The somewhat painful expansion of Hawaii’s public preschools has dominated pre-K leadership conversations and attracted media and public attention in our state.
Is there a better way to understand the competition for faculty, students, and resources?
In his book “A Century of Philanthropy: A History of the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation,” Al Castle outlines key differences in how Hawaii rolled out public preschools from 1943 to around 1959. The similarities between the introduction of public kindergartens and the development of respected private kindergartens may offer lessons for our early education leaders. We must understand today’s competition between public and private preschools in historical context, which helps explain today’s headlines.
The history of private and public kindergartens and today’s preschool world matters to the Castle Foundation, as the Castle trustees and family were major advocates for the Territorial legislature to adopt universal access for five-year-old children. Community pressure for better access to sought-after kindergartens helped drive the Foundation’s advocacy. That advocacy’s success, and the success of most of Hawaii’s population, was a critical achievement for the Foundation. The dream of a competitive yet complementary universal access pre-K system remains substantial and could transform pre-K through grade 12 education.
Why could Hawaii’s Department of Education roll out a universal preschool program after 1943 without harm, and why is Hawaii’s State Government’s Keiki Ready project causing anxiety and private preschool closures?
Collaborative Versus Competitive Implementation
From 1943 to Statehood in 1959, Hawaii implemented a universal public kindergarten system collaboratively and gradually, drawing on private kindergarten expertise. Ready Keiki’s modern public-school initiative has moved quickly, competed aggressively, and been free to all families, resulting in about 40 private preschool closures statewide. In short, the difference was structural: 1950s integrated schools and private providers; Ready Keiki tends to displace them, especially preschools with fragile tuition reserves, limited access to philanthropic capital, and no national accreditation.
Governance Model
The Territory contracted with the Free Kindergarten and Children’s Aid Association, partly founded by Mary Tenney Castle, to operate public kindergartens. The DOE treated private kindergartens as essential partners, not competitors, for students and teachers. In essence, public territorial kindergartens built on the private system, which had decades of experience in establishing and implementing successful kindergarten pedagogy. The Executive Office of Early Learning, which implements public preschools, chose not to contract with private preschools to manage or advise the public sector. The EOEL/DOE preschools are positioned as a competitive free alternative to tuition-based private preschools. With higher, unionized salaries under the Ready Keiki model, private-sector schools had less ability to compete for those resources. The comparison was between steady, private-sector-influenced, or even managed stability and the partial displacement of private providers.
Moreover, funding structures differed in the 1940s and 1950s. The government initially created only twelve public kindergartens and added additional schools very gradually. Price competition did not exist because limited public funding was supplemented by private philanthropy, a major revenue source for FKCAA and other private kindergartens. Today, 2,400 public preschools serve students across 117 classrooms, with 25 more public preschools coming online in AY 2026-2027. In 2027, average private provider tuition typically ranges from $10,000 to $18,000 per year.
Differing demographic circumstances
In the 1950s, Hawaii saw rapid growth in the number of kindergarten-age children. To meet the need, both public and private providers were required. However, Ready Keiki expansion is occurring amid population decline, smaller families, and families leaving for the mainland US for better job opportunities. For example, in 2026, Hawaii has 10 to 15% fewer 3- and 4-year-olds than in 2020. As a result, public providers are expanding amid demographic decline, while private providers compete for a smaller pool of 3- and 4-year-olds and face difficult-to-overcome financial pressures. The same dynamics play out in the shortage of qualified preschool teachers, as higher public-sector salaries and benefits reduce the teaching force available to private providers.
Regulatory Differences
Another key difference is the shift from the post-1940s rollout of public kindergartens to today’s Ready Keiki. One must remember that the 1950s were an era of a smaller Territorial government, lower taxes, and lighter kindergarten regulation. Private-sector kindergarten costs were low, and compliance costs were minimal. Ready Keiki public preschools, being implemented rapidly in 2026-2027, reflect an era of much larger government and more regulation in the private preschool world. Department of Human Services licensing, required research and reporting, student-to-teacher ratios, credentialing, the requirement for 16 hours a month of professional development for teachers, and high facility standards impose very high fixed costs on private preschools.
These schools are heavily dependent on tuition revenue, and losing even half a dozen students can threaten their sustainability. Regulatory and compliance requirements clearly magnify enrollment losses. With few regulations in the post-World War Two years, private schools could ride out enrollment variance and sustain basic instruction and facilities. Teacher professional development was not required or burdensome, although the best kindergartens tended to support teacher development to boost school outcomes.
Differing Market Dynamics
In the 1950s, public preschools served only 5-year-olds. Private kindergartens served 3-4-year-olds primarily. Unlike today, when both sectors serve the same ages, competition for teachers, students, and resources is intense. Changing demographics, which have meant fewer students in the crucial 3-4 age group, have made competition even more intense.
Basic Conclusion
Post-War universal kindergarten succeeded because it integrated providers. The key private funder for kindergartens in this era was the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation. That family foundation continued its historical support for private kindergartens and assisted public preschools by sponsoring teacher education at the University of Hawaii.
UH’s Castle Hall, donated by the Castle Family before 1941, housed much of the instruction for aspiring public kindergarten teachers. As various publications report, the Castle family and Foundation envisioned kindergartens as part of a broader vision of diversity, pluralism, and more equitable opportunities for socioeconomic and educational advancement. Thousands of immigrants to Hawaii in the 19th and 20th centuries also sought assimilation through English-language immersion and education in American values for their children. Assimilation remains controversial today, but in the era we discussed, its presence in all kindergartens was rarely challenged.
As Hawaii prepares for a strong, expanded public preschool system, competition will continue. Nonetheless, the Castle Foundation remains confident in an academically strong, complementary public and private preschool system. With the legislative mandate to serve all 3- to 4-year-olds by 2032, a mixed public-private system will need substantial public and private investment more than ever.