521 Kukuiula Loop
Honolulu, HI 96825

My child has attended Koko Head since kindergarten, and has done well with all of the staff and almost all of the teachers. There is one teacher in particular who does not have the skills or knowledge necessary to guide children who need more support and struggle with emotional regulation and focus. Who fails to follow 504 plans/IEP’s as if they were optional to the teaching occupation. Who uses tactics that clearly lack emotional maturity as an adult, and harassing parents by writing incessant emails about petty behavior issues that are common to most children. Additionally, using antiquated discipline tactics like forcing students to write unauthentic, coerced apology letters, using social shaming by having peers police and tell on certain students, and withholding recess as punishment, all of which has been found to be counterproductive in educating children by researchers. This type of negative reinforcement only affects growing children who can begin to display behavior issues out of frustration, and the previous principle and currently employed teacher fail to understand and respond appropriately and adequately to children who simply learn differently and/or need more connection before correction, more physical movement breaks, and encouragement rather than constant negative judgment or punishment. As parents, we entrust our children to teachers for 5-6 hours per day, 5 days a week, some of us are forced to have our children in public school in order to go to work, and the feeling you get when your child is being constantly ridiculed and shamed, knowing that they deserve better emotional maturity from an adult that is suppose to lead them is incredibly disheartening. We need adults to show up for these kids with a strong emotional intelligence, the courage to be patient, day-in and day-out, and the strength and compassion needed for positive leadership in the classroom. There are some amazing teachers and staff at this school, so I don’t wish to paint the entire school in a negative light, because there is SO MUCH POSITIVITY here, but one bad apple can truly sour the entire batch, and the experience that a child can have with one bad teacher can be incredibly detrimental to their developing sense of self and social wellbeing. I know this sadly, first-hand.