KS Admissions: Questions and Answers

July 15, 2002

Contributed by CEO Message

Maui Admissions Decision

1. Who is responsible for KS admissions policy?
Pauahi’s will gives full power to the Trustees to regulate admissions. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees approves and adopts all admissions policies. All admissions decisions are required to comply with the Board of Trustees? policies. The CEO is responsible for implementing the policy and the Admissions Office and respective faculty review committees are responsible for implementing admissions procedures.

2. How was the Maui admissions decision made?
The Maui decision was made in accordance with standard KS admissions procedures. Applications to all KS K-12 programs are made through a central Admissions Office where all documentation is received and assembled, and testing, interviews, etc. is arranged. Applicants are evaluated and scored in a number of areas, including standardized tests, grade point average (GPA), personal interviews, teacher recommendations, and for middle and high school, a writing sample. These scores comprise the applicant’s pre-evaluation.

Four-member rating committees, comprised of teachers, counselors or administrators, review all applicant packets. The committee members, working independently, review and assign a score to each packet. The four scores are averaged and then added to the pre-evaluation score for a total composite score. Applicants are ranked according to their composite scores. The rating committee then meets to discuss and recommend final student selections for their campus.

Selected students are sent letters of conditional acceptance. Conditions of acceptance include submittal of current school grades, verification of Hawaiian ethnicity and residency, a physical exam, and successful completion of the current school year in good standing. After all Hawaiian applicants selected for the Maui campus 8th grade were exhausted, including those on the waitlist, one vacancy remained. The vacancy was offered to the remaining qualified applicant, who was a non-Hawaiian, in compliance with KS’ preference policy.

Because of the importance of this decision, the offer of the remaining vacancy to a non-Hawaiian applicant for the Maui Campus was carefully reviewed. Process and procedures were reviewed specifically to confirm that policy was followed. After close examination of the facts and circumstances, the Board of Trustees concurred that the offer to a non-Hawaiian was consistent with KS’ preference policy.

3. What is the Board of Trustees' position regarding giving preference to Hawaiians in admission to KS kindergarten to grade 12 (k-12) campus programs?
The Board of Trustees remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold the preference to Hawaiians admissions policy. The Board reaffirmed this policy at its July 12, 2002 retreat.

4. Is Kamehameha's position on admitting a non-Hawaiian applicant to the Maui Campus final?
Yes. After receiving input from the CEO, the Maui community, numerous e-mails and phone calls on this matter, the Board of Trustees reaffirmed their decision to admit the non-Hawaiian applicant to the Maui Campus.

5. Does the fact that KS admitted a non-Hawaiian applicant this year mean that KS is changing its admission policy?
No. KS has always had a policy of preference for Hawaiians, which means that if there are not enough Hawaiian applicants who meet the criteria to fill all available spaces, qualified non-Hawaiian applicants may be considered.

6. What is KS doing to ensure that its preference policy actually supports the KS mission to provide educational services for Hawaiians?
The Board of Trustees and the CEO have approved the following actions in support of its preference for Hawaiians policy:
-Increase Hawaiian student recruiting efforts
-Actively support parents and students in the application process to KS programs
-Conduct a comprehensive review of admissions practices, criteria and procedures to recommend improvements
-Provide K-12 campus support staff to improve services to parents and students

7. How does admitting a non-Hawaiian student impact the services available to Hawaiians currently not being served by KS?
When considering the thousands of non-Hawaiians who participate in KS programs, the impact is insignificant. While opportunities to enroll in Kamehameha's K-12 program will increase only slightly over the next two years, KS is striving to offer educational programs beyond the three campuses that will reach many more Hawaiians not being served today. KS currently serves over 4,800 Hawaiian students in grades Preschool through 12 on five islands, and an additional 28,500 Hawaiian students in outreach programs throughout the state.

8. How does KS justify admitting a non-Hawaiian student when there are so many Hawaiian students who want to attend the campus programs?
KS' K-12 grade educational program is very rigorous and the admissions selection criteria are intended to identify students who demonstrate the potential for success in this program. The K-12 program is not designed to meet the educational needs of ALL students. KS has chosen to meet the broader needs of Hawaiian students through outreach programs, such as those in the KS Strategic Plan. KS has targeted $60 million over the next five years to fund these strategic plan initiatives that will extend KS’ reach to thousands more Hawaiian students and their families.

9. Was the Maui admissions decision a strategy to protect Kamehameha's policy of giving preference to Hawaiians?
The Maui admissions decision was made in compliance with Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy. Though it has been challenged in the past, Kamehameha's admissions policy has been found to be consistent with applicable laws and public policy.

10. Can students from other islands apply for admission to KS campuses not on their island of residence?
Current policy requires students to have 1) Hawaii state residency first, and 2) residency within the district served by each campus. The residency requirement applies to the applicant and his/her parent or legal guardian.

11. If KS knew there were so many vacancies for the coming school year, what recruitment efforts were made, if any, to fill them?
KS normally spends about $50,000 in admissions advertising. This year, in addition to increased advertising in newspapers on all islands and on statewide radio, our neighbor island headmasters initiated extensive community recruitment. On Maui, KS administration distributed recruitment flyers to all public schools in the districts served, held informational meetings for prospective students and parents and spoke to community organizations.

12. Does the Maui decision mean the "floodgates are open" for non-Hawaiian applicants to take up the spaces normally filled by Hawaiian applicants?
No. We expect the opposite to occur. As a result of the open and widespread discussion of this matter, we would hope that even more Hawaiians would apply for admission to Kamehameha Schools programs. Kamehameha's policy of giving preference to Hawaiians has not changed.
General Questions about KS Admissions

13. Why does KS give preference to Hawaiians?
KS believes its preference for Hawaiian students addresses the continuing lack of educational and economic opportunity for Hawaiians.

14. Does KS believe that its admissions policy is constitutionally permissible?
Yes.

15. Does KS consider its policy to be racially discriminatory?
No.

16. How does KS determine whether an applicant meets its admissions criteria?
For K-12, KS considers a student's grades at his or her current school, scores on standardized tests, teacher references, as well as essays and interviews for middle and high school applicants. KS teacher evaluation committees review applicants to determine if applicants demonstrate a potential for success in KS’ academic programs.

17. Does KS verify Hawaiian ethnicity before they enroll students?
Yes. Once students receive offers of admission, verification of Hawaiian ancestry is a condition of enrollment

18. Do you anticipate challenges to Kamehameha’s admissions policy to continue, and if so, what are your plans to address that?
We anticipate that challenges to all programs and benefits that give preference to Hawaiians will continue. In this regard, KS' CEO and Trustees will vigorously defend against all challenges to continue to honor Ke Ali'i Pauahi's desire and intent to benefit the Hawaiian community.