Wai'anae residents should feel hopeful about prospects for Kamaile Elementary School, should its petition to convert to a charter school be approved by state officials.

Kamaile confronts challenges that are specific to its community, where there is a drastic increase in the homeless population. This means the school will need additional money and staff to handle additional work, such as guiding students and their parents through the learning obstacles that difficult circumstances present.

As a charter school, Kamaile could receive an added boon: nearly $1 million from the Ho'okako'o Corp., a nonprofit backed by Kamehameha Schools. The state could foster more promising conversions by granting entities such as Kamehameha the power to authorize charters.

But even without that change, charter status will enable smaller class sizes and extra staff, as well as more local control. A tightly knit network of longtime Leeward residents can be tapped for even greater involvement in their children's schooling, with the sense they can help make "their" school a success.

Of course, the charter school movement is not a panacea for what ails our public schools. Even with all the extra support, a turnaround can't happen overnight.

Two other schools that converted under the Ho'okako'o umbrella, Waimea and Kualapu'u, have recorded significant improvement, but still have miles to go before closing the learning gaps highlighted by federal No Child Left Behind standards and tests.

Kamaile also should take care to maintain ties with the conventional schools in the extended Wai'anae family.

This approach might not work in urban schools that are less closely bonded. Some need language support for immigrant pupils; they might do better within the Department of Education structure.

However, other charter schools have noted increased parental involvement, and that is a decided plus.

Many of Kamaile's families truly need a place to call home. They could begin by laying down roots with their children's school.