Benson
Hanalei, HI 96714

Amazing experience in 1st Grade at Hanalei School. Great environment and great sense of community.

As a parent of a relatively recent graduate, I was surprised to come upon this rating while on a real estate website. One should wonder how an elementary school with such a poor rating (3) — and having taught there I don’t disagree — could possibly lead to a 96% HS grad rate. Unfortunately, the admin finds a way to graduate all kids at Kapa’a HS as long as they basically show up most of the time. The best thing about the high school is the division of freshmen students into different tracks based on their interests & ambitions following high school: auto mechanics, culinary, college prep, and so on. Which reminds me, the school ended its honors program after my child graduated because why would you want to put any resources into the brightest students when you’re too busy trying to figure out how to graduate all students and dealing with behavioral problems. Another reminder: those poor teachers. All the struggles with cell phones and dress codes. Some just give up trying to teach; they say do whatever you want during the next hour & here’s your homework due tomorrow. Underpaid teachers and counselors, overworked, working in Third World conditions. I just don’t know how you expect anyone to focus in a 90 degree classroom. That school begins end of July, during the hottest & most humid months in Hawai’i — it’s abuse. They close schools in NYC for much less. A broken air conditioner in a public building in California? The building will be closed when it reaches 80+ degrees. Yet here we are still in 2022. Buy your own fans. Thinking private schools in Hawai’i are much better? Think twice.

This school is great, clean, close by.

If all the north shore parents didn’t think their precious children were too good for KMS, then the scores would be much higher. When you remove all student whose parents are involved from a public school, this is what happens. Your children will do fine at KMS if you stay involved in your students’ studies and with the school.

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