Summary:
ZIP code 96712 on Oahu's North Shore has two public elementary schools — Sunset Beach Elementary School (PK–6, 359 students) and Haleiwa Elementary School (PK–6, 196 students) — both in the Hawaii Department of Education. No middle, high, or alternative schools are listed here, so families with students past grade 6 must look outside the ZIP code for secondary options. Combined enrollment is 555 students.
Sunset Beach Elementary is the stronger academic performer in the most recent data. In 2025–26 it ranked 47th of 203 schools at the 77th percentile with 4 stars, while Haleiwa Elementary ranked 86th of 203 at the 58th percentile with 3 stars. Sunset Beach led in all three tested subjects: ELA 69% vs. 54%, math 62% vs. 52%, and science 56% vs. 50%. The two schools were much closer in 2023–24 (70th of 207 vs. 76th of 207), so the gap has widened. Math flipped between them: Haleiwa led 62% to 56% in 2024–25, then Sunset Beach reached 62% while Haleiwa fell to 52%.
Other measures tell a more mixed story. Haleiwa has lower chronic absenteeism (21.0% vs. 28.0%) and higher per-student spending in 2018–19 ($17,895 vs. $15,255), though that spending figure is dated. Haleiwa also serves a much higher share of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch (56.12% vs. 28.97%). Sunset Beach is the larger school yet reports the better student-teacher ratio (11.9 vs. 13.0). Notably, Haleiwa's lower absenteeism has not translated into higher proficiency, suggesting attendance alone does not explain the academic differences.
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