Honowai Elementary School

Honowai Elementary School is an elementary-level community of reasonably sized scale in Waipahu, Hawaii, one of the schools within Hawaii Department of Education, caters to 568 students in grades pre-K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 438 students per school, that is 30% bigger than typical.

Within Hawaii Department of Education, which oversees 296 schools and 167,071 students, Honowai Elementary School is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Honowai Elementary School reports that the most-represented group is Asian (53%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest looks like 19% Pacific Islander, 15% Hispanic, 12% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 42% Asian, putting the school's mix visibly more Asian than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.3:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 58% of students at Honowai Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Honolulu County (around 42%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Honolulu County indicate the typical household earns roughly $106,195 per year, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Honowai Elementary School is one of 187 public schools in Honolulu County (combined enrollment of about 111,011 students).

Nearest neighbor: Kaleiopuu Elementary School, around 0.5 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in a suburban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 14%: 659 students in 2018 compared to 568 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 12.3:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Honowai Elementary School typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.