Kainalu Elementary School

Kainalu Elementary School is a mid-tier elementary campus in Kailua, Hawaii, run under Hawaii Department of Education. The school hosts 559 students in grades pre-K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 28% above the state mean of about 438.

Hawaii Department of Education runs 296 schools in total, collectively educating 167,071 students. Kainalu Elementary School is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Kainalu Elementary School shows that the largest single group is White at 42%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 26% multiracial, 20% Hispanic, 9% Pacific Islander, 4% Asian. By comparison, Honolulu County as a whole is about 18% White, so the school skews considerably more White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. About 17% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Honolulu County runs at roughly 42%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Honolulu County indicate median household income runs about $106,195, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Kainalu Elementary School is one of 187 public schools in Honolulu County (combined enrollment of about 111,011 students).

Kalaheo High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in an outer-ring setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Kainalu Elementary School has rose 26%, going from 445 students in 2018 to 559 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment expanded from 13% to 20% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 16.5:1 in 2018 to 15.1:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.