St Andrews Priory School

A bit of an outdated review as I was a student there in the late 2000s and early 2010s, I was on SPED classes there but I felt that it was lacking in some areas looking back at it. The place did give me the best years of my life so I'd like say thanks to all the nice staff there. I'm unsure about social emotional support, I remember receiving most from fellow peers rather than teachers, maybe that changed so I don't know. Safety is a bit mixed as there was little to protect children at that time, things like security gates could easily be bypassed and never once saw crosswalk guards on my particular route home after school hours. Again maybe that changed? The teachers there are semi decent but the curriculum was lacking. It was a very pretty environment however.

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.