When Does a Child Start Kindergarten in Hawaiʻi? Age Rules for Public and Private Schools
Academia123
Academia Tutor School
Japanese and Korean Grades in Hawaiʻi: Which Grade Will My Child Enter?
Academia123
Written by: Academia Tutor School Editorial Team / Supervised by: Yamahi
THE SHORT ANSWER
- Hawaiʻi public schools place a child in kindergarten if they are 5 by July 31, so a grade is children born August 1 through July 31. Japan’s grade runs April 2 through April 1; Korea’s runs January 1 through December 31 of one calendar year. The cutoffs do not line up, so children born April 2–July 31 are one grade higher in Hawaiʻi than in Japan, and children born January–July are one grade higher in Hawaiʻi than in Korea. Everyone else keeps the same grade number.
- Example: Hawaiʻi’s Grade 1 in August 2027 is children born August 1, 2020 – July 31, 2021. In Japan’s 2027 school year that is Grade 1 for August–April 1 births and the last year of kindergarten for April 2–July births. In Korea’s 2027 school year it is Grade 1 for August–December 2020 births and the 5-year-old preschool class for January–July 2021 births. The K–12 chart is below.
- Private schools set their own kindergarten cutoff. Punahou, Mid-Pacific and Le Jardin use July 31; ʻIolani uses August 31; St. Andrew’s uses December 31. For Grade 1 and up, schools decide placement from transcripts, interviews and English testing (Mid-Pacific says so on its site).
- Apply to the grade your child will enter, not the one they are in now. Punahou’s wording is “apply to the next successive grade.” If you apply in fall 2026 from a school with a different calendar, that is one grade above your child’s current grade, or two for the birth months that shift.
Your guide for this article
School Owner / Hironori Yamaguchi
Yamahi
Introduction
School Owner of Academia Language School in Honolulu, founded in 1969. Moved to Hawaiʻi with family in 2022; father of three. Off duty: caddying at the kids’ golf. Supervises the columns on Academia Tutor School.
How we check this article
- ✓Only facts checked on official school and state pages
- ✓School year and date checked are stated
- ✓Independent: not affiliated with any school
“My child is in second grade back home. What grade is that in Hawaiʻi?” is the first question families ask when they plan a move. The school year starts in April in Japan, March in Korea and August in Hawaiʻi, and each system cuts the grade year on a different birth date, so the same “second grade” can land in two different Hawaiʻi grades depending on birth month. This article checks the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) rules, the Japanese and Korean school laws and six Honolulu private schools’ 2027–28 pages (all read on November 1, 2026) and gives you a birth-month chart and a step-by-step way to pick the grade to apply for. Kindergarten age itself is covered in a separate article; this one is about converting grades.
How the three systems differ
Three things matter: when the year starts, which birth dates make up one grade, and how elementary, middle and high school are split.
School year and grade rules: Japan, Korea and Hawaiʻi (checked November 1, 2026)
The second row is the key. Japan’s cutoff is four months before Hawaiʻi’s, so only children born April 2–July 31 move up a grade. Korea’s cutoff is seven months before, so children born January–July move up.
Birth month decides: who is “one grade up” in Hawaiʻi
The bands below show, by birth month, whether a child keeps the same grade number in Hawaiʻi or goes one grade up. Count Japanese and Korean grades straight through: Grade 1 of elementary = 1, first year of middle school = 7, first year of high school = 10.
Birth month and the Hawaiʻi grade, compared with Japan and Korea
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Compared with Japan (April 1 cutoff)
Jan–Mar same
Apr 2 – Jul one up
Aug–Dec same
Compared with Korea (January 1 cutoff)
Jan–Jul one up
Aug–Dec same
Same grade number as at homeOne grade higher in Hawaiʻi
⚠︎ Edge dates: April 1 in Japan, July 31 in Hawaiʻi
In Japan a child legally turns a year older at the end of the day before their birthday, so an April 1 birthday reaches age 6 on March 31 and joins the grade above the April 2 children (MEXT, school enrollment Q&A). That is why April 1 sits on the “same grade” side of the band. In Hawaiʻi the rule is “5 years old by July 31,” so a July 31 birthday enters kindergarten that year and an August 1 birthday waits a year (HIDOE, How to Enroll). Korea’s law reads “the year after the child turns 6,” so the whole calendar year is one grade; the 2023 change in how Korea counts age did not move school entry.
Chart: which Hawaiʻi grade in August 2027?
Using 2027–28 (students’ first day August 2, 2027) as the example, here is each Hawaiʻi grade by birth date, with the grade the same child holds in Japan’s and Korea’s 2027 school years. The chart applies the public-school July 31 cutoff to every grade.
How to read it: a child born October 2020 enters Hawaiʻi Grade 1 in August 2027 and is also in Grade 1 in Japan or Korea that year. A child born May 2021 also enters Hawaiʻi Grade 1 in August 2027, but in Japan or Korea is still in the last year of kindergarten.
⚠︎ The chart extends the kindergarten cutoff to every grade; schools make the final call
HIDOE publishes the July 31 rule for kindergarten only; it does not publish birth-date ranges for Grade 1 and up. Transfer students bring “an unofficial transcript or your student’s latest report card” (Enrollment FAQs) and the school decides the grade. The clearest official hint is in HIDOE’s homeschooling FAQ (February 2026): for Grades 1–8 a returning child is placed “based on their birth date (age)” and “the principal will make the final decision on grade level placement.” So age is the starting point and the school adjusts from records. Among the private schools, only Le Jardin publishes birth-date ranges above kindergarten (PK through Grade 5, same July 31 cutoff).
Apply to the grade your child will enter
Private-school applications are due in the fall and winter before entry (see the 2027–28 deadlines). If your child is still enrolled abroad when you apply, use these steps.
How to pick the grade to apply for (entering August 2027 from a school with a different calendar)
▶
1Count from the birth date
Use the chart to find the Hawaiʻi grade for August 2027. Japan-born April 2–July 31 and Korea-born January–July: one number higher than the home grade
▶
2Check the school’s cutoff
Kindergarten cutoffs differ by school (table below). From Grade 1 up, write the Hawaiʻi grade number. Punahou’s example: a current Grade 8 student applies for Grade 9
▶
3Write the current grade as it is at home
In the “current grade” field, put the grade your child holds at the time of application in the home system. The school sees the calendar from the transcript’s dates
4Let the school confirm
Schools decide from transcripts, teacher evaluations, interviews and English testing. If the home grade and the chart disagree, email the admission office before you submit
Private-school kindergarten cutoffs differ
Public schools use July 31. Each private school sets its own birth-date range for kindergarten. These are the 2027–28 values from the schools’ pages.
At a school with a December 31 cutoff such as St. Andrew’s, an August–December birthday can be two grades above the Japanese grade. School-by-school age rules are in the kindergarten age article.
Finishing in February or March, starting in August: the gap
Korea’s school year ends at the end of February and Japan’s on March 31; Hawaiʻi’s new year begins in early August. How the family spends those months changes what goes in the “current grade” box.
From the end of the home school year to the first day in Hawaiʻi (2027)
KoreaJapanHawaiʻi (public)
Year startsYear ends / cutoff date
Year startsYear ends / cutoff date
Feb
End of Feb: Korean school year ends
Mar
Mar 1: new school year in KoreaMar 31: Japanese school year ends
Apr
Apr 1: new school year in Japan
Jul
Jul 31: Hawaiʻi public-school age cutoff (5 by this date for kindergarten)
Aug
Aug 2: students’ first day, Hawaiʻi public schools 2027–28 (private schools vary)
🎒
Stay enrolled at home until summer
Most families let the child move up a grade at home in March or April, attend until the summer break, then fly. The “current grade” on the application is the grade at the time you apply; send the transcript for that year and, if asked, for the spring term
📄
Have transcripts translated
Report cards and enrollment certificates in Japanese or Korean are often requested in English. St. Andrew’s asks for a certified English translation. Request them before the home school year ends so they are ready by August
🔁
Returning home later
Japan and Korea place children by age, so a child who was “one grade up” in Hawaiʻi goes back to the birth-month grade at home. Hawaiʻi did not skip them a year; the cutoff is simply different
Three situations we see often with families arriving from another calendar. These are practical notes from Tutor’s consultations, not school rules.
Preschool classes: which one is which?
Before kindergarten, Japan and Korea name classes by age (3-, 4- and 5-year-old classes). Hawaiʻi preschools also go by age, counted on July 31 of the school year at most schools.
🧸
3-year-old class
Hawaiʻi: the 3-year-old preschool year. On the July 31 cutoff, 2027–28 is children born August 1, 2023 – July 31, 2024, four months off Japan’s class and seven months off Korea’s
🎨
4-year-old class
Hawaiʻi: the 4-year-old preschool year. At some private schools this is junior kindergarten (JK); Hanahauʻoli and Le Jardin make JK their main entry point
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5-year-old class
Hawaiʻi: kindergarten, inside elementary school and compulsory. Public school is by home address; for private-school kindergarten see how admissions work
Japan: kindergarten from age 3 (School Education Act art. 26). Korea: kindergarten from age 3 (Early Childhood Education Act art. 2). Hawaiʻi: Mid-Pacific preschool is ‘3 or 4 years old by July 31, 2027’; St. Andrew’s preschool takes children ‘at least two years old as of June 1, 2027’; the state’s public pre-K takes 3- and 4-year-olds by July 31. Checked November 1, 2026.
What Academia Tutor School can do
The conversion is arithmetic, but “which grade do I write on the form” and “is my April-born child ready for the higher grade” depend on each school’s judgment and your child’s English. Our private school transfer plan works out the application grade for each school from the birth date and home grade, confirms it with the admission office and handles the paperwork. English preparation before entry is in the private school admissions prep program, available online from abroad.
Related pages
- Kindergarten age in Hawaiʻi: public and private rules · Entering a private school at a non-entry grade or mid-year · How Hawaiʻi public schools work · Moving to Hawaiʻi for your child’s education
- Hawaiʻi School Guide: Punahou · ʻIolani · Mid-Pacific · St. Andrew’s · Le Jardin
Sources and date checked
- Hawaiʻi State Department of Education: How to Enroll; Enrollment FAQs; Student Attendance; 2026–27 Official School Calendar (amended March 30, 2026); 2027–28 Official School Calendar; Strive HI State Report 2025; Homeschooling FAQ (revised February 2026) (hawaiipublicschools.org). Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes §302A-411 and §302A-1132 (Chapter 302A PDF, data.capitol.hawaii.gov)
- Japan: School Education Act arts. 17, 26, 32, 47, 56; Enforcement Regulations of the School Education Act art. 59; Act on Calculation of Age (e-Gov); MEXT, “Grade placement of children born on April 1” (school enrollment Q&A). Korea: Elementary and Secondary Education Act arts. 13, 24, 39, 42, 46; Early Childhood Education Act art. 2 (law.go.kr); Ministry of Government Legislation FAQ on the 2023 age-counting change (korea.kr)
- Punahou School: Kindergarten – Grade 3; Grades 4–5; Grades 6–8; Grades 9–12 (punahou.edu/admissions). ʻIolani School: Day Admission (iolani.org). Mid-Pacific Institute: Apply to Mid-Pacific; International Program; Preschool (midpac.edu). St. Andrew’s Schools: Applying to K–12; Applying to Preschool (standrewsschools.org). Le Jardin Academy: Admissions (Age Requirements); Homestay Program (lejardinacademy.org). Hanahauʻoli School: Application timeline; Admissions FAQs (hanahauoli.org)
Information as of November 1, 2026. The grade conversion applies the public-school kindergarten cutoff (July 31) to the higher grades; among the schools above only Le Jardin publishes birth-date ranges above kindergarten. Each school makes the final placement from transcripts and interviews, so confirm with the school’s official site and admission office. Academia Tutor School is not affiliated with any of these schools.
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