Editor’s note: On Dec. 3, the Kaua‘i Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary. Museum leaders have chosen 50 stories from exhibits, collections and the archives of the museum to share with the public. One story will run daily through Dec. 3.
Editor’s note: On Dec. 3, the Kaua‘i Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary. Museum leaders have chosen 50 stories from exhibits, collections and the archives of the museum to share with the public. One story will run daily through Dec. 3.
LIHU‘E — Hawai‘i was one of the first countries where public education was provided to all children, but only to a certain age.
During the later part of the 1800s reading and arithmetic were important skills to have, elevating those with them from manual labor.
During this time the Hawaiian population was one of the most literate in the world and numerous newspapers in Hawaiian and English thrived.
With the acceleration of industrialization and commerce in Hawai‘i and additional funding available for schools, the clamor for higher education for students was called for by parents, many of whom were immigrants.
Many of these immigrants remained in Hawai‘i due to its free public education for their children.
As early as the age of 11, children could enter the workforce, so being able to attend school until eighth grade was a precious gift from parents to their children.
On April 30, 1913, the governor of the territory of Hawai‘i signed into law Act 160 to establish Kaua‘i High School.
It was the fifth high school in the territory of Hawai‘i and the first on Kaua‘i.
The old courthouse in Governor Kanoa’s residence, “Ke Kuhiau,” on the bluff above Nawiliwili, was chosen, and in 1914 the new facility opened to students just a month after the outbreak of World War I.
There were seven in attendance that year.
Only one remained to graduate.
The next year seven more entered.
For each of the following three years about twice that number came in. Waimea School was the chief contributor of students.
In 1919 twenty-nine entered.
And in 1920 some 64 entered from the schools of the island and eight transferred from private high schools in Honolulu.
High school was a privilege, and students worked very hard to attend.
Students outside of Lihu‘e either commuted or boarded. The school had no transportation or lodgings.
Not many families owned automobiles and public transportation was sporadic.
Often these students worked during the summers and after school to further their education.
It was not until the 1930s when a junior high, then high school, was established in Waimea. Kapa‘a wouldn’t see its own high school until the mid 1940s.