Keoneula Elementary School

The campus is well maintained and nice, but there is not enough parking to pick up and drop off your children. There are also no crossing guards at the two busy intersections by the school. I witnessed a child being hit by a car on the way to school one morning. The principal is never around. The students think that the vice principal is the principal. The staff is friendly but do not let that fool you. I have a child with Autism that the school will not seem to help. I have had to have several IEP meetings to try to help my child who now hates school and is acting out because he does not get what he needs. We have been to several schools in Hawaii which are worse than this one. I feel like this school would be fine for typically developing children, but do not count on much when it comes to special education.
--Submitted by a parent

Just awful!!!! Total lack of involment from both staff & parents. Very little help for children with special needs. Very little communication from school to parents. There is so much staff up there, that i cant figure out what the do??? Their seems to be a revoling door of faculty as well. in three years my child had 5 teachers. Nice campus, but tall grass. The streets around the facility have no school zones, improper street signal lights, & no crossing guards. No parking for parents to pick up their children. I never see the principal ever. My child thinks the vice principal is who is in charge. Teachers are afraid to answer questions due to possible advers affects to there jobs. Its really sad. I hope changes will be made soon.
--Submitted by a parent

The good: Clean facilities. Great looking Campus. Hard working vice principal. The Bad: Head Principal. I have seen her one timeout of her office in three years. She was rude when I saw her & greeted her with a hello. She chose to say nothing. The commmunication between school & parents could use a lot of work. The administration at this school seems to push away parent involment at this school. My child had a revolving door of two teachers when in 1st grade. One was a student at U of H that claimed she was a teacher when she was in fact a student teacher. Dont be fooled by the nice campus. This school needs work on working with the community & parents.
--Submitted by a parent

Let me begin with the good things about this school: The campus is beautiful and well maintained (I always see the maintenance staff working hard, they are awesome) with air conditioning in each classroom. There are some EXCELLENT teachers at this school. All that being said here is why this school fails miserably: For a lack of a better example the principal is a piece of you know what. There have been teachers with 10+ years of experience that have left because she creates a negative and micro managed environment such as prohibiting teachers from wearing jeans pants. Why? Who knows. Teacher turn over is a big contributor to failing standards. If one of your children have a problem don't expect her to help you in a timely manner or with respect. Once in a while you will see her waiving on morning drop off traffic to show face when she should be concerning her self with more important matters. When you inherit a brand new school anyone should expect much more. There are lots of principals that turn old schools into a thriving one. Hopefully DOE offers early retirement and someone younger with a refreshing outlook can bring this school up to the level it should be at!!
--Submitted by a parent

The leadership at this school is unconcerned,unprofessional, and unknowledgeable. You will not see the principal walking around the campus. There is little parent involvement because although it is tolerated, it is not welcomed. I volunteered here over 30 hours last year, even taking work home with me. I tried. My kids went here for 3 years, each year I tried to encourage changes to help the kids- asking for extracurriculars, volunteering to lead a science club,setting up a parent FB, asking for PTA, getting other parents involved. Changes are hard won and not lasting. The education is passable if you only want reading and math. There is only introduction to other areas of study. The teachers and counselors are very good, we were very lucky- they are just limited by bad administration. The IB program is promised- few of the requirements for accreditation are in place yet- there is a long road to go on that. I pulled my kids after their safety became a question.
--Submitted by a parent

We live in a nice community and were excited about the facilities of our "new" school... however after enrolling our daughter in kindergarten were disappointed to find out that 4 & 5 year olds were spending their entire day "reading" and "writing" at their desks, no time to explore, create or build on social skills. They have 15 minutes outdoor time for the whole day, with no playground equipment and if you are given a time-out you must stand on a large "T" painted on the sidewalk in front of your classmates as if you're wearing a dunce cap. Teacher and administration would not accept my offer to volunteer and would not allow me to observe or volunteer in my daughters classroom. My husband and I did not feel any support from the school, the administration would only back up their teachers without even hearing the parent/community point of view. After two months we finally withdrew our daughter.
--Submitted by a parent

When is someone going to fire this principal? OMG. She is the worst. She doesn't even return calls from parents!
--Submitted by a parent

I feel like the school is so focused on test scores they are overlooking the overall rounded education of the kids. I wish that there was more emphasis on teaching technology, art, band, etc. I feel that a 15 minute recess, with nothing to play on or with, unsatisfying. My son has had great teachers, and for that reason I struggled as to whether I should give it 3 stars or 2. The principle is condescending and inconsiderate about informing parents about important issues. For instance I was notified by letter, not by conference or at least a phone call, the day before my child was to be moved to a new classroom due to classroom overcrowding. When I complained, the principle informed me that the date on the letter was for 2 days before, even though it was distributed to me the day before. I found her rude and seemingly oblivious to why I was angry. I also find that her choice of "The Color of Home" for the "book of the month" very disturbingly inappropriate for my child. I am happy with the VP, she does seem to come across as caring about communicating with the parents. The facilities are clean, well-maintained,and AC. There is a lot of potential for this school to improve.
--Submitted by a parent

My son has been enrolled at this school since 1st grade and is now in the 4th grade. He used to love school. He now hates school and dreads going every day. He is not bullied or teased. He is terribly BORED! This school started out with great potential and seems to be plodding along; willing to accept mediocrity! There is no foreign language program, no formal PE program, no music program, no art program and only a dirt field for the kids to run around on their 15 minute recess. Parents have tried desperately to get involved and only recently have we been listened to after 4 years of complaining. The one thing I can applaud this school for is the great counselors and some truly talented teachers. They are the reason that I gave this school two stars rather than one. I know that school budgets are tight but that is precisely why you must make use of free parent volunteers! We are free and we are here to make a difference in our schools. Please put us to work!
--Submitted by a parent

I have been an educator for 16 years. As a substitute teacher, I was called to cover for a K-3 teacher. My criticism is for their rather "green" Vice Principal. As us substitutes often work in hot and adverse conditions, it is not uncommon to see teachers wearing shorts to school. I received an unsatisfactory performance call from the Vice Principal today. Her complaint was that I my clothes were not "dress up" enough clothing for her school. Apparently, the leadership at Keoneula Elementary feels it is necessary to be critical of an employee over something that is personal and subjective. How does an administrator have enough time to make phone calls to substitutes about dress code issues? It is because they are not busy enough with the major overall essenial duties and choose to micro-manage/bully effective and essential employees that keep your children safe, engaged, and preserve school routines.
--Submitted by a teacher