Applying to a Hawaiʻi Private School for Kindergarten: Timing, Steps and What Your Child Does

Written by: Academia Tutor School Editorial Team / Supervised by: Yamahi

Kindergarten is the main entry point at many Hawaiʻi private schools, and the process starts much earlier than most families expect. This page walks through it in order: who can apply, when, what your child does on assessment day, and what parents need to prepare. All dates are for the 2027–28 school year and were checked on each school’s official website on October 24, 2026.

Step 1: Is your child in the right birth-date window?

Each school sets its own kindergarten window, so start here. A child can be eligible at one school and a year early or late at another.

Punahou splits its kindergarten deadline by birth date: Sept. 1 for children born June 1 – Sept. 30, 2021, and Oct. 1 for children born Oct. 1, 2021 – July 31, 2022. For a closer look at age rules, including the public-school cutoff, see our column on kindergarten age in Hawaiʻi.

Step 2: The admission year, month by month

The usual order is the same everywhere: apply online, send documents in the fall and winter, the child attends an assessment between November and February, and decisions arrive in spring. Only the dates differ.

Step 3: What does your child actually do?

Kindergarten applicants do not take the SSAT that older applicants take. Instead, teachers watch children work, play and talk, alone or in a small group, and some schools add a short test. Here is how each school describes it:

Step 4: What parents prepare

• The online application and fee. Punahou also asks for a Parent Questionnaire and an official birth certificate or passport. Mid-Pacific’s fee is $125; St. Clement’s is $60; Hanahauʻoli’s is $150 through Nov. 15 and $200 after.
• A teacher reference. Your child’s current preschool teacher fills in the school’s form and sends it directly. Punahou’s form opens Oct. 15 and is due Dec. 31; Mid-Pacific’s is due Jan. 15, 2027; ʻIolani’s Jan. 31, 2027. Teachers receive many requests in the fall, so ask early.
• A preschool report. Punahou asks for the first progress report, report card or conference notes of the year by Nov. 1. If your child does not attend school, tell the admission office.
• Parent interviews at some schools — for example, a virtual parent interview at St. Andrew’s and an interview with the head of school at Hongwanji Mission School.
• Financial aid, if you need it, is a separate application with its own deadline — sometimes earlier than the admission deadline. See our column on financial aid at Hawaiʻi private schools.

Step 5: Decisions and enrollment

ʻIolani sends decisions in mid-March 2027 and asks kindergarten families to reply by April 22. Mid-Pacific’s kindergarten decisions come in March, and Hanahauʻoli’s decision letters in early April. St. Clement’s notifies families in spring: children who appear developmentally ready enter a random drawing, and the rest join a wait pool. Accepting a place usually means a deposit — Hanahauʻoli lists a non-refundable $1,000 enrollment deposit, and St. Clement’s a $1,000 acceptance deposit.

For families applying from outside Hawaiʻi

• Some schools only take local kindergarten applicants. Kamehameha Schools does not accept out-of-state applications to any elementary grade.
• Some offer virtual options. Mid-Pacific lets off-island families do the kindergarten session virtually. Punahou’s pages give no special arrangement — ask admissions@punahou.edu.
• Visas. Under federal rules, a student on an F-1 visa may not attend a public school in kindergarten through Grade 8; a private school must be certified by SEVP to enroll F-1 students. At ʻIolani, an international student in the day program must live with at least one parent full time.
• Time zones. All deadlines are Hawaii time.

If you missed this year’s deadline

• Still open now: St. Clement’s (Oct. 31), Mid-Pacific (Nov. 2), Hanahauʻoli JK (Nov. 30), Le Jardin (Dec. 15), St. Andrew’s (Jan. 15, 2027) and Sacred Hearts (rolling, priority Feb. 28, 2027). The Montessori Laboratory School and Hongwanji Mission School take applications year-round, space permitting.
• Planning for 2028–29: Punahou, ʻIolani and Mid-Pacific open applications on August 1, 2027. Punahou’s 2028–29 kindergarten window is June 1, 2022 – July 31, 2023, and ʻIolani’s is June 1, 2022 – Aug. 31, 2023.

How Academia Tutor School can help

Our Private School Entrance Exam Prep program helps young children practice the parts of admission that are hard to rehearse at home: listening to an adult’s directions, working in a small group, answering questions in full sentences, and the vocabulary and reasoning tasks used in kindergarten assessments. Lessons run Monday to Friday after school, private or in groups of up to five. In 2026, our students were admitted to 23 schools.

No tutoring program can promise admission, and we do not. Our goal is for your child to walk into the assessment calm and ready to show who they are.

Related

• Hawaiʻi School Guide — profiles of Punahou, ʻIolani, Mid-Pacific, Kamehameha Kapālama, Hanahauʻoli, Sacred Hearts, St. Clement’s, Le Jardin, St. Andrew’s and Hongwanji Mission School
• Hawaii private school application deadlines for 2027–28

Sources

• Punahou School, “Kindergarten – Grade 3” (punahou.edu/admissions/applying-to-punahou/kindergarten-grade-3) and “Tuition and Financial Aid”
• ʻIolani School, “Day Admission” and 2027–28 kindergarten checklist (iolani.org/admission/day)
• Mid-Pacific Institute, “Apply to Mid-Pacific” and 2027–28 kindergarten checklist (midpac.edu/admissions)
• Kamehameha Schools, “Apply to Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha Kapālama” (ksbe.edu)
• Hanahauʻoli School, “Application Timeline,” “Admissions FAQs,” “Tuition and Fees” (hanahauoli.org)
• Sacred Hearts Academy, “Admissions,” “Important Dates” (sacredhearts.org)
• St. Clement’s School, “Admissions,” “Apply,” 2026–27 Family Handbook (stclem.com)
• Le Jardin Academy, “Apply Now” (lejardinacademy.org); St. Andrew’s Schools, “Applying to K–12” (standrewsschools.org); Hongwanji Mission School, “Admissions” (hongwanjimissionschool.com); Chaminade University, Montessori Laboratory School “Admissions”
• Study in the States (U.S. Department of Homeland Security), “Kindergarten to Grade 12 Students” (studyinthestates.dhs.gov)

Information as of October 24, 2026. Dates and requirements change every year — always confirm with each school’s admission office. Academia Tutor School is not affiliated with the schools mentioned.