Sunset Beach Elementary School

Sunset Beach Elementary School is a K-5 school of intimate scale in Haleiwa, Hawaii, run under Hawaii Department of Education, educateing 359 students in grades pre-K through 6.

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

Demographically, Sunset Beach Elementary School shows that the most-represented group is White (48%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder comes out to 24% multiracial, 16% Hispanic, 10% Pacific Islander, 2% 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, On paper, Sunset Beach Elementary School has 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Sunset Beach Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 29% of students at Sunset Beach Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Honolulu County runs at roughly 42%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Honolulu County put median household earnings sit near $106,195, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Sunset Beach Elementary School is one of 187 public schools in Honolulu County (combined enrollment of about 111,011 students).

The closest other public school is Kahuku Elementary School, roughly 6.4 miles away. Within ten miles, there are 7 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas.

Sunset Beach Elementary School operates from a small-town location.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 19%: 443 students in 2018 compared to 359 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 12.0:1 in 2025.

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.