Aikahi Elementary School

281 Ilihau Street

School District

Hawaii Department Of Education
Grade

PK, K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
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 December 15, 2023

I wanted to love Aikahi, and stay at Aikahi, because the community and PTA/parents are amazing. The art teacher and art program are amazing. But the school has fallen so painfully short of providing my child with an adequate education, in fact I believe it has been a negative, damaging experience for my child. There are some exceptional teachers at Aikahi (particularly the enrichment teachers — The K-2 art teacher, Aina teacher, music teacher, PE teacher. And the kindergarten teachers), but there are many teachers that should not be teaching at all. Teachers with a lack of connection and basic empathy to children, that appear to dislike their jobs. Our 1st grade experience was horrible, and began a downward spiral of my child hating school, fearful of making mistakes, and paralyzed to learn. I believe my child was in a toxic environment, deeply influencing his academic and emotional well being. I’ve heard that 3rd grade gets better, but we couldn’t just wait it out and continue to let our child suffer, all the while eroding his love of learning. Definitely do not recommend Aikahi, unless you’re ok rolling the dice and hoping to get a good teacher. Children that seem to do best at Aiakhi are the ones that you could put in any environment and they put their head down, and do the work, even if in a very harsh and challenging environment. They may not love their teacher, or school, but they will enjoy the playground, the enrichment, and the fantastic community of friends.
Submitted by parent on July 27, 2023

Leadership was constantly changing. I made requests that weren’t followed through. My child was showing little to no progress. My child was bullied so bad by another student they were afraid to go to school every day. I would avoid this school.
Submitted by parent on November 27, 2022

Aikahi has many strengths and children who thrive there. However, do not consider Aikahi if you have a child who has special educational needs, and especially if you suspect and are beginning the process. If you have no choice but to work with the Aikahi special education department (Student Services Coordinator), we highly recommend you find an Advocate. When we enrolled at Aikahi, we requested special needs assistance for our child as she is diagnosed with ADHD and struggles with academics. She was denied assistance. We trusted Aikahi's expertise and professionalism, and were hopeful that our child had overcome her academic difficulties. That was not the case, so eventually hired a private tutor. That tutor advised us that our child needs & has the right to special needs services, and helped us understand the complicated process. We moved our child to another school and through its eligibility testing, discovered our child qualifies for special education services not only in one category but multiple. Our suspicions were correct and our child has specific learning disabilities in addition to ADHD. Now I hope our horrible experience helps others. Aikahi failed our child.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2021

The resiliency of the administration, teachers and staff of this school is incredible. They navigated the past year of the pandemic with professionalism, strategic thinking, and positivity.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2021

We are so blessed to be part of the Aikahi Windriders community. It is a warm and welcoming school community. We absolutely love this school. The staff, faculty, curriculum, and "extras" are fantastic.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2021

We absolutely love Aikahi! Our daughter attended Aikahi for five years and each year was blessed with a dedicated teacher who took personal interest in advancing our keiki!As a military family, we chose the neighborhood we wanted to live in on island based on this school! Amazing administration, support staff and educators! Great parent community and overall education experience!It also says a lot when the Principal, Mr Keoki Fraser, is outside each morning greeting the kids as they arrive on campus! He knows the kids name and is an outstanding role model!Thank you Aikahi Elementary for all of the love and Aloha!!!
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2021

We love Aikahi. My son who is usually very shy came out of his shell attending Aikahi. He feels supported, and confident while at school. The principle and teachers are kind and genuinely seem to love the kids. The back to school plan through COVID was a success and was one of the first schools on island to get back to face to face instruction, with seemingly little impact on COVID cases in the school. I am proud my son goes to Aikahi and my second son is ready and willing to start in the fall.
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2021

Aikahi Elementary is a wonderful school with a dedicated principal (Mr. Fraser), many caring teachers & staff and a supportive parent community. We love Aikahi's commitment to the arts as it supports childrens' development and creativity. The annual Arts at Aikahi event (pre-COVID) is a unique outdoor festival that showcases every grade's artwork and includes a concert, games & activities and food trucks. Aikahi also still holds a May Day program (pre-COVID) with a full court and performances. It's a tremendous amount of work and some schools have moved away from May Day. I'm glad Aikahi has kept it! Aikahi values and recognizes responsibility and resilience, which are so important for children to learn. I love how they involve parents and listen to our feedback. Whenever we've had issues or concerns, we don't hesitate to reach out to teachers or leadership and they respond. We are a community and an ohana. When our daughter took a bad fall during an after-school program, the principal called us that evening to check on her. Caveat - our older son attended Aikahi Elementary years ago when it was led by a different principal. It wasn't bad but it wasn't exceptional. The current staff and involved parent community make all the difference.
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2021

We have been at 'Aikahi now for 3 years. We are a military family GE'd from the Marine Corps base and have 3 children (soon to be 4) attending. I have to say, I was very impressed with how quickly the teachers and principal involved my children and knew them by name within the first couple days. We move around often and most of the time the kids transition into a new school takes a few weeks. Aikahi and the community welcomed us in like we've always been a part of their Ohana. I really like that my kids have not only learned about the culture, traditions, and history of Hawaii but they get to experience it on their field trips, in the classrooms, and with events the school holds. This past year has been a unique experience in itself due to Covid. Aikahi offered an Opt Out program and due to one of our kids health issues we decided that that would be the best option for our family at the time. I, then, became the teacher for a 5th grader, 4th grader, and 2nd grader while not having any clue on what to do with them. The 'Aikahi Teachers and Staff did an excellent job of supporting me and giving me the tools to continue educating our children from home. We did have some issues here and there, of course, due to all the changes and uncertainty during the pandemic but 'Aikahi did they're best at keeping us informed about all the changes.
Submitted by parent on April 15, 2021

I've had my son at 'Aikahi for 4 years now and it has been a great experience. I feel like my son gets the support he needs and that my questions and concerns are very welcomed by the teachers and principal there. They handled the COVID-19 pandemic well and was able to pull resources together to build outdoor learning spaces and additional benches to accommodate the new social distancing guidelines.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2017

The reason for the two stars is that I have a few children that require an IEP and the school does so little for kids with special needs. The school raises so much money but I don't see much going into the Special Ed program. They do the bare minimum and I have had to fight so hard to get what my children deserve. Please don't waste your time. This school is okay for typical children. The school talks a good game about their art and music classes I have yet to see one art painting or project come home and we are in the 4th quarter. Music for the younger children? I believe the teacher has a hard time with classroom management.
Submitted by parent on August 02, 2016

Aikahi Elementary school is everything you'd want from an elementary school. We are lucky to have our son enrolled here. Great leadership, great parent involvement, outstanding teachers, focus on teaching the whole child, art, music, stem lab, and lots of after school enrichment.
Submitted by parent on November 10, 2015

The school has a new principal this year by the name of Mr. Fraser. He is a breath of fresh air. A natural leader who has a clear vision of where he would like to take the school. It appears that the faculty and staff are on board with the schools new leader. He is assessable to parents and students, and you may even see him playing a game of kickball with the students at recess.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2015

Postitives: 1. Super involved parent community 2. Strong curriculum in reading and math (see annual scores; also, my 1st grader is writing at a high level already) 3. Higher grades' opportunities for special interests (school music, plays) 4. Gifted programs (including English for 3rd grade and up, and 7th grade math offered to 6th graders who qualify) 5. Concerned teachers who care about our kids and are really trying their best 6. Best playground in the whole state of Hawaii 7. Accepting of diversity and military kids 8. Music Program for all grades paid for by the PTA 9. Fun Nutrition and Gardening classes for all grades through the Aina In Schools program 10. Emphasis on Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, Resourcefulness and Resiliency (the 5 Rs, talked about a lot) Weaknesses: 1. I have several friends who have needed and IEP for their kids. From what I understand, this is a problem throughout Hawaii and is not specific to Aikahi as the budget for these is through DOE. 2. They have computer classes but do not teach typing.
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2014

This school is much better when compared to my child's previous school, however the SSC leaves a lot to be desired. She is very confrontational and belittles most of what the parents and other professionals say. I have left every meeting feeling like my child was put on the back burner for another month or 2 while they "gather more information". If your child has special needs and you don't already have an established 504 or IEP, you may want to consider your options elsewhere or prepare for a year long battle. My child had a 504 at our last school on the mainland and there was not this much difficulty. The SSC was actually helpful and tried to accommodate in every way possible for our child. Not the case here. I am giving them 2 stars based on the difficulties we have had with the SSC. Anyone with a special needs child understands how important this is & is heavily considered when choosing a school.
Submitted by parent on March 19, 2014

Lot of hype. No substance. It looks like the school staff has been posting positive reviews to offset the actual reviews. Doesn't surprise me much. These are not the people you want educating your children.
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2013

Aikahi is an outstanding school. My daughter is challenged and enjoys going to school. The teachers are inspiring and knowledgeable! The administration team is friendly and supportive. One of the best schools is Hawaii!
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2013

We are military family whose kids attended kindergarten. So military friendly and very understanding to the kids who have parents deployed or have frequent travel. Mrs. Hansen was an amazing teacher for my kids. We since moved to the mainland and they were either at or above reading and math levels as the other kids in their school. Very positive Hawaii public school experience!
Submitted by parent on September 04, 2013

The teachers continually tell me that my children are not their responsibility. They have no safety concerns whatsoever. They have first year teachers who are not informed about safety and procedure. One teacher said this exactly: "I checked with the office and they said I don't have to know where your child is when they leave my room". Do not send your children to this school until these teachers are better trained and take accountability for the safety of the children. I'm disgusted that any school would openly admit that they don't care what happens to your children.
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2013

We came from the mainland fully aware of the challenges of finding good education at public schools in Hawaii. This is our third year at Aikahi and are very pleased. We are happy with the new principal. There is also a new vice principal. This position didn't exist before. Our kids have had some very good teachers. Another recent addition is a music teacher that has really inspired our kids. I like the strong sense of community at Aikahi. Parents are very involved, which is probably one the major reasons for Aikahi doing so well compared to other public schools. The PTA is doing some really good things. In regard to some old comments below, there were a number of anti-bulling efforts implemented in the last year. I believe things are better now.