By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
About as many Hawaii Catholic preschools and elementary and secondary schools increased enrollment as decreased enrollment between 2014 and 2015, according to figures from the Hawaii Catholic Schools office. The overall numbers showed a net loss of 92 students for all 10 preschools and 25 elementary and secondary schools.
Fifteen schools gained students in the count which is taken in September. Sixteen schools lost students. Four schools stayed the same.
The total enrollment for all schools for September 2015, including preschools, was 9,041. This includes the 69 students at Cathedral Catholic Academy, which closed this year.
Gaining the most was the all-boys Saint Louis School which jumped 70 students, from 560 to 630. Part of that increase would be due to the school’s adding grades four and five in 2015. This year Saint Louis adds kindergarten through grade three.
St. Francis School, a kindergarten through grade 12 institution in Manoa, increased by 48, from 453 to 501.
Holy Family Catholic Academy added 54 students, preK through 8, a more than 10 percent increase from 543 to 597.
Sacred Hearts School in Lahaina also gained more than 10 percent in enrollment, going from 193 to 216.
Losing significant numbers of students were St. Michael, Waialua, which declined by 42, from 145 to 103, and St Ann Model School, which dropped 38, from 128 to 90 — about a 30 percent decrease each.
Hawaii’s 10 Catholic preschools and early learning centers all had fluctuations of five or fewer students.
The year 2014 was a good year for Catholic school enrollment in Hawaii. After a steep eight-year slide, the numbers went up a net total increase of 65 students for all preschools, elementary and high schools.
While enrollment slipped back on its familiar downward track, the loss of 92 students in 2015 is modest compared to the average loss of 300 students per year during the previous decade.
