I'm a nervous mother with a new-ish driver and decided to finally hand over the reigns to a…read moreprofessional... and happy I did! My daughter came home happy to have learned so much and extremely more confident after her 2-hour lessons with Lenard. She decided to keep practicing with her permit and call for another 2-hour lesson before her driving test. Living in east Oahu costed an extra $20 which was no problem because we're limited on good driving instructors over here! $80/hour with 2-hour min + $20 travel fee. Excellent driving school with prompt replies and reliable instructor. Highly recommend!

I should have look at the reviews In yelp before taking the adult program. This is my first time…read moregoing on yelp to review. Not recommended for beginners. I took the adult driving program with instructor Lenard Wong. While he might be a good driver himself, he is not a good instructor for beginners. I would only recommend him to people who already know how to drive and just need a refresher. For first-time and nervous drivers like me, I highly discourage choosing him. Every time I made a mistake, he would scold, yell, or sigh. This made me incredibly anxious and unable to focus. To make matters worse, he barely explained the rules or how to use the car's mirrors, mechanisms, and other essential functions, nor did he give detailed tips on how to drive well. By the second lesson, he made me drive on the main streets without proper, detailed preparation. Yes I made a lot of mistakes but everyone makes mistake and has different pace. I am trying to learn and that is what I am paying for but with him I am barely learning to drive. If you have zero driving experience, I strongly advise looking for a different driving school or instructor who is patient and thorough.

My goal was simple: pass my driver's license road test, and I honestly couldn't have done it…read morewithout Cyrus! I only took 6 driving lessons with him before my road test. I started lessons with him at the end of June, and by the end of July I was taking the Kapahulu road test. Before my lessons, I had very little driving experience, so I was definitely nervous going into it and honestly had no confidence that I would pass. But... I PASSED MY ROAD TEST!!! Cyrus made sure I was fully prepared for the test. He was strict when he needed to be, and always pushed me because he knew the actual road test would be even tougher. Every lesson was focused on helping me improve, correcting my mistakes, and building my confidence behind the wheel. Looking back, everything he pointed out during our lessons was exactly what I needed to know for the test. He's honestly a literal miracle worker! I truly couldn't have passed without him. If you're looking for a driving instructor who genuinely wants you to succeed and prepares you for the real road test, I 100% recommend Cyrus. Thank you again so much, Cyrus, for all your help. You're seriously the best instructor ever, and I'll always be grateful for everything you taught me!

Accurate driving was very easy to work with. Signed my 16yr old up for both classroom and behind…read morethe wheel. I would recommend them to anyone with a teen.

My review is a little late because I was more focused on my child's needs than writing review. I…read morewithdrew her from this school and transferred her to a new one. While my child attended this school, all of her teachers were incompetent. Starting from 1st grade until I withdrew her. They never communicated thoroughly with me. There were issues with students bullying my child and the teachers never handled the situation. Almost every day my child would come home crying about it. And when I talked to the teachers about it, they would claim it was handled, yet I kept hearing differently from my child. Another incident was when my child was hit hard with a ball and fell on concrete. I was not called or notified in any way about what happened to her. I came to pick her up from school and saw that she had cuts on her face and body. And all I received was a note from the health room lady (HRL). It said "cleaned up right knee, small cut." Nothing about her face or nose. I called the school to ask what happened and every single person involved claims they had no idea she had cuts all over her. I spoke specifically to the HRL because my child said she told her about her face hurting. I then spoke to the principal at that time, and she told me a completely different story from what the HRL told me. The principal had claimed that the HRL knew about the cuts. But when I spoke to the HRL, she said she had no idea and must not have heard my daughter tell her. So to me, it seems like the principal was trying to cover/lie for her instead of any of them owning up to their mistakes. The principal also said that my child was brought into the health room by a different staff member. So when I spoke to that staff member, she said that she noticed my daughter's forehead and nose being red (the cuts). She didn't let the HRL know about the redness on her face. I'm going to assume because it was noticeable enough for her, so it should be noticeable enough for the HRL. So that brings me back to how did the HRL not notice? If the woman who brought my child in noticed but not the HRL, then to me, it seems like lack of care or concern for not only my child, but other students as well. And not only did she "not notice," but when she went back to her class, her teacher supposedly didn't notice either. How is it possible that none of these people didn't see all of these cuts on her or bother to do a thorough check? And still didn't think to call me about the situation? Especially since it was the FIRST thing I noticed when I picked her up from school. And to only receive a note home with the only concern/comment being about her knee is actually insane. And the principal (at the time) was covering and lying to me about the situation instead of being honest and just owning up to their mistakes and how horribly they handled the situation from the time that it happened until I had to call to find out what was going on. I can understand people making mistakes. But if one person was able to notice the redness on my child's face, then that means the HRL and teacher should have noticed as well. Lastly, on my child's last year at this school, I noticed broken glass all over the ground where the kids would play or walk by. I notified the school so that it could be taken care of. I called repeatedly to check if it was handled because I know how incompetent they are. And for several hours I was told that it wasn't cleaned up. On the last call, I was told that they only have one custodian and it's hard for them to get to everything. I would think that cleaning up broken GLASS where children will be playing/walking by would be top priority. Whether that was on the custodian or the staff in office, somebody could have done something about it. Kids are curious and don't know certain things shouldn't be touched. And the glass was in an area where multiple students will walk/play by. It should've been handled when I called that morning. If the custodian was busy, the staff that knew about it could have helped. The people at this school do not to seem to care about the children's safety. Our experience at this school can be summed up as neglect, lack of concern/acknowledgment, unprofessional and callous. I would never recommend this school to anyone. And I have shared this experience with all my friends and family. On a side note, I do see that there is a new principal now. And I want to clarify that I am not speaking about the current principal. As I mentioned this happened a little while ago and I just never got around to posting this. But I feel that it's important I share it, in the event something like this happens again. And no child or parent should have to experience what my child and I did while she attended this school.

From: a old student To: Kuhio Elementary school…read more This school has been one of the best schools in the world, I seen. They/Staff are kind,generous, and supportive. I really recommend this school to anyone finding a place to teach your kids. I can't imagine how underrated and the low amount of students they had. It's not very cheap but not expensive at the same time (That's a good thing). Please, check out this school if you want your kids to have great learning experiences and opportunities.

Excellent class and on the road. My daughter was very comfortable with Mr. Wong. Passed on the…read morefirst try. Thank you Mr. Wong!

Jacob is excellent!…read more Life is busy, and we thought it would be extremely difficult to get our 16-year-old licensed--especially with all the Honolulu Graduated Driver Licensing Program requirements, which felt intimidating to us as newbies. Thanks to Jacob, the entire process was smooth and stress-free. He was responsive, patient, and an excellent communicator, guiding us step-by-step through exactly what needed to be done. Our daughter attended six consecutive Sunday classroom sessions and, despite some initial apprehension, ended up really enjoying herself. Jacob made the classes fun and engaging with group assignments, skits, videos, and friendly competitions. He even bought boba for the winners--which alone would have won our daughter over! As an added bonus, she got to know students from other schools. The one-on-one behind-the-wheel sessions were just as wonderful. Jacob's car has a passenger-side brake, which eased a lot of our fear and helped our daughter progress much faster. Over the course of the required 50 hours of parent-child driving practice, we noticed a clear boost in her confidence after every session with Jacob. It was also incredibly helpful that he took her on the actual test route the day before her exam, which made her feel fully prepared. Our daughter "passed first crack," and we couldn't be happier! To top it off, Jacob highlights his students' accomplishments on Instagram, which is fun and motivating. We were so fortunate to have found him--Jacob is truly the best!

True to my last review, we loved our St. Clement's experience so much ten years ago that we chose…read moreto send our youngest daughter here for preschool -- and I'm thrilled to share that it's even better than we remembered. A lot has changed since Mrs. Yoshioka became Head of School, but the school's heart, intention, and commitment to excellence have only grown stronger. Full disclosure: if you're a Type-C parent, this may not be the place for you -- this school runs on Type-A energy! I'm a mix of Type-A and Type-B depending on the situation, and the organization, effort, and high expectations at St. Clement's speak directly to my inner tiger-mommy love language. It's a lovingly run, highly structured environment designed to help children become confident, independent learners and prepare them for elementary school. Mornings are a joy -- Mr. Kuni manages drop-off like a Formula One pit crew (in the best, safest and most cheerful way), and our daughter is always greeted with warmth and enthusiasm. Beyond a thoughtful academic and social-emotional curriculum, the school offers wonderful weekly enrichment activities like Soccer Shots, Math Music Motion, and Hawaiian music class. These extras are a lifesaver -- that's a few fewer activities we need to drive to during the week! I'll never forget the day my daughter came home singing an entire Hawaiian song; it made me cry happy tears. I also love the daily classroom Google Drive photo folder -- I look forward to seeing what she was up to each afternoon. And yes, our 4-year-old has weekly homework and monthly projects -- our friends are always surprised, but we genuinely appreciate it. It's part of what makes St. Clement's special. Even community events like the school community picnic, Kupuna day and Halloween party are so thoughtfully done that they reinforce again and again that we made the right choice. It's rare to be consistently wowed by any school, let alone a preschool, and we feel so grateful every day that our daughter gets to learn here. She is seen, supported, cared for, and encouraged to grow into her best self. Thank you, St. Clement's, for being awesome -- we couldn't be happier to be back!

New director. Frequent teacher turnovers. Persistent fundraising events and pressure throughout the…read moreyear. Nice kids and families.

I took lessons with Ron over a year ago & he helped me become a better driver. He taught me the…read morebasics and the rules of the road, thank you so much!!

My child took the required classes and training with Mr. Aoki. He communicates well with the…read moreparents and students. He gives them good pointers and driving tips to help them with their driving test. I recommend you tell Mr. Aoki where you plan on taking your driving test so he will help you. The classes are online which can be a downside because the breaks were short. There were times my child "wondered" off so I had tell them to wake up and focus. The second part of the course is the behind the wheel training. He took them to many places to practice driving. My child enjoyed this part very much. Overall, I would recommend this place.

The school itself is great. Very supportive staff and faculty overall and my children have really…read moreenjoyed attending Aina Haina School up until this year 2022-2023. I give 1 star because of a particular 5th grade teacher that has decided to target our son. From making absurd rules about taking shoes off in her classroom and banning jackets, forcing students to stay after school hours without prior notice, and incessant yelling and nagging, she's made the last year of Aina Haina for my son to be psychologically and emotionally damaging. My son who's never had issues in his prior years at Aina Haina hated going to school because of her. If you email her asking why she said or did something, she will never admit anything is wrong and brush it off with "there's been another misunderstanding....moving forward, I would like to focus on his education..." Worst 5th grade teacher. I hope she retires this year so no other child experiences what my son experienced.

An update to my previous review. This is not about the school but about my son's EXCELLENT 5th…read moregrade teacher Mr. Sutton. The school was smart in hiring him. He really teaches in a way that EVERY child learns... so much so that now my son who was pegged by other teachers as "slow" and having a"poor attention span" is getting nearly straight A's and excelling in every aspect. Funny how one good teacher, one who loves their job and puts the child's interest first, can change a child's outlook and performance in school for the better. Thank you Mr. Sutton.

My child is currently in the Young Children's Program (YCP) and I wanted to write a review after…read morehaving a great experience for several months now, and to counter some points in the most recent review 1) Safety - I feel very safe sending my child to school. The classrooms and play space are designed for young explorers. When things do happen (they are toddlers; they literally bump and fall into everything), I get notified right away on the daycare app and get updates if anything occurs. Even small things like little bug bites get reported. If there is a snack brought in from the teachers or other parents, we are notified and asked to give permission to partake. 2) Cleanliness/illness - Regarding a prior comment about cleanliness, my child cleans his hands frequently while there (I have witnessed him doing it willingly on multiple occasions). It is not possible to Chlorox a preschool constantly given the toxic chemicals. Also toddlers put their hands into everything and then into their mouth... Our experience and frequency of getting sick is similar to friends' at other daycares/facilities. 3) Teachers - I will admit the teachers in the YCP are on the younger side (or maybe I am old...), but I think you have to have enough energy to keep up with the toddlers. I don't send my child to a pre-preK program expecting him to learn math or science, but my child's vocabulary, social skills, and imaginative play have exploded since starting YCP. The teachers balance attentiveness while allowing the children to play and explore. The teachers frequently bring in parent-approved snacks/meals to eat and cook with the kids. In the few months I have been there, a small number of teachers have left because of relocating to the mainland. This is not a fault of the school or the teachers, but rather life and possibly even the exorbitant costs of living here. The school is such a wonderful community that when the teacher left, the other teachers threw them a going away party, and the teacher leaving even brought treats to share with the kids. 4) Admissions process / family composition - To counter the prior comment, my family was NOT alumni or this program, nor did we have connections. We simply applied and toured early when I was pregnant, and were on a waitlist. As a medical professional, I actually feel in the minority of parents at this school (which is not a bad thing even if there were more of us - we go to work to care for you, the keiki and the kapuna). We see other parents around the neighborhood and have interval events / gatherings through the school to socialize. 5) Bottom line - I am very picky with my childcare (you can ask my own mom and mother in law). I trust the Early School with my child, and my experience over the past few months has solidified that. I would recommend this program to other parents. That being said, not every program out there is going to be a good fit for the child/parent, but please take reviews, particularly severely inflammatory ones, with a large grain of salt.

The Early School provides a joyful environment where the child is celebrated and nurtured to…read moreexplore, create and learn!