Aliamanu Elementary School

Correction: Hawaii state workers are furloughed twice a month, and yet, the teachers do not get the respect they deserve. Parents and teachers have to be good partners on a child's education.
--Submitted by a parent

I moved near this school 2 yrs ago. I have a 7 yr old that has attended 1st and 2nd grde here and also a 4 yr old son that has been in speech therapy here for 1 1/2 years. Let me start by saying Don't judge a book by its cover. After I saw it and read all of these reveiws I figured it to be a horrible and run down school I even tried to get my daughter geographical excepted in a nearby school before enrolling her here. in fact the staff and everyone here has always been very polite and helpful to me. I worked with many of the staff members to enroll my son in speech therapy , they all were very cooperative the whole way ecspecially his speech teacher Mrs. Ann. my son loves her. Both of my daughter's teachers have been great. I have never had any complaints about this school, something I can't say about a newer school in Ewa beach she attended before this one where the reveiws were all good and I had nothing but problems with it...one more thing I have realized after my experience with reading reveiws before my children started this school is that MOST people do not reveiw if the school is not excelling their expectations or something happen to make it a horrible school
--Submitted by a parent

As with any school, the teachers at Aliamanu Elementary are a mixture of experienced, caring teachers and inexperienced, frustrated teachers. I recommend monitoring your child carefully. If there is a change in your child's behavior or school performance, contact the teacher immediately. Listen to both student and teacher and do what needs to be done to enhance your child's education and well-being. Stay in contact with the teacher and try to make sure s/he is getting what is needed from your child. The principal here is outstanding. She will work until seven or eight at night trying to get everything in order, she makes time for parents and you know she is not getting paid more to do so. Any school has potential if parents pay attention to their child and the school.
--Submitted by a parent

The school has it's priorities confused, the teachers lack creativity and have no control in the classrooms. I have two children there now and luckily one moves on to middle school where I hope that it's more thought out and friendly. I will home school my other child next year as I think my child would learn more from me and won't be crammed or rushed on learning in order to take the HSA. This is the worst school my children have ever attended on the island or the mainland. If I could rate it a zero star, I would.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been at Aliamanu for a year and has done really well with her teachers. She enjoys her classes and the curriculum has been challenging.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been going to Aliamanu since 2007. Although the teachers seem to be hit or miss, the Special Ed teachers are fantastic. My daughter has an IEP and gos to SPED every day. It has worked wonders for her. Her kindergarten and first grade teachers were fantastic. The school has been very accommodating, and the current principal Valerie Kamemoto cares for every student and handles most situations personally and is very prompt in responding to a concern. My daughter likes this school and I'm happy with her education for the most part. She is learning Hawaiian and Chinese language and culture and Japanese culture in addition to her regular studies. I really wish they had a music and art program, but my daughter doesn't really seem to miss it.The teachers have to try and work with what little they have, and so fare are doing a great job.
--Submitted by a parent

We had a child go to a different much raved about elementary school closely affiliated with federally connected children, for our Kindergarten child this year we chose Aliamanu. It also has many military kids, but I find it refreshing that the children here still have autonomy. This school does not over supervise the children, and that gives them a way to learn and have a sense of independence and pride to do things alone. It is not a 'Nanny' school, the yards are not plush green, Teachers care at this school, and as old as the buildings are, they do good with what they have. During the furlough now, the Principal is doing everything possible to work with the parents, i am impressed with her initiative and can do for the children attitude. Great school
--Submitted by a parent

It is very unfortunate that my daughter does to this school, I thank God that my oldest has finally moved on to Jr. High/Middle School. I have solid proof on just how terrible this school is and the continuous mistakes this school keeps making. My daughter finally got assigned to a teacher that seems to be half way decent. For the last 2/3 years I can honestly say that the teachers are poor, poor in their teaching skills. Before coming here I use to be highly active in the schools, but here, I have no desire. I think as a parent, I would highly suggest to you to dig into what is going on at the school. If the Superintendent, Principal or counselors read this they will know exactly who I am. I have had many incidents with this school that were/are appalling.
--Submitted by a parent

this school lacks basic needs such as yard duty and security. it is an open campus on which the teachers are the primary security force and that is if they are out or happen to notice suspicious things or people. as with most schools here there s no air conditioning. there are about 800 kids and only three play grounds which have to be shared with many classes from different grade levels. pe for most kids is every other week. there re however a few teachers that are well worth have and unfortunately many disenchanted teacher who have seemed to have lost their passion. Unfortunately many hold two jobs and not just in the off season to supplement their income. as far as parent involvement the stats are in accurate there were a few hundred volunteers throughout this year. If you are new incoming to kindergarten I would definitely recommend Mrs. Miyata. She is both stern and caring, and very detail oriented.
--Submitted by a parent

G A R B A G E. If you want your kids to receive some kind of decent education do not send them here. The teachers send assignment papers home with misspelled words and horrible grammar. It really makes you wonder how and what they really teach in class or if they do anything at all.
--Submitted by a parent