Kainalu Elementary School

Posted: June 5, 2024

We are new to the area. After reading reviews I was so scared. Please judge for yourself. Me and my two children were embraced with an aloha spirit. We come from the mainland and my children are behind. Not saying that will be the case for you and yours. Just providing an unbiased honest review. So far I wish I had enrolled my children sooner! I hope you can rest easy too once you DO enroll your children. Much love from one stressed ma to another. So the school is BEYOND expectations, and and excellent learning environment! Everyone is committed and it shows! The children are all so kind and respectful!

Posted: June 5, 2024

Posted: June 5, 2024

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Posted: September 14, 2023

My son is going here to Kindergarten, but i have him transferred back to TCS. The teacher Mia M. is great, my son and i appreciate her. The school grounds are big and the pick up drop offs are reasonable and manageable. If you are looking into after care it is a living night mare. Iam a single mother working a fixed schedule and i "didnt make it". Other families with 2 parents or even flexible schedules got in, with bribing. 1 teacher for 30 kids! I had to beg, run after answers, follow up and follow up again, never was i given within 6 weeks any help or information. The school and how its run is extremely chaotic, you get the feel you are one of many. Never i was given an apology or a solution. I would not recommend this school to my friends or family.

Posted: September 14, 2023

Posted: September 14, 2023

Posted: September 14, 2023

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Posted: September 14, 2023

Posted: September 14, 2023

Posted: April 15, 2022

My son loved it here! Great community feel, teachers and staff really care for their students. Lots of after school opportunities (pre CoVid) and school offers specials (stem, PE, art, etc) once a week.

Posted: April 15, 2022

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Posted: April 15, 2022

Posted: June 5, 2019

They have so many excellent programs, it's difficult to see the school's score only at a 7 out of 10 based on test scores. Learning is more than taking a test. All of my kids have done really well and continue to learn a great deal at Kainalu!

Posted: June 5, 2019

Posted: June 5, 2019

Posted: June 5, 2019

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Posted: June 5, 2019

Posted: March 14, 2019

Posted: March 14, 2019

Posted: March 14, 2019

Great! Love Kainalu So much! Great school.

Posted: March 14, 2019

Posted: March 14, 2019

They are all great teachers and care about every student.

Posted: March 14, 2019

Posted: March 14, 2019

Posted: April 18, 2018

Posted: April 18, 2018

Posted: April 18, 2018

Posted: April 18, 2018

Posted: April 18, 2018

Posted: April 18, 2018

Posted: April 18, 2018

Great school! Awesome principal Ms Sunabe and vice principal Ms Kim Maeda! Fantastic teachers specifically Ms. Onuma (4th grade) and Ms. Caldeira (2nd grade). My 2 kids ages 10 and 8 and thriving well and boasts that this is by far the best public school they have attended out of 3 (WA and HI). The music program is wonderful led by Mr Nakamaejo where the kids sing in chorus are taught ukulele. The activity where the kids visited an elderly home and sang for them on a weekend is worthy effort and teaches kids the value of sharing their gifts, empathy, and kindness. The Polynesian dance after school care is a great perk as well. The parent participation in this school is outstanding. I don't have anything bad to say about this school. Ultimately, our kids success largely depends on us parents and we can't put the blame solely on our educators. I have nothing but respect for all the teachers and staff of Kainalu Elementary. Thanks for all you do!

Posted: September 21, 2017

Posted: September 21, 2017

Posted: September 21, 2017

Posted: September 21, 2017

Posted: September 21, 2017

Posted: September 21, 2017

In one word "Chaos"
In more words alot of favortism. Alot of mistreatment and bullyung from teachers as well as students

Posted: September 21, 2017

Posted: September 30, 2015

Posted: September 30, 2015

Posted: September 30, 2015

Posted: September 30, 2015

My oldest has attended from Kindergarten through 5th grade on a GE (military family with home school Mokapu). My youngest has attended Special Education Pre-school and Pre-K (DOE transfer in Headstart).

This school has a family friendly and community involved atmosphere. The PTA is amazing and there is a great partnership with MALS-24 on MCBH. The Principal and VP are great at listening to and addressing many concerns ASAP. The office staff is hit or miss in terms of friendliness, but they are efficient. All my daughters' teachers have been caring, supportive, and excellent educators. I feel my daughters have received a quality and well-rounded education here (music, art, Hawaiian studies, health, and overall wellness are included in the curriculum). I am confindent that my daughters will transition well into even the best schools on the mainland when we PCS at the end of this school year.

The only reason this is no longer a 5 star school to me is because of the way they handle new IEPs or 504's. I've done the process at Mokapu for my youngest before she became a district placement at Kainalu. The process with Mokapu went very well. The process for my oldest with Kainalu was a fight every step of the way starting with the FSC who tried her best to get me to drop it and to keep me from even scheduling a meeting. Even though my daughter is an EFMP CAT 4 and receives in class accommodations (and we know of children with the same special needs who have IEPs on the mainland), the school refused to give her the protection of an IEP or 504. I will utilize MCBH EFMP reps to help me fight for an IEP or 504 if her current accommodations are not honored.

Overall, this is a great school, and I'm still happy my children go here. However, be aware that if your child develops or is diagnosed with special needs, it can be difficult to get new IEP's or 504's at this school.

Posted: May 26, 2015

Posted: May 26, 2015

Posted: May 26, 2015

Posted: May 26, 2015

This is the best school ever!! So much aloha!! The garden program is amazing...there are so many extracurricular activities for every age even kindergarten. I loved this school. We recently moved to the mainland and my daughter now goes to "a really good school" NOT compared to this school. We miss it terribly. All the people are amazing. The communication between school and parent is top notch. It really is the best school around. Mahalo Kainalu for embracing my entire ohana while we were there...even my little baby who grew up in your campus and in your garden!
Xoxoxox
Aloha

Posted: October 14, 2014

This is by far the best school I've ever seen! I find that every staff member here puts the children first. They are always happy and smiling and they stop at nothing to ensure ALL KIDS have exactly what they need to flourish! The school has different events almost weekly that are fun for the whole family and the teachers are just amazing. Every single one of them is wonderful and my kids have progressed so much here & we owe all our thanks to them. Coming from homeschooling we were all nervous about the transition but I cannot imagine ever doing that in another place. There really arent enough great words to describe just how wonderful this school is. There is no other school quite like this one anywhere. The school itself, the staff, the students, the other parents..the HEART here is unlike anything I've ever seen.

Posted: May 19, 2014

My children have attended Kainalu for the past 4 years. Caring teachers surround them, holding the children s well being as the most important aspect of learning. Thru collaboration with ` ina in Schools, each grade level has curricula that relates the garden to food, science, culture, art, story telling, & diet. Other collaborative efforts are Tails of Aloha, Sustainable Coastlines HI, Plastic Free Hawaii, Royal Hawaiian Band, Olelo TV, Special Friends, YMCA, National History Day, Science Fair, Junior Police Officers, Speech Festival, & still more! One favorite assignment is Biography Day, in grade 3, when each student dresses as their favorite historical figure & acts out a life story, which they have researched & written. Students classrooms studies are enhanced with a wide array of field trips to which relate studies to the place they live. Children test into the Gifted program at Kainalu, involving them in film-making, science projects, & National History Day. With this, they have won Olelo film awards, & even travelled to Washington DC, as NHD finalists. Curious? Check out the Kainalu PTA facebook page, & see what the school is up to now!

Posted: May 16, 2014

Both of my children attend Kainalu and we couldn't be happier! The teachers, staff, PTA, and volunteers go the extra mile to ensure high quality learning and a positive community.

Posted: May 12, 2014

Our daughter has been at Kainalu Elementary for her entire elementary school career. She will be graduating from the 6th grade in a couple of weeks. We will truly miss this school that has provided so many opportunities for her to learn so much! Kainalu has a wonderful GT program, and our daughter participated in National History Day, Olelo, Robotics, Science Fair, Tech Club, Student Government, and many other after school activities. The teachers really give their all to see that their students thrive. I know this has been the best choice of a school for our daughter because she recently competed with kids from private schools for scholarships, and she won. This says a lot for Kainalu Elementary!

Posted: May 12, 2014

Kainalu Elementary School - great, small town school with passionate principal, spectacular tech club, garden club, PTA, etc.

Posted: April 28, 2014

Kainalu Elementary Great for the first 4 years with encouraging and supportive teaching. Wonderful extracurriculars & opportunities for the students to shine & develop confidence. Final 2 years seem bent on destroying all that was gained with badgering, bullying, and repression. A sense of humor, acceptance, & alliance goes a long way in dealing with pre-teens. These qualities promote the continued zest for learning that is fostered in the early years. Why nurture confidence & then destroy it in the end?

Posted: January 24, 2013

My daughter attended Kainalu for Kindergarten and is now in first grade, and we are happy with the school. We're a military family here for three years and researched the few pockets of good public schools in Oahu. We chose to live in Kailua because of this and love Kainalu. My daughter had classes in Hawaiian cultural studies and an after-school program in Mandarin Chinese. She's learning a lot in core subjects and challenged along the way. Her teachers had 10+ and 20+ years of teaching experience and were great partners in learning.

Posted: December 14, 2012

We are a military family and had heard negative reports about Hawaii's public schools. Nothing could be further from the truth at Kainalu. We absolutely love this school. The curriculum is the most challenging our kids (4th and 5th grade) have ever had. We have seen no teaching to standardized tests here - instead they are focused on skills that kids will need in life - critical thinking, reading comprehension, writing, speaking and presentation skills. The teachers are fabulous and obviously dedicated to the kids and the principal is always present at every event, cheering the kids on. I wish our kids had started here in kindergarten and wish they could finish the rest of their elementary years here!

Posted: March 28, 2012

Exceeded my expectations for my two boys. Between the two of them, we experienced K - 3 and I would recommend this elementary school over other area schools based on my experiences. Approachable & professional teachers along with a dedicated support staff allow this school to bust the myth regarding Hawaii schools being bad. The principal encourages parents to get involved and volunteer. The philosophy at this school is that they are a partner in our children's education to support us as parents. The facilities may not look pretty but the environment is safe, welcoming, warm and the kids enjoy being on campus.

Posted: January 16, 2012

I have two kids that go to Kainalu and they love it. So do I. The curriculum is strong, there are lots of extra curricular and other activities that keep the families involved with the school in a fun and informative way. The student body is great as well, a lot of good, nice, smart kids with good parents.

Posted: January 20, 2011

My daughter is currently in 5th grade and has attended Kainalu since Kindergarten She especially enjoys all of the extracurricular activities. She is involved in the environmental Green Team, Chorus, Morning News Tech Club, and Zumba. They have stepped up their academics in the past few years and seem to have a rigorous and dynamic curriculum with a strong focus on Language Arts and Math. We enjoy all of the family functions and love the feeling of ohana. Many, many, many wonderful teachers and students!