Mililani Uka Elementary School

Posted: May 22, 2026

Talk to your children daily about their experiences in school. Brought my concerns to principals about two different teachers and felt dismissed and situation was overlooked by administrators. A teacher should never yell or scream at children. My child began to throw up each day before school and wet the bed at night, that’s when I knew something was wrong at school, the teacher was slamming their desk, startling the students each day. Another teacher has made students face the corner for time out, made students watch others do the class activities and sit down to watch them, taken away their chair for the day causing them to kneel all day!! Unreal how administrators can’t or won’t allow student to receive a new teacher.

Posted: May 22, 2026

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Posted: October 6, 2013

My son went here from k-5th gr.Half of his teachers were great & half were so-so. You could tell if they were stronger in teaching math vs. language arts. He would excel in one or the other, but never making steady gains.Tchrs would assign HW, but didn't check it or at least pretend to check it by collecting it. He eventually put less value on HW because he stated that "she doesn't care about it".This is not just one teacher mind you...

Posted: October 6, 2013

My daughter went here from K-3rd grade. Her kindergarten year, she had a fairly new teacher that came down from 4th gr. she was not prepared to teach beginning reading. To make matters worse, she was gone half the year on maternity leave. When she was there, my daughter wasn't flourishing as most kinders should. When I asked for her curriculum pacing guide (just so I could know what my daughter was working on, she refused). Gosh, why wouldn't she need my help to teach her student? Something to hide? For the rest of that wasted year, she had a sub. You know how that goes... Her first grade year, especially after having a rough start with starting formal schooling, she was doomed again....! Her teacher was nice, but old, overweight and just sat behind her desk for a good part of the day. Can you believe it? She was retiring in December!!! What bad luck we had... So, a sub for the rest of the year... Her luck only turned for 2nd grade. Mrs. Hirota was a gem! She got my daughter pretty caught up. Our luck stayed with us because Mrs. Hirota happened to move to 3rd grade and my daughter by chance got her. I love Mrs. Hirota! She's the reason why I'm giving Uka 3 stars.

Posted: May 23, 2012

As a mom of 4 children, all elementary school aged, finding the best elementary school was top priority. I value my children's education to it's highest so our past included homeschooling as well as attending Montgomery County schools who have the top test scores in the nation. I initially enrolled them for the sole purpose of just making friends, but they have all thrived. Their school experience as a whole has been challenging and positive. They have had opportunities to shine that I wouldn't have been able to give them homeschooling. It has all the criteria that I've looked for in private schools. All the adults my children encounter here, are warm and sincerely care about my children. They treat them respectfully and expect much from them. Since each of my children have personal relationships with their teachers and the staff, their academic success has soared. Their emotional needs are cared for and they all feel truly very valued here. My conclusion: just because my hometown has better testing scores, didn't guarentee my child a better educational experience there. On the contrary. My children are happy, bright and civil. I have the school to thank for that.

Posted: November 28, 2010

Students are not allowed to drink water from their water bottle during class time, unlike Waena Elementary School, where students are free to place their water bottle on their desk and drink at will. I am told by my children that the lunch ladies yell, scream, pull, push children. Yet at Uka elementary, their students are taught the 6 pillars of Character, one of them being "respect". Yelling, screaming, pushing and pulling, is NOT respectful. Also, at the beginning of the school year, I was sent home a flyer stating that the school wanted to teach healthy eating habits to the kids. I was to sign an agreement that I would not bring any sweets to share with the class. I hesitantly agreed to sign it because cupcakes for birthdays are special for kids. Then, I later found out that there were a few occasions when the school invited a yogurt company to sell their products to students and teachers for a fundraiser. I'm betting the sugar count in a yogurt treat is close to, if not more, than a cupcake. This was hypocritical and my children felt the same way.

Posted: November 28, 2010

I like this school because of the teachers. Both my children (3rd and 1st grade) have had very skilled professional teachers. However, I have a few issues as to some of the school rules. It seems to me that the school administration runs this school like a prison. Students are never allowed any bathroom breaks other than at recess. Mind you recess is only for a few minutes. What school aged child, after being cooped up in the classroom, will want to go to the bathroom during recess when they can be outside playing? This is the only break they get besides lunch. Teachers don't let students go to the bathroom after lunch. I don't know about you but my bowels tend to move after I eat. The students at this school are deprived of a very basic personal right. Because of this rule, my children will not ask to use the bathroom during class hours and will hold it. This is very unhealthy. This can also affect their school work as they cannot concentrate.

Posted: April 20, 2010

This is our first year and we are happy with Uka. It is a very nice campus. I am very impressed with the curriculum. We have a 3rd grader and Kindergartener and are pleased with their achievements this year. We heard horrible stories about how far behind Hawaii schools were before we moved here, but that is not the case.

Posted: September 16, 2008