Keoneula Elementary School

91-970 Kaileolea Dr

School District

Hawaii Department Of Education
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

School Map for Hawaii Department Of Education

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 27, 2019

We LOVE Keoneula! Our children have thrived at this school. It has a wonderful community feel and our children have been very happy here. It should be noted that negative reviews about the principal are all from several years ago when a different principal was here. Mr. Taga is the current principal and does a wonderful job.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2018

Excellent, everyone has been helpful and professional.
Submitted by parent on December 07, 2015

The principal isn't in tune with whats going on in the school. She always has to look to vice principals, and other staff for answers. Our previous vice principal was amazing! Mr. Taga is also great but our other new vice principal isn't dependable so if you really need something taken care of ASAP always contact Mr. Taga. My child is in the upper grades and they have been reviewing the same material. My child hasn't learned anything new! Unlike other schools in the area you aren't allowed to eat lunch with your child AND you aren't allowed in the cafeteria while they eat breakfast. My child is afraid of the lunch ladies and when she found hair in her lunch three weeks ago she was to afraid to ask for a new one.
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2015

I am very disappointed with this school s management. My son s teacher told him he could bring in a cake on his birthday and that they would have it during the morning session. When I signed in at the office that morning, cake in hand, I told the principal the name of the teacher I was bringing it to. She asked me who that teacher was. I was taken aback that she did not know the 6th grade teacher s name. The principal was rude and gave me a hard time, telling me to bring it back in the afternoon even though I told her I had to go to work. Later that day she called the classroom and yelled at my son over the phone about it and reprimanded him for storing the cake in the teacher s lounge. Fortunately, they did have a small celebration in the afternoon but the next day the principal called my son into her office and AGAIN YELLED at him about the cake incident. When he returned to his classroom in tears, his teacher didn t say a word. She let my son be unreasonably and wrongly punished. She neither stood up to the principal nor did she tell my son she was sorry about what happened. Also, the principal failed to inform me that she was calling my son into the office about it.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2014

Keoneula is a newer school in Ewa Beach. It has a beautiful campus, and the staff has been wonderful. There is an after school program run by an excellent director. My experience is with early elementary and our teachers have been great! My son placed high on his kindergarten assessment, so he received extra work throughout the year to challenge him. My daughter has selective mutism, a rare anxiety problem, and the school has worked with me. It was difficult at first because they did not know how to deal with it, but after several meetings and letters from her psychologist, we've developed a 504 Plan that works. (Although it took insistence on my end.) The staff has been accommodating in regards to my daughter's condition--allowing me to assist her with grabbing breakfast in the cafeteria. I also like that they have practice drills for school shootings-teaching the kids what to do and not to do. The negatives are that there are 2 counselors assigned to alt. grades. (i.e. Counselor 1: K, 2, 4, 6 Counselor 2: 1, 3, 5). I wish my daughter could have the same counselor for the entirety of elementary school. Also, parents aren't allowed in the cafeteria during breakfast.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2014

It is a good school in general. I feel I have to be on top of things or my kids won't get to learn as much as they need to. This school has some awesome teachers and a couple of bad ones too. No PTA in this school. The Vice- Principal is really good.
Submitted by teacher on November 22, 2013

It's really sad that the beauty of this school on the outside does not match the beauty on the inside. The teachers are often scared of the P and therefore make choices that are not the best for the students. it is truly a scary place to work. Even the union is scared of this P and will not defend teachers against anything. It was hopeful that the VP would be an asset to the school instead she has become a puppet of the P. The school has spent an EXCESSIVE amount of $ on IB but will never be an IB school because you have to keep staff in order to be IB accredited and over 15 teachers have left in the last year and a half. Find another place to take your children where the environment is not so negative. It's tragic and hopefully with the new surveys teachers, parents, and students can do on administration they will get a new staff in that front office!
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2013

The school is not concerned with special needs that children have and is more interested in teaching the HSA test material than teaching the children what they need to know to progress in life. The safety of the children against bullying is not good either. Teachers and administration turn a blind eye to the issues. Parents and kids run the school and make it a place that hostile. Had to pull our children out of school because of the problems there. They need a new administration staff that is able to handle the issues of harassment and bullying appropriately and not micromanage the teachers to the point of hurting the education of the children. Horrible school!
Submitted by parent on August 10, 2012

3rd grade great, 4th grade a total loss, and now 5th well... Last year we had a teacher for two months before she took th rest of the year off. Then 5 or 6 subs and no learning, lots of meetings with vice principal and subs and still very little learning. Very bright child now getting bad grades and HSA scores dropped each time. Begged VP to switch class for my child. No. Total loss of a year!!!!! Now we hoped we would get a great teacher after all that. New teacher doesnt speak English properly and gets confused when talking. Writing so sloppy cant read, disorganized, told me he forgot to collect hwk, poor time management and its only 2 week of school. Oh he loves science but doesnt do experiemts cause they cost him $ and time. I was not expecting a miracle but come on. We are now pulling our child and sending him to a private school. If you choose this school be aware! Good Luck and hope you get one of the few dedicated teachers that they do have cause if not your stuck! The VP and P dont care about what you feel is best for your child. Oh btw there is no PTA to work with.
Submitted by parent on April 05, 2012

Just awful!!!! Total lack of involment from both staff & parents. Very little help for children with special needs. Very little communication from school to parents. There is so much staff up there, that i cant figure out what the do??? Their seems to be a revoling door of faculty as well. in three years my child had 5 teachers. Nice campus, but tall grass. The streets around the facility have no school zones, improper street signal lights, & no crossing guards. No parking for parents to pick up their children. I never see the principal ever. My child thinks the vice principal is who is in charge. Teachers are afraid to answer questions due to possible advers affects to there jobs. Its really sad. I hope changes will be made soon.
Submitted by parent on September 15, 2011

The good: Clean facilities. Great looking Campus. Hard working vice principal. The Bad: Head Principal. I have seen her one timeout of her office in three years. She was rude when I saw her & greeted her with a hello. She chose to say nothing. The commmunication between school & parents could use a lot of work. The administration at this school seems to push away parent involment at this school. My child had a revolving door of two teachers when in 1st grade. One was a student at U of H that claimed she was a teacher when she was in fact a student teacher. Dont be fooled by the nice campus. This school needs work on working with the community & parents.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2011

Let me begin with the good things about this school: The campus is beautiful and well maintained (I always see the maintenance staff working hard, they are awesome) with air conditioning in each classroom. There are some EXCELLENT teachers at this school. All that being said here is why this school fails miserably: For a lack of a better example the principal is a piece of you know what. There have been teachers with 10+ years of experience that have left because she creates a negative and micro managed environment such as prohibiting teachers from wearing jeans pants. Why? Who knows. Teacher turn over is a big contributor to failing standards. If one of your children have a problem don't expect her to help you in a timely manner or with respect. Once in a while you will see her waiving on morning drop off traffic to show face when she should be concerning her self with more important matters. When you inherit a brand new school anyone should expect much more. There are lots of principals that turn old schools into a thriving one. Hopefully DOE offers early retirement and someone younger with a refreshing outlook can bring this school up to the level it should be at!!
Submitted by parent on August 02, 2011

The leadership at this school is unconcerned,unprofessional, and unknowledgeable. You will not see the principal walking around the campus. There is little parent involvement because although it is tolerated, it is not welcomed. I volunteered here over 30 hours last year, even taking work home with me. I tried. My kids went here for 3 years, each year I tried to encourage changes to help the kids- asking for extracurriculars, volunteering to lead a science club,setting up a parent FB, asking for PTA, getting other parents involved. Changes are hard won and not lasting. The education is passable if you only want reading and math. There is only introduction to other areas of study. The teachers and counselors are very good, we were very lucky- they are just limited by bad administration. The IB program is promised- few of the requirements for accreditation are in place yet- there is a long road to go on that. I pulled my kids after their safety became a question.
Submitted by parent on July 26, 2011

We live in a nice community and were excited about the facilities of our "new" school... however after enrolling our daughter in kindergarten were disappointed to find out that 4 & 5 year olds were spending their entire day "reading" and "writing" at their desks, no time to explore, create or build on social skills. They have 15 minutes outdoor time for the whole day, with no playground equipment and if you are given a time-out you must stand on a large "T" painted on the sidewalk in front of your classmates as if you're wearing a dunce cap. Teacher and administration would not accept my offer to volunteer and would not allow me to observe or volunteer in my daughters classroom. My husband and I did not feel any support from the school, the administration would only back up their teachers without even hearing the parent/community point of view. After two months we finally withdrew our daughter.
Submitted by parent on March 12, 2011

I feel like the school is so focused on test scores they are overlooking the overall rounded education of the kids. I wish that there was more emphasis on teaching technology, art, band, etc. I feel that a 15 minute recess, with nothing to play on or with, unsatisfying. My son has had great teachers, and for that reason I struggled as to whether I should give it 3 stars or 2. The principle is condescending and inconsiderate about informing parents about important issues. For instance I was notified by letter, not by conference or at least a phone call, the day before my child was to be moved to a new classroom due to classroom overcrowding. When I complained, the principle informed me that the date on the letter was for 2 days before, even though it was distributed to me the day before. I found her rude and seemingly oblivious to why I was angry. I also find that her choice of "The Color of Home" for the "book of the month" very disturbingly inappropriate for my child. I am happy with the VP, she does seem to come across as caring about communicating with the parents. The facilities are clean, well-maintained,and AC. There is a lot of potential for this school to improve.
Submitted by parent on February 16, 2011

My son has been enrolled at this school since 1st grade and is now in the 4th grade. He used to love school. He now hates school and dreads going every day. He is not bullied or teased. He is terribly BORED! This school started out with great potential and seems to be plodding along; willing to accept mediocrity! There is no foreign language program, no formal PE program, no music program, no art program and only a dirt field for the kids to run around on their 15 minute recess. Parents have tried desperately to get involved and only recently have we been listened to after 4 years of complaining. The one thing I can applaud this school for is the great counselors and some truly talented teachers. They are the reason that I gave this school two stars rather than one. I know that school budgets are tight but that is precisely why you must make use of free parent volunteers! We are free and we are here to make a difference in our schools. Please put us to work!
Submitted by teacher on November 09, 2010

I have been an educator for 16 years. As a substitute teacher, I was called to cover for a K-3 teacher. My criticism is for their rather "green" Vice Principal. As us substitutes often work in hot and adverse conditions, it is not uncommon to see teachers wearing shorts to school. I received an unsatisfactory performance call from the Vice Principal today. Her complaint was that I my clothes were not "dress up" enough clothing for her school. Apparently, the leadership at Keoneula Elementary feels it is necessary to be critical of an employee over something that is personal and subjective. How does an administrator have enough time to make phone calls to substitutes about dress code issues? It is because they are not busy enough with the major overall essenial duties and choose to micro-manage/bully effective and essential employees that keep your children safe, engaged, and preserve school routines.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2010

I've taught at mainland and I've seen great schools and unfortunately this is not one of them yet. Will it be?...it has potential; however, with the current principal I doubt it unless she learns to incorporate a vital part of the community to get involved...namely, the parents. Parent involvement is non-existent because the principal refuses to relinquish any control. I agree with others that great schools begin with great leadership and I've witness some pretty good teachers here but again, their hands are somewhat tied by the principal. Keeping things in perspective though, this is Hawaii, so we all know not to expect too much when they are consistently ranking in the bottom on all levels and then throw in the furloughs which only makes the situation worst. Overall, I really like the teachers we have had these past 2 years and my kids feel very happy and safe