Niu Valley Middle School

Posted: July 24, 2025

Great School and Principal. My kids just finished 6th and 7th grade and have done well. The academics are great and depending on your kids academic level, they offer advanced math placement. In addition, there are a ton of activities this school offers, it really helps in the social aspect. Be involved and stay involved is my only recommendation to anyone new to the school.

Posted: August 19, 2023

I missed open house last year so I made sure I attended this year and it was beyond my expectations. I am so glad I went and I encourage parents to go. You will attend your child’s classes for 10 -15 minutes and get an idea of the years curriculum and expectations. The teachers were extremely welcoming, highly entertaining and have open communication with the parents as well as the kids. I was impressed with the campus, the cleanliness, organization and all around vibration. Coming from a private school background I was hesitant and was initially thinking of transferring him but he is so happy making friends and actually said he loves all of his teachers and they are all “cool” which is rarity! I love this school!

Posted: August 19, 2023

Posted: August 19, 2023

Posted: August 19, 2023

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Posted: August 19, 2023

Posted: January 13, 2022

I dont like this school at all

Posted: January 13, 2022

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Posted: July 24, 2020

I am not one to rate anything but having seen this ill rating i feel compelled to reiterate how amazing this school is. Their math curriculum and mrs b has pushed my son to enjoy his studies and persist in continually improving himself. my younger son is excited to be a part of this school. from the academics to the extra activities and groups. track, band, the arts... it is an amazing environment for a child to grow up and learn to trust their own capabilities.

Posted: July 24, 2020

students are given a chance to speak to their teachers in person or through google classroom with any questions they have regarding their homework. homework received surpasses what you would expect from a class, in other words these teachers have managed to give homework that satisfy the lesson and also require some creative problem solving and a broader understanding.

Posted: July 24, 2020

My children have bonded with their teachers by he second quarter. they respect their teachers

Posted: July 24, 2020

Posted: July 24, 2020

during this pandemic, i have watched 3 schools (we are a blended family so we have experienced 2 other schools outside of this one.). Niu Valley Middle has been an outstanding example of organization and planning. they considerate all sides both teachers and staff as well as their students. theyre plan has a third of the schools campus physically present on just ONE on campus day of learning with no more than 8 students distanced 6ft in a classroom. They have things together while other schools are suggestive of outdoor learning or safety measures and still having up to 19 students per class.

Posted: July 24, 2020

Posted: July 24, 2020

Counselors are genuinely concerned for their students

Posted: November 8, 2019

disappointing, but we will have to deal with it due to zoning and lack of funds to send to private schools. They might find that if they did some fund raising and air conditioned the classrooms the students may be able to concentrate a bit better and actually want to go into the box that used to make them overheat.

Posted: November 8, 2019

too much busy work and less focus on fundamentals. so much homework assigned with little instruction. a lot of the work is web based and they don't do any real science expreements all online. very sad.

Posted: November 8, 2019

very poor communication both verbally and written. I have seen examples where a student was confused how to complete a task and when I looked at the instruction video (made by the teacher) it was incorrect and had numerical and grammatical mistakes. Hard to learn with the wrong information.

Posted: November 8, 2019

I'll let you know in 5-10 years : ) I hope they don't end up like the admin staff.....

Posted: November 8, 2019

lack of communication and solid direction, more focus is put on pushing in the IB requirements to hold on to accreditation without any knowledge of how to use IB to benefit the students.

The office staff are confused, have a lack of understanding of how the school operates (cannot explain process) and it has been observed that they fight among themselves. generally rude and dismissive, very disappointing and frustrating.

Posted: November 8, 2019

road blocks are excessive to get written support for outside programs and the administration talks a big game but does not deliver.

Posted: November 8, 2019

Not sure that the admin or teaching staff have any idea what is going on at this school.

Posted: January 18, 2019

Depends. Some teachers assign effective homework, others do not. My child is able to complete most homework at school.

Posted: January 18, 2019

We've had a blend of effective and non-effective teachers. Many of the effective teachers have been temporary. More than once my child's favorite teacher left mid-school year and were replaced causing disappointment and regression in learning. Unfortunately there is high teacher turnover and transient activity at many schools on the island due to high cost of living in Hawaii.

Posted: January 18, 2019

I believe the school has good intentions in developing strong character in its students, but unfortunately I hear about a lot of bad stuff happening on campus (bullying, drug use, vaping, fights, theft, etc) despite their efforts. If strong character is not being taught at home, which I think is the case, it's hard to succeed in this effort.

Posted: January 18, 2019

Although Niu Valley Middle is in one of the "safer" districts on Oahu it is not immune to bullying. Bullying is happening daily and discreetly under the eyes of teachers and faculty. Not enough is being done to address and correct the problem. My child would rather be bullied than report it out of fear of retaliation.

Posted: January 18, 2019

Academically the school is ok. Socially it can be quite scary and problematic for new or non-asian/pacific islanders who are at a minority.

Posted: January 16, 2019

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Posted: November 17, 2017

Depends on the grade level but overall as a 7th grader, the teachers are pretty good, right now i have a teacher who is fresh out of college but its nice to have that enthusiasm and courage instead of a burned out grumpy teacher.

Posted: November 17, 2017

This school strongly enforces leadership and integrity, maybe not all students do so, but effort is shown. I also believe that its apart of middle school aged mentality that plays a part.

Posted: November 17, 2017

Some teachers dont have the patience to deal with students that have special needs but that is understandable when they are teaching other students in a regular class. There should be more specialized classes that meet the needs of students with disabilites.

Posted: November 17, 2017

Its very immature and childish. All they do is tell u the golden rule and make u feel bad, counselors act like they dont know what thwy are doing and some of them just scream at u and make u cry (male counselors mostly)

Posted: November 17, 2017

I think niu valley is a good school but just needs some improvements on some areas. Students at this age will be obnoxious or act in certain ways that arent appealing to adults. It needs to be,moderated but not make them feel like they are just being pushed around with rules. I like being a student at niu valley overall.

Posted: May 24, 2017

This school is horrible. The administration is very very unsupportive of their faculty especially the principal. The Vice Principal is a pompous ignoramus with poor social skills. If any new teachers come aboard, they are ill treated. 1/3 of their teachers quit last year due to poor administration. That says a lot. Students are lazy and unmotivated, and no matter how much time and effort they put into try and help them, the students don't care...which says something about their upbringing. Don't come to teach at this school. You will get burned by the admin, the older, experienced faculty, and the parents of the students who fail due to their own shortcomings.

Posted: November 26, 2015

The potential is for this school to be amazing. They don't seem to want to live up to that. There is a core of very burnt out teachers (hey I get it, I'm a teacher) who are just bitter and uncaring. Communication Is poor and there is no real leadership from administration. Total lack of innovative problem solving on any level. Will be leaving at semester, my kids loved school prior to this experience, we hope to find that again and put this in our past. Bright side, there are a couple first year teachers who are phenomenal, motivated, caring, compassionate and willing to think outside the box. I can tell they are really rooting for kids to both learn and find success. Rumble is they are looking at other schools for next year. I can't blame them. Teachers talk and emails parents about how much more they could do if it were a private school, problem is, that would not change their lack of caring, energy, or support of students. And frankly, comparatively this school has a wealthy core, access to technology, decent facilities, it could be wonderful. No school spirit, no encouragement of free thinking, we are still awaiting our first positive feedback ever for either of my kids from any teacher.

Posted: November 26, 2015

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Posted: October 6, 2014

If you want your child to have a friendly evironment, this is not the school. My daughter had been subbed and pushed by a group of bullies, and the best part? The yachts didn't care. I am dissapinter with this school.

Posted: September 17, 2014

My daughter was slammed into a door by another kid then kicked/tripped by the same student. She was also verbally abused along with my wife from this child. The schools response for the students to sign a contract to stay away from each other....What is that? This boy is 14 and he's beating up a 12 year old girl and that's the response from the Vice Principal. Ridiculous. if I could afford private school I would send my child.

Posted: July 29, 2014

The teachers pay no mind to a child if their falling behind, the only teacher who really cared was my social studies teacher, and the whole school overall has that sorta Hostile feel to it, I wish I could go to a different school, but its the only relatively close school. Also, they may been one of the best schools, but the work is usually way ahead of us. -Student

Posted: April 27, 2014

From the 2 years we've been at this school, it appears the only thing of value is how many certifications and honors the teachers or principal receive, and the accolades of their Band Program. Everything else is shot down the drain: no sports program, improvement in SPED, or professionalism when responding to parent inquiries. My 6th grader said there are days when the teachers don't teach - only giving speeches about their personal problems because they had a bad day.

Posted: September 23, 2013

So far communication at the school has been pretty good. The only thing is I wished we had heard about our child's progress from all the teachers before the progress reports came home. Some teachers had emailed earlier, but I didn't realize there was another class to be concerned about. The counselor has been working with our child and took the time to talk with me briefly just as the school day started. Luckily we were on the same page and she was already working with our child. While every class, subject, or unit studied will be interesting, our child has to understand the work needed to get done no matter what. Still waiting for all the back work to get caught up, especially before the end of the quarter. Appreciate the teachers and counselor's interest in helping our child succeed. Also like the fact the school provides opportunities for parent learning and encourages communication with our child's teachers.

Posted: April 25, 2013

My son is attending this school this 2012-13 year. He has special education (SPED) classes but is too excelled for them. We moved him into general ed classes but the teachers are too busy to help him and would rather help their more independent "smarter" students. So, he was forced back into SPED just to get the attention and time he needs to pass his class even if the content was far too easy. At one point, he was teaching one of his SPED classes because he already knew the content so well! He just needed more time. There is no transitional classes and no protection for students wanting to get out of SPED to more challenging classes. The tenured teachers ganged up on him last year and forced him back into SPED again because they felt he was too distracted. He wanted preferential seating in those classes and was not allowed. This same thing has happened this year and I am ready to pull him out of this school. These tenured teachers tend to be bullies and are not reprimanded by administration for their despicable and truly sad behavior. If you care about your developmentally delayed child, don't put them in this school!

Posted: April 19, 2013

So far so good.... My son is finishing 6th grade and I am very happy with this school. Teachers on his team are outstanding!! I am very involved and attended orientation prior to arrival to 6th grade. They extensively review rules and dress code at orientation so we had no surprises. I would encourage all to GET involved!! Also make sure you READ the parent handbook. It is very helpful.