Hawaii Preschools See Declines In Enrollment And Available Seats - Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii Preschools See Declines In Enrollment And Available Seats Private pre-kindergarten programs have lost $7 million in tuition as fewer families send children to school, according to the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools. Reading time: 5 minutes. Buried amid the national conversation around safely reopening K-12 classrooms during the pandemic are the impacts of loss of in-person instruction for the littlest learners: 3- and 4-year-olds attending preschool programs, experts say. Increased restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus and parental fears have led to diminished capacity for both public and private preschool programs in Hawaii. In some cases, small private child care providers have had to close because they could no longer afford to meet their bottom line, according to new data.