The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Waiakeawaena Elementary School
Waiakeawaena Elementary School sits on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo, on the east side of Hawaiʻi Island. It is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, part of the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, the statewide district that covers all of Hawaii's public schools. The campus draws from a community that blends residential neighborhoods with the civic and institutional heart of Hilo.
The school's enrollment is sizeable for an elementary campus, and its student body reflects the distinctive mix of the island. The largest single group identifies as two or more races, followed by Hispanic and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A smaller Asian population and a very small white and Black presence round out the roster. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which tells a parent that the school is navigating real economic need among its families. Data on English learners and special-education enrollment was not available, so we cannot characterize those populations here.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed and depends on the subject. In English language arts, proficiency strengthens as students move up through the grades, with the upper elementary performing meaningfully better than third grade. Math moves in the opposite direction, with proficiency tapering from third grade into fifth. Science proficiency in fifth grade sits in a middling band. Participation rates on all assessments were near universal, which means the results reflect nearly the entire tested population rather than a skewed subset. Only a single year of assessment data was available, so we cannot speak to whether these results represent an improvement or a decline. A parent weighing this school may want to look into the math trend with the school, since the dip in upper grades is the clearest soft spot in the academic record.
No graduation rate applies here, since the school ends at fifth grade. The same is true of AP, career, or dual-credit pathways, which are not part of an elementary program. Information on program offerings, discipline data, staffing ratios, and attendance was not provided, so we left those out rather than guess.
Hilo itself gives families a particular kind of setting. Publicly reported sources describe it as the county seat of Hawaiʻi County, hosting county, state, and federal offices, with no municipal government of its own. The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College give the town a college dimension, and the local economy has diversified since the sugar plantations closed in the 1990s into education, astronomy tied to the Mauna Kea observatories, tourism, and macadamia nut production. Downtown Hilo has a Farmers Market, galleries, museums, and the Palace Theater as a cultural venue. Civic anchors include Liliuokalani Park and Gardens along the bay, the Pacific Tsunami Museum, the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, and the Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo. Low-lying bayfront areas were rededicated as parks after tsunami damage, which constrains waterfront redevelopment but gives the town open green space near the water. The island-wide Hele-On bus provides public transit, and Hilo International Airport connects the town to other islands and the mainland.
The housing market here is less expensive than the statewide benchmark but well above the national figure. Monthly rents sit in a moderate range relative to mainland markets, while the estimated mortgage on a typical home is considerably higher than rent, which points toward renting as the more accessible option for families moving into the area. Rent absorbs a meaningful portion of household income, so budget-conscious families will want to plan accordingly.
We searched for recent district-level changes from the Hawaiʻi Department of Education that would affect families, such as policy shifts, curriculum reforms, or budget actions, but found little of lasting impact in publicly available sources. The district brief returned general organizational information rather than specific recent initiatives, so there is nothing concrete to report on that front.
Waiakeawaena fits families looking for a sizable, diverse, neighborhood public elementary school in a town with strong civic and cultural anchors and a university presence. The academic results suggest that literacy instruction is building momentum through the upper grades, while math outcomes soften, and a parent would do well to ask how the school addresses that gap.
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