Trace Academy Trace…read moreAcademy 94-1388 Moaniani St #205, Waipahu, HI 96797 Every child is unique. Every family (Ohana) is unique. When we found Trace Academy 2 years ago for our granddaughter we found unique! And we found Ohana! Skylah is 4 now. She has loved going to school at Trace from the beginning. Her Daddy is a single Father. He is so grateful knowing his daughter is not just safe but loved while he is at work. Occasionally my husband or I pick up Skylah. It's always a fun experience for us. Her happy "Goodbye, see you tomorrow", and calling the teachers and her classmates by name is so comforting to us. The staff at Trace perfectly juggle being professional and personable! Our Granddaughter's education at Trace has exceeded our expectations! Note to anyone considering Trace Academy. Something no one can take from a child is their education! Thanks to Trace Academy our Skylah will be prepared beyond for kindergarten.

In Summer 2025, I did a tour of the preschool as I was interested in enrolling my daughter. As I…read morepaid the $100 waitlist fee, my husband & I heard a teacher get frustrated with a child, then used her hand to grab around his face/chin to turn him & raised her voice louder. I called to speak with the director the next day to explain what had happened, & was told all staff will get talked to. I've never heard back from them since, whether it was a follow-up on the incident to prevent a similar or worst situation arising or about the $100 I paid for & they never offered a spot, even as we're going into a new school year.

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.

School teachers are unnurturing. Child was mistreated and they did nothing…read more School staff bullied child for being sick while in their care and child was afraid of them afterwards. BEWARE!!! GO ELSEWHERE!!!

My child was bullied and said she was spit on by another student. When brought up to the teacher…read morethe school did nothing to investigate or remediate the issue. After a month of school, my child had an accident at school that turned out to be a urinary tract infection. The teacher was so upset that it made my child feel unsafe asking her for help. When brought up to the director, the child was blamed for "not being potty trained" and threatened with expulsion. My child was told she was "naughty" by school staff. The director and teachers are unempathetic and not nurturing. Heard this about other teachers before starting. Should have listened as it's across the board. Removed child from school. Don't recommend.

Mililani 'Ike is one of the top ranked elementary schools on island. A lot of families request for…read moregeographical exemptions to send their kids here with the expectations that their children will receive top notch education. The campus is relatively new, well maintained, and all buildings, with the exception of the cafeteria, are air conditioned. There is plenty nearby street parking and parking across the street at Mililani Rec 7. However, the school is focused only on their ratings and advanced curriculum, not on the student as individuals. It is a common practice for teachers to repeatedly keep students in for recess to complete class assignments AND not communicate this with parents. Even after parents repeatedly request to allow their children to have recess-for a break, so that they can enjoy school, and to learn how to socialize with their peers-students are still kept in for recess. If a student is repeatedly having difficulty completing class work, parents should be notified and the student should be assessed for any underlining learning disabilities. Further, if multiple students in the same class are unable to complete classwork, the teacher should be evaluated for their teaching abilities. Multiple teachers take extended leaves of absence in the middle of the school year which negatively affects the students' learning. When I registered this complaint with the principal she simply nodded her head, smiled, and said "well, we hoped for a smooth transition." This is pretty much the same response when registering any complaint with the principal. She simply smiles and nods her head . When multiple parents register the same concern, she will hold a mass meeting for the parents and then turn the tables around and ask the parents to step up. For example, a few years ago there were 3 different incidences when vehicles drove in front of the school and took pictures of the student; the principal ultimately rejected parents' demands for a locked campus, security cameras, and security guards. Instead she asked parents to volunteer to patrol the campus for safety. When parents registered multiple complaints about the lack of a cross guard and safety of the children crossing without one, she asked parents to work as a crossing guard. While the principal is very soft spoken and passive aggressive, the majority of the teachers are short on patience, yell in the class, and speak down to children...even before the school day starts! The student body is LARGE, yet shrinking due to multiple families withdrawing their children and enrolling them in private schools. Due to the large student body, school events (i.e. School assemblies where children receive achievement awards, open house events, and concerts) either exclude families or ask that only parents attend and not siblings. Despite all, I still rated Mililani 'Ike as 2 stars because it is a nice campus and there is a pocketful of teachers that truly care. Just cross your fingers that your child is assumed to one of them....and that they don't request a lengthy leave of absence in the middle of the school year.

My daughter attended kindergarten here, and boy was it a rough year! Her teacher was the most…read moreunfriendly, sad looking kindergarten teacher I've ever seen. No warmth in her body or voice whatsoever. No hugs, no high fives, nothing! My daughter had trouble adjusting because of this. She got herself into some trouble when she pushed a classmate and got detention in the office where she had to sit with one of the VP's and write and draw pictures of what she did and why it was wrong. Thinking back on it (she's in 3rd grade now) I think that was too harsh for a 5 year old, and I wish I would've stepped in and said/done something. Several times I considered moving my daughter to a different class, but I didn't know if that would do more harm then good. After kindergarten We moved into the Mililani Waena school district so my daughter attended both 1st and 2nd grade there. Let me tell you that school rocked! There was such a feeling of Ohana at that school, everyone was friendly and down to earth. There was so much happiness and life there. Kids were allowed to be kids, laugh, run around, play. The curriculum was awesome too, and my daughter thrived there. I loved Her 1st grade teacher, Ms. Brewer. She was smart and fun and i enjoyed helping her in the classroom. The principal was great. You could really tell he cared about the kids and the school. He even was nice enough to work with me and put my daughter in the same class as her friend to help her adjust. They had an awesome website that was consistently updated and current. Sorry I could go on and on about how awesome that school was, but back to Ike now.... So we moved (yes AGAIN lol) , back to the Ike district where like i mentioned earlier my daughter is in 3rd grade now. As soon as we got back there I remembered why i didn't like it 2 years earlier. Everyone walks around like robots, no one talks, there's an eerie quietness on campus. The principal is very quiet and kind of awkward. Their website was so outdated. There were pics on there from years ago, and hardly any current information. I ended up writing in about how bad it was and it's since been updated. At the open house I was one of the last ones there and I felt rushed by the teacher, not a great first impression. She didn't try at all to get to know me or my daughter. So needless to say the year didn't start off in the best way. There's way too much computer homework. Wednesdays there's no regular classroom instruction because the kids bounce around from PE to music to language and so on. Oh and field trips are expensive! I found out it's because enrollment has dropped so drastically which has caused funding to drop as well, so us parents get stuck paying the price. (I should say my older daughter attended 2nd-5th grade here and had a great experience with Ms. Cupp (now Mrs. Laughlin and Ms. Kawai (now Mrs. Nakagawara) and Ms. Okamura.). Teachers can make or break it for the kids they come in contact with, and Ike definitely lacks great teachers, it's sad. I've never been a teacher, and i can only imagine what a tough tough job it is, but it just makes sense that you should have a warmth and a compassion for kids. You should be fun and happy and make your kids say "she's (he's) the best teacher ever! I hope I didn't offend anyone with this post, but I had to be honest. Oh and i just had to add in that the teachers have a lot of teacher work days which means no school for the kids, plus a lot of meetings which means a lot of substitutes, plus school ends 1 hour and 25 minutes early every Wednesday for meetings! Not really sure why....hmmmm? Seems like an excess for sure!

My daughter went here since kindergarten and kindergarten in first grade, we're fine but 2nd to 5th…read moregrade. She was really put down by staff and student students. mr. Okumora takes every single boy side and doesn't give my daughter a chance to talk. i'm not saying my daughter's the nicest or the best or the most perfect student, but he would jump to conclusions my daughter had no homework until fifth grade and it's very unorganized and

It's been 20+ years since I've been on this campus. When my son came here as a fourth grader…read more Brought my dog Jax , or the Dog presentation with the Hawaii Humane Society program. We met a whole bunch of kindergarten. They were super sweet and gentle with Jax. @jaxabreu @thesecretlifeofjax

Beware! Alphabetland Preschool prides themselves as a family-owned and operated business YET lack…read morethe sense of compassion and professionalism. The owner's son, Kyle is unable to empathize with families like myself because we are just $$ to him. Make sure you thoroughly read the application before signing because apparently, they (Administration) will use it against you should you have an issue with them. This review solely based on my experience with them. I, along with my siblings & now my children have attended & graduated Alphabetland Preschool (Waipahu Location). It was my child's first day back to school since last year, and after dropping her off to her class, I went into the office to make payment for the month. Although I was aware of the late fee for late payment and with the 10th being over the weekend, I asked the office staff (which then asked Mr. Kyle ARIZALA for permission to do so). Please keep in mind that my family's co-pay for tuition is $11.00 and this was my first time asking for leniency. Kyle was very stern on being unable to possibly waiving the $50 fee- making a strict example of how if I was an exception then he would have to make an exception for everyone else. I felt I was being treated very poorly by a member of administration- He didn't want to hear me out or perhaps even bothered to provide other options to this issue. Kyle insisted, I should have figured it out. I wrote an email addressing my concerns and in return was given a hand-delivered letter by my child's teacher the following day in response to my email. I've spoken and asked the teachers and aides about him, and I have not heard ONE positive attribute in regards to Kyle. So FYI, any issue presented to management is considered "confrontational" and deemed grounds for dismissal. What a joke! Someone enroll Kyle in a Public Relations class so he can learn how to efficiently deal with people.

I love this school! My girls are still attending here but I want to talk about the teachers that…read morethey had last year. My daughter learned so much from Ms. Nelsy (4 year olds teacher) while only being in her class for 5 months. She entered late because I originally had her in the HCAP (free preschool) but was approved for POD and was able to choose this school for her. At first, she didn't know how to write her name, count to 50, recognize letters, but then I was so proud to get her end of the year report card because she was able to do all of that. My daughter does tell me she misses Ms. Nelsy but now she is in the big girl class with Ms. Ancheta and I'm sure she's going to learn so much more! I think they're teaching them how to read which is amazing because she will be ahead when she enters Kindergarten the next school year. My other daughter had Ms. Charmaine (2 years old class) and I'm telling you that she's definitely a teacher you would want for your 2 year old because she has so much PATIENCE. My daughter was crying all day the first couple days. Sometimes she would even throw a tantrum to come home with me, it was so sad BUT I had to drop her off everyday so that she would get used to it and she did. Couple months in, she was just walking right into class like a big girl. Ms. Charmaine also helped me with potty training. My daughter was already trained with us at home but I was afraid she would have accidents at school so she would go in diapers but finally I asked Ms. Charmaine if she could help me and if it would be okay if my daughter wore underwears instead of diapers to school. She had a few accidents the first couple days and then after that, she was finally potty trained at school too. So thankful for Ms. Charmaine. My daughter's teacher now is Ms. Ashley (3 Year Olds Teacher) and she does mention that she will cry when Ms. Charmaine picks up the 2 year olds in the mornings and she's left behind but after that she's fine. She is having so much fun in Ms. Ashley's class and she actually says her name too "Mommy I go Ashley's class" it's so cute. I can't wait to see how much she will learn.

They were a good advanced school for my children and now at the now schools they are learning above…read morethere own grade and getting really good grades so thanks to this school for all that help

Today is the first day of school, so I thought it would be an appropriate day to review the school…read more My son attended this school last year, and I have just dropped him off for the beginning of his second year. He was nervous about new teachers and classmates (as all kids should be) but happy to go back. This is a big deal because he has never attended any school for two years in a row. We have managed to move every year of his school life (Thank you, Army!) so he was worried that he would not want to go back. I give the school 3 stars because it is just A-OK. The school honestly tries, just not quite hard enough. My biggest concern with the school is not the academics, but the lack of community. As a parent I do not feel particularly welcomed, and as a neighbor I feel absolutely shut out. The best way to improve the school would be to have better involvement with the neighborhoods around it. Open houses, movie nights, gatherings to show off the talents of the children. These things do happen, but are not readily advertised and are not open to the true public. The best way to build a better school is through parental involvement. Bring the parents in and everyone wins.

My son went to school here from kindergarten to sixth grade. He had some good teachers and some…read moreterrible ones. The worst teacher he had was Ms. Koyanagi for 6th grade. She always gave me attitude when I would ask her questions about my son. I just want to advocate for my child. She needs to do better or be fired. Many parents have come to me about what a terrible person she is.

From when I attended here to now, it has really changed. They cracked down on the bullying. The…read moreteachers actually teach their students. They even try to help them when they need the help. It sounds stupid to say all of those things..but from personal experience, it's really a big turn around. I was afraid to let my child go to this school..but I'm glad I let her anyway. She loves school. She loves to learn. It's always packed during time for pick up. Thank goodness I literally live right across the street. No driving for me!