ARA does a great job of preparing and developing talented young students for college and the…read moreperforming arts. The classroom ratio is ideal and the academy feels like an extended family. What you may miss from a large school/student body is made up for in program quality and personal interactions. Enough cannot be said about the student performances, staff and swim team. With time I only hope the developing campus presents a more polished and 'clean' appearance to reflect all of the great things happening inside the classrooms and studios.

We love this school! We now have three children attending ARA in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. Our…read moreyoungest started four years ago and what a difference a great school makes! We were attracted to this school for these reasons: *100% of the high school graduates received scholarships to colleges. Mostly for academics and swim. *Smaller classroom sizes - to give each child the attention they may need *Longer school hours - we're both working parents and don't need to deal with the stress of after school care * No homework- this is what the longer school days are for and because quality family time is so important after a long day at school/work *Performing arts - starts from kindergarten to work on their confidence, self esteem and public speaking skills *Dedicated and passionate teachers and staff- positive teachers makes for positive early imprinting *Amazing swim program and it just goes on and on! All three of our children are thriving academically and socially. They are all very active on the competitive swim team, hula, ballet, martial arts and voice lessons, all offered at school! I grew up attending a school with about 25-30 students in a classroom so I know what it's like, and I didn't like it. The smaller class sizes is the perfect fit for what we're looking for. A more customizable education tailored for each child's potential. Seeing how much talent has been produced from this small school makes me hold ARA up on a pedestal. We want to give our kids the best opportunity and ARA offers all we can ask for. If you are considering this school for your child, I recommend giving them a call. We're so happy we did!

Don't get me wrong , it's a great school with great teachers, but there's one thing about this…read moreschool that I really can't wrap my mind around and I don't understand how they can be so careless about this on particular thing. I enrolled my son for one month in this school for spring with a pro rate conducted by Ms. Nora. The amount of money that was taken out was not what we had spoken about combined with all these late fees which I wasn't supposed to have, because the money was not supposed to be taken out. Now it's been 4 months and I'm still waiting on an update. They're so quick to take money, but why does it take approximately 4 months to get an update on the money that wasn't supposed to be taken out. All I gotta say is , seagull academy . DO BETTER! and I'm still waiting for my money that doesn't belong to you.

I wish I have put my son in seagull schools sooner. My son attended from Feb 2024-July 2024. He…read morepreviously went to Kamaaina kids Kalaeloa (not recommended). The teachers, the program, the staff are so accommodating. My son has improved so much by being here. I appreciate his teachers Ms. Rynel and Ms. Rowena. Wishing many blessings upon them. Seagull Kapolei is highly recommended.

We went here our first year ....went to another school this year and now I'm trying to get back in…read more It's that good of a school! Not only do they teach the kids ABC's and 123's but they teach them foreign language and Hawaiian. You cannot put a price tag on the future potential of being bi-lingual or tri-lingual! They also reinforce potty training and good nutrition. The major aha moment...my child asks to go back every-time we drive by. That says something meaningful coming from a toddler!

cole *MILITARY…read moreFAMILIES PCS-ing DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE* This is a lengthy review, but military families, please read. Teachers and campus is amazing, administration terrible and rude. The Cole Academy has called us liars when they have not properly recorded phone calls and information. There are other reviews complaining about refunds not being sent and administration being difficult. These reviews are accurate. Specifically, Taira and Gina are rude and should not work at a school with young children. My wife was pregnant and due in April so I let the school know we would reserve her spot (roughly $800/month) for April. We were charged full amount in April. We were then charged to reserve her spot for May (still asking for a refund for April). In May (2 weeks after she gave birth) we were told we would be PCS-ing and our daughter would not return. We asked if we needed to do anything else and they said no (via phone call). We were then charged again in June. They agreed to do the refund, but we made an error on the form and gave them the corrected form IN PERSON and via email. In the meantime. we had to put a claim on the card. Now we are fighting about the claim with the school and the specifics of the timeline that they did not accurately record. Unfortunately, it seems we needed to put this "last date of enrollment" on paper. This was NOT communicated to us. If we were told we needed to fill out a form or do anything else, we would have. Our experience with the teachers has been amazing. The school is beautiful. But we have seen our daughter's amazing teacher leave due to the administration being terrible to parents and teachers. MILITARY FAMILIES: we are now in the middle of moving with a newborn and still have not seen our money. The school is rather expensive. This is not an expense most families can afford, but they often do have spots open. Instead of attending here, I would recommend reserving a spot AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE at a different school like Seagull. I have had positive experiences with Seagull. I would also recommend looking into ON BASE options (you need to do all of this ahead of time). We have loved the teachers and locations, but are disappointed that this is how our daughter's ending of her first year of preschool is e

I just want to thank the staff of Kama'aina Kids in Kalaeloa for all they do. They go under…read moreappreciated for the service they provide and sometimes it's hard to find a trustworthy and reputable day care facility that's worth bringing your babies to. As a full time active duty military personnel, I'm glad Kama'aina Kids supports the military community and our children because it's hard not being able to raise our babies ourselves but they will do it and do it to the best of their ability. Although many of the previous reviews are not very positive, I've found this day care to be a great place to take my child to. She has been going to this daycare for a little over a year now and she's about to turn 2 years old in a few months. She was still in her infant stage when she first came to Kama'aina Kids, and they have watched her sprout into the strong, independent and outgoing baby girl she is today with me. I could not have done this without them. She went from rolling to crawling to stumbling until she could walk and run. Her coos and cries have become hand signs, words, basic sentences and even singing. They teach her almost all the things she knows, and I couldn't be more proud and grateful for the effort her teachers put into her. I love how she's soo friendly with others and can be more sociable than myself sometimes, haha! She enjoys the company of other kids as well as adults, has a big heart and an even bigger personality and she gets a lot of that from her day care. She is with them every day, Monday to Friday for over 9hrs daily so they pretty much are her 2nd family at this point. Her teachers love her and every adult staff member that passes her in the hallway knows her name. They really know how to make this mama smile knowing she's in good hands the moment I drop her off and leave the building. The facility itself is clean and bright. When you walk in, you'll find the front desk, check in kiosk, bulletin board with announcements and important notices. There's a table to the right that has the monthly breakfast and lunch menus, applications and other family support source documents. The hallway has all the classrooms and they're each separated by age groups with a minimum of 3 teachers per class. The walls of the hallway are decorated with artwork created by all the children, and it changes every month with the seasons, holidays and special events throughout the year. The best part is you get to take it all home when they put up new artwork and start a collection of all your child's mater pieces. I have yet to organize them all into a binder! As our children learn and grow, there will be accidents and she has had a few while in the care of Kama'aina Kids but I understand. Yes, I have been upset about it the first few times but the teachers really try their best to watch and care for all the kids assigned to them. She does come home with a written report at the end of the day and they notify us via phone call or on the app when the accidents happen. You also can't control what other children will do but I'm sure they do what they can so it doesn't happen again. I'm just glad she comes home safe everyday. The little bumps and bruises here and there are minor and my baby girl is trooper for sure! She'll cry for a moment and go right back to playing like nothing happened. All and all, I would choose Kama'aina Kids, Kalaeloa again and again. They are close to home which makes drop off and pick up convenient. The teachers are all great and I haven't experienced any negative interactions with them at all. The facility is clean, organized, AC'd and has fenced in playgrounds to keep your babies safe and busy. They provide daily meals so the kids have plenty to eat, have activity schedules to keep your babies learning and host special events so that parents stay involved with the school. They are not just a daycare but place to help your child grow physically, mentally and emotionally. I'm happy I chose Kama'aina Kids and I hope many others make the same choice I did so they can experience what a great place this can be for parents and all of our babies! I highly recommend any parent considering to take their child here to make the jump and that chance. You'll be thankful that you did! Thank you again Kama'aina Kids, Kalaeloa! Especially to my baby's teachers Ms. Coreen, Ms. Jade, Ms. Sheriece and Mr. Izea!

Our son has attended daycare here for about a year and a half. The staff is professional, engaged,…read moreand love what they do. They always have fun activities and focus on both learning and play, which has been invaluable for our toddler. The play areas and classrooms are clean and they have a TON of fun activities. They use the Procare app to communicate with parents throughout the day, and they send photos of my keiki's play and activities at least once a week, which we always love to see. Food is included in the price (they have menus for parents to see what is being served each day) and meals are well-balanced. They also help with potty training and other important milestones. My two year old has learned to count, colors, how to pretend play, animals, shapes... And tons more. We started off at a home-based daycare when our little was 4 months old to save money since we knew the provider, but when she moved, we spent a lot of time looking at options. Daycare in general is expensive and Kamaaina Kids isn't the cheapest option, but they are so awesome for our family that it's worth the cost. I did see a lot of negative reviews from others here, but I am so glad I gave them a chance because people are far less likely to leave a review about a positive experience. Our family loves it, and we highly recommend.

Im August it would have been a year and I wish my son could have stayed here longer but we had to…read moremove. The staff was amazing, caring and so attentive towards him, they have set the bar for what I expect from all other daycares in the future. They do everything to keep the parents involved from daily check-ins, giving curriculum updates, and sending daily updates of your baby. As a first-time mom, they put all my worries at ease and I always recommend this place to anyone who asks. I honestly don't know how they don't have a 5-star rating because the whole staff truly cares about their kids and provides an environment for them to grow safe and confident.

When it was time for me to return to work at 8 weeks, we struggled to find a daycare for my sons…read moreage that had an opening. By some miracle, stepping stones had an opening! Everyone was so friendly and knew my child's name and he loved them back. He smiled and got excited to spend his day with them and even saying goodbye, which to me was a good sign. This place was ALWAYS clean, never had any funky odors, and even the other parents where so friendly in passing. Toys, high chairs, counters, etc were always clean - I'm honestly not sure how they do it! Entry is gated with an access code and parking is located a short walk away. Teachers plan fun art activities with the children that get sent home for you to keep. Teachers update you throughout the day with diaper changes, feedings, and my favorite - photos - to see how their day is going, through Pro Care app. The ONLY reason we are no longer here, is because we couldn't afford it. We don't qualify for any kind of assistance and the cost was starting to add up for us. To the entire team at Stepping Stones Waipahu - we greatly appreciate the care you took of our miracle baby!

The curriculum is amazing and so is the staff. They're loving, caring and work so well with the…read morekeiki! If you want to give your child a head start, check them out!!!

From the owner: Preschool Kindergarten Prep Schoolread more