Best Public Schools in Kaunakakai, HI

Summary:

The city of Kaunakakai, Hawaii is home to two public elementary schools serving grades PK-6: Kaunakakai Elementary School and Kilohana Elementary School. While both schools face challenges, the data suggests that Kaunakakai Elementary is the stronger-performing of the two, with higher test scores, a better statewide ranking, and lower chronic absenteeism rates.

Kaunakakai Elementary has a larger enrollment of 274 students, compared to Kilohana Elementary's 79 students. Kaunakakai also has higher proficiency rates across English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science, though both schools lag behind state averages in many areas. Additionally, Kaunakakai has a higher statewide ranking, though it is still in the bottom half of Hawaii elementary schools.

In contrast, Kilohana Elementary has a significantly lower student-teacher ratio of 7.9, compared to Kaunakakai's 15.2, and a higher spending per student at $24,576 versus $19,132. However, Kilohana also has a much lower statewide rating of 0-1 out of 5 stars, and a significantly higher free/reduced lunch rate of 91.14% compared to Kaunakakai's 78.1%.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				HSA Science (2025)	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	HSA Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Kaunakakai Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	30 Ailoa St	Kaunakakai	96748	Maui County	Hawaii Department of Education	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(808) 533-1730	282	19	14.8	78.4%	7 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (11.7%)	9 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	185 (65.6%)	48 (17.0%)	32.2	144^th of 204 public elementary schools	29.4%		36.5	143^rd of 207 public elementary schools	30.9%	1	30.0	44.0	40.0	$19,132	$2,084	$17,048
Kilohana Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	Kamehameha V Hwy	Kaunakakai	96748	Maui County	Hawaii Department of Education	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(808) 558-2200	80	9	8.8	88.8%	3 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (72.5%)	9 (11.3%)	10.9	186^th of 204 public elementary schools	8.8%		27.5	157^th of 207 public elementary schools	24.2%	29	18.0	34.0	20.0	$24,576	$2,398	$22,178

Cities Near Kaunakakai

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Kualapuu	10.55 mi	1	49^th
Hoolehua	11.14 mi	2	47^th
Lahaina	16.96 mi	4	42^nd
Lanai City	20.29 mi	1
Maunaloa	21.08 mi	1	51^st

See the top HI Hawaii cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Hawaii State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.