Maui Waena Intermediate School

Maui Waena Intermediate School is a grades 6–8 school at 795 Onehee Ave in Kahului, Hawaii, serving 1,015 students as part of the single statewide Hawaii Department of Education district. It is the largest middle school in its local comparison group — roughly 14 percent bigger than the next-largest nearby school and more than twice the size of Lokelani and Lahaina — and it is in the strongest position of its recent history: a 2025–26 state rank of 26th of 85 schools (69th percentile) and a 4-star rating, the first 4-star rating in the ten years of data reviewed.

Compared with its neighbors, Maui Waena leads in every tested subject: 52% proficient in English language arts, 34% in math, and 49% in science — ahead of Iao Intermediate School, Lokelani Intermediate School, Samuel Enoka Kalama Intermediate School, and Lahaina Intermediate School. Science is the standout, 14 points clear of the next-best school and up 9 points over two years. Chronic absenteeism is 22.0% — the lowest of the five and 15 points better than Iao's 37%. The school has climbed 14 percentile points over two years while Iao and Kalama have slipped; Iao rated higher as recently as 2023–24. Notably, Maui Waena posts these results on the second-lowest per-student spending in the group ($15,404 in 2018–19), and its student–teacher ratio improved to 14.7.

The main areas to watch are within the school itself. Special education students rank at the 29th percentile and English language learners at the 35th percentile statewide — both declined over the past year and sit 34 to 40 percentile points below the school's overall standing. Low-income students, by contrast, rank at the 61st percentile, above average for Hawaii schools. With roughly half the student body economically disadvantaged, closing the special education and English learner gaps is the clearest path from a 4-star rating toward the top of the state.