Royal Elementary School

While Principal Arakaki is known for increasing students’ test scores, that’s turned out to be all that the focus is any more. Students have been reduced to math and reading scores, and are no longer supported as whole-children. In the time that he’s been at Pauoa, there’s no art or music classes during the school day, and there’s no May Day either. He cut the GT program, and the library sits unused by students, which is weird for a school that is so proud of its academic achievements. He requires that some students spend up to 3 hours a week on their iPads doing i-Ready if they’re in the “red” for math and reading, and all behavior problems are handled by the school counselor, not the principal. The teachers at Pauoa work incredibly hard, and it has been sad to see how much their roles have been reduced to producing results.

My son has attended kindergarten and 1st grade a Lincoln Elementary, where he is a special education student. It's unfortunate that he needs extra supports, but I think he's been lucky to attending such a good school for him. The staff as Lincoln have done an exemplary job at being there for him, starting each day with a genuine smile to greet him. In particular, my son started reading before he even started Kindergarten, and his teachers have used that strength to his advantage. His teachers make learning fun, and they've adjusted his materials so that he isn't tied to the pace of his sped or general ed classmates. He was even advanced on first-grade math. I also noticed that the speech therapist was knowledgeable about my son's specific manner of using language and was up to date on the literature of how to approach it.

We love SAS for the lower school Prep and for the preschool. We have had just a wonderful experience with the staff and especially the teachers! The teachers are just amazing and so well trained with HUGE hearts and passions for education.