We are always exploring ways to improve how we support our communities. One of the lessons we have learned is that there are many quality opportunities that already exist available for kindergarten families where keiki can develop a strong foundation as they grow older. The decision to discontinue kindergarten applications allows us to think differently and creatively about where our focus is needed and how else we can serve our lāhui.

No, PKS is a separate scholarship program for preschool only and award will not follow keiki into kindergarten.

KS will continue to support current Kipona recipients as long as they fulfill annual requirement (for example, take a disbursement, promoted to the next grade level, completing service hours, etc.).

Awards will remain the same as prior year: Grade K-5: $7,000; Grade 6-12: $9,000.

KS will communicate to families by email identifying new entry points for SY21-22.

PKS awardees are not given preference for the Kipona Scholarship program. Those families will need to apply for consideration at an open entry point.

We have waived the Kipona Scholarship community service requirement for the 2021-2022 school year. Families do not need to complete or submit service hours in the Ho‘oulu Kaiāulu Parent Portal (HKPP) in order to maintain their keiki’s Kipona scholarship. However, we are still requiring parents to submit their keiki’s final academic year report cards.

Financial aid

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