KANE'OHE — Kamehameha Schools aims to open a $1.2 million preschool this month in the back parking lot of the Windward Mall.

The 72 seats for 3- and 4-year-olds are full this year, and anyone interested in enrolling their child for next year must sign up beginning this month.

The Kamehameha Pre-schools Kane'ohe site, serving children from Kane'ohe to Kahuku, is temporary, but the school is looking for a permanent home on the Windward side, said Kekoa Paulsen, estate spokesman. The temporary arrangement is an effort to make up for lost preschool classes in Hau'ula and La'ie.

Like the main campus in Honolulu, the preschool gives preference to children of Hawaiian ancestry, and if any spaces are open, other applicants will be enrolled, Paulsen said. No testing is required and children are selected by lottery, with an even number of boys and girls being enrolled.

Kamehameha Schools had operated preschools at Hau'ula and La'ie elementary schools for about a decade but decided to close those sites to open the spaces for public school operations and to protect the Kamehameha Schools admission policy, he said.

The decision was made after extensive discussion, Paulsen said.

"They're always pressed for facilities, and as part of our defense of our admission policy, we want to be clear of any public facilities so there's no question as to whether we can offer preference in admission," he said.

While operating on the state Department of Education sites, the Kamehameha Schools preschool did not adhere to its Hawaiians-first policy, Paulsen said, but the move had nothing to do with controlling who attended the preschools.

Kamehameha wants to work with the DOE and public schools to have Kamehameha on their campuses, he said.

"We just can't be so closely aligned that it appears we're fulfilling the function of a public provider," Paulsen said. "When you look at the laws that govern these things, we want to make sure we're just as clear as possible in both fact and perception."

On Aug. 2 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the school's century-old policy of giving admissions preference to students of Hawaiian ancestry. The school was established under the 1883 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, which created a trust now worth $6.2 billion that funds the school's campuses on O'ahu, Maui and the Big Island, educating 5,000 students each year in K-12 without federal funding.

The school has asked the 9th Circuit to reconsider its decision.

Raquel Pires, 24, said she felt fortunate that her son Zanen will attend the 4-year-old class at the Kane'ohe preschool because she recognizes the value of preschool, and Kamehameha has a good reputation.

"I think (Kamehameha) has a really good program," she said. "They showed us what is going to happen in school, and from what I see for far, I think it's going to be a good experience for him."

Pires said she was looking at another preschool that charges $500 a month compared with Kamehameha's $1,268 tuition for the whole year, but it had a waiting list.

Kamehameha Schools, which owns the Windward Mall, is also opening a new site on Keanu Street in Wai'alae, and both campuses, which are waiting final state approval, are expected to be open this month, said Charlene Hoe, interim dean of preschools at Kamehameha Schools. The new campuses are part of a 2001 decision to expand and serve 10,000 preschoolers by 2006.

"In both of these communities, Windward and Honolulu, we have a significant wait-list population," Hoe said, adding that there are nearly 1,000 on the wait list statewide, including 64 in Kane'ohe. "So we're trying to create additional spaces, but as you probably know, statewide ... there's not enough spaces for all children."

On average in the Islands, there is one preschool seat for every two children, Hoe said, adding that more and more educators and researchers are realizing that developing children's skills at an early age leads to lifelong learning abilities.

Some 50 percent to 80 percent of the brain synapses, connections between cells that lead to learning and development, are formed before a child reaches 5 years old, she said. Brain growth before that age influences the development of a child's cognitive, social, emotional, physical and individual abilities, Hoe said.

"What it doesn't mean is therefore you should be studying ABCs," she said. "What that does mean is you need to have a rich multisensory learning environment that helps supports the child's development."

The preschools focus on language development, literary skills and cultural practices, Hoe said, adding that parents can also provide these things to their children.

The program, which has 31 sites throughout the state, educates more that 1,500 students in 82 classrooms, she said. Tuition for the school is $1,268. One school charges more, $1,596, because it serves lunch. Scholarships are available to the students who attend the Kamehameha program or any other private preschool.

Although preschoolers are in the Kamehameha system, their placement doesn't guarantee they will be accepted at any of the campuses for kindergarten because there are only 160 slots for kindergartners, Hoe said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.