Kahakai Elementary School

Reviews

• Submitted by parent on January 16, 2025
  Kahakai Elementary is a wonderful school filled with the aloha and ohana spirit. You will often see kids smiling as they walk to and from school. Teachers and staff are committed to nurturing each child's development and are very hands on. Teachers are attentive to each individual child's needs and are incredibly supportive, even with larger class sizes. The entire administrative staff work hard to create a collaborative environment and take the time to get to know students as well. This is a wonderful school.
• Submitted by other on October 10, 2023
  I'm a student who just graduated from this elementary in 2023. Glad to say, I somewhat left this school with a tear of happiness on my face. I was really touched with the ohana and community here, and am willing to come back again! I graduated from this school with decent grades, meaning I was taught WELL and proficiently. The changing of principals towards the end of my elementary years was difficult for the whole school community but turns out, that the new principal made a huge difference. I definitely recommend this school to your children. The staff here are wonderful, showing a true demonstration and example of what a good school Kahakai Elementary is. Although this school isn't 5/5 on their family engagement, Kahakai will TRY to include families into their children's learning. Teachers often pass out newspapers including ways to help teach your child and support them in their path of learning, but teachers aren't really "caring" if the student will give the newspaper to their parents. Staff just expect and assume students will make their parents learn with them, which is really sad. That's all I'm going to say about this school. Kahakai, you were a weird home to me for 7 years... that's what I'm going to say.
• Submitted by parent on July 05, 2022
  I have two children attending here, one who just completed Kindergarten and one who is in the special needs program (for a few years now). Both kids have received a lot of support in their own academic growth, they all feel safe and accepted, and they look forward to going to school everyday! And as a parent, I feel I have a voice when I approach the staff with questions, concerns, or advice.
• Submitted by parent on June 26, 2018
  Both of my sons have now left Kahakai Elementary School for Middle School. Our experience with Kahakai has been outstanding. I can't say enough of the teachers' dedication and passion to their students. They are more than teachers - they are educators. Yes, they teach the basic curriculum, yet they volunteer for extra curricular activities for the students, such as May Day, Winterfest, Japanese, out of state field trips, and many other groups/events. The passion and the social responsibility they have for the students and community is suberb. Obviously, it's a reflection of the the Principal's dedication to his school and students. He is a fantastic leader. Very progressive Principal! The education; especially life lessons my children have received in Kahakai were invaluable. The school enforced the importance of personal character, along with a solid education. Kahakai is a great school. The faculty, staff, education, and leadership are remarkable. I did not observe these qualities in the Bay Area schools, where my sons were attending before the move to Kona.
• Submitted by parent on September 13, 2014
  I moved to the Kailua Kona in July 2014 from the Bay Area in California, where my children were enrolled at John Green Elementary in Dublin, CA for three years. Their previous school had a 10 rating in 'Great Schools', and achieved an API score of 961. Therefore, I had my apprehensions and predispositions of Kahakai Elementary. However, I am thoroughly surprised with Kahakai. The physical infrastructure of Kahakai is cleaner, better maintained, and bigger than John Green. In addition, the Office Staff is friendlier, extremely supportive, and caring. The Office Staff at John Green were quite rude and inattentive. The Vice Principals and Principal at Kahakai, personally helped me with administrative issues to help my transition easier. Most importantly, Kahakai teachers are better equipped, stricter, and don't require the assistance of parents for classwork, homework, and special projects. My anxieties were artificial, and my bias of Hawaiian schools were wrong. Take it from a parent who moved from an affluent neighborhood of Dublin with highly rated schools; Kahakai is a great school, and we prefer to have our boys attend their elementary years here; as opposed, to John Green.
• Submitted by other on August 18, 2014
  Excellent school!! Principal is progressive and students are positively encouraged. Each student is provided with tools such as individual laptops. Advanced learning beyond grade level is available for exceptional students.
• Submitted by parent on July 29, 2014
  My daughter is a student at Kahakai Elementary and I am so pleased with the overall curriculum. The teachers and staff are very good about keeping parents up to date on things. I really appreciate their communication whether it's reminders of classroom events, school events or balances on accounts. I am pleased with the security and safety this school provides. I rated it only four stars because of the am and pm carousel of traffic and the not so ample parking.
• Submitted by parent on August 28, 2013
  Kahakai elementary was quite enjoyed by my daughter, who was in "senior" kindergarten. There was a nice sense of camaraderie with parents, and the educational material worked well with her. The missing 5th star is due only to the long carousel of cars before and after school to drop off and retrieve our children!! (ugh...)
• Submitted by parent on July 13, 2013
  Just moved here from Mainland in April. We thought my child would be ahead of curriculum here after reading so many dismal comments about this school and the test scores... I was pleasantly surprised to find that she was behind! I feel Kahakai is an excellent school and the office staff are wonderful! My children attended the summer school program as well and it was a wonderful experience. We look forward to returning in the fall.
• Submitted by parent on May 31, 2013
  My son attended this school from Jr. Kindergarten till 5th grade and we absolutely LOVE it. The teachers and entire staff are amazing. Watching him graduate and having to leave was very emotional, as this really is a family oriented school. Luckily we have another child who will still be attending. I am so happy that we chose Kahakai Elementary as our son's primary school.
• Submitted by parent on February 28, 2012
  I think Kahakai is a great school. There are fun and educational after school programs. My son who attends fourth grade is the youngest of my three. Between the three we have experienced 2 other west side elementary Schools including Holualoa, and Kahakai is by far the best. As a matter fact we live in Holualoa district...
• Submitted by other on April 17, 2011
  I attended here back in the day, and I sincerely hope things have changed since then. I was identified as "gifted", and pulled out of class to take part in a gifted program. The program consisted of nothing but putting us in front of computers to play games for an hour or two. I'm thinking the goal was really to stunt our development so they could just throw us back into the regular classes. Time spent in class was with some witch of a teacher who seemed to despise me because I was 1) new mid-year, and 2) haole. Such a waste. Luckily we moved to a better school nearby soon after, and I caught up quickly from those wasted years...
• Submitted by parent on March 25, 2011
  Great, very supportive and involved principal. She ensures after school programs for the school. Also, active presence of VPs. Teachers keep you posted on how your child is doing.

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