Lihikai Elementary School

Lihikai Elementary School is an elementary campus of middle-of-the-pack scale in Kahului, Hawaii, run under Hawaii Department of Education, hosting 632 students in grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 44% above the typical public school in Hawaii, which averages around 438 students.

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

On the student-mix side, Lihikai Elementary School lists that 43% of students identify as Asian, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 27% Pacific Islander, 17% Hispanic, 11% multiracial. By comparison, Maui County as a whole is about 28% Asian, so the school skews considerably more Asian than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, The school reports having 43 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.7:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Lihikai Elementary School higher than the state norm the norm. Around 62% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Maui County runs at roughly 51%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Maui County) logs that median household earnings sit near $97,161, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Maui County's 34 public schools (combined enrollment of about 19,695 students), Lihikai Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Maui Waena Intermediate School, roughly 0.5 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Lihikai Elementary School.

Lihikai Elementary School operates from an inner-city location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Lihikai Elementary School has declined 26%, going from 859 students in 2018 to 632 in 2025. The Asian share of enrollment grew from 37% to 43% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 15.9:1 in 2018 to 14.7:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.