Summary:
Zip code 96749 covers Keaau, Hawaii, and contains four schools serving students from prekindergarten through grade 12, all part of the Hawaii Department of Education. Total enrollment across the area is 3,017 students. The largest school is Keaau High School (grades 9–12, 1,041 students), followed by Keaau Elementary School (PK–5, 829), Keaau Middle School (6–8, 696), and Ke Kula o Nawahiokalaniopuu Iki - Laboratory PCS (PK–8, 451).
Each school has a different academic strength. Keaau High has the highest ELA proficiency in the area (50% in 2024–25, 45% in 2025–26) and the only graduation rate reported, 90.0%, but also the lowest math (14% in 2025–26) and the highest chronic absenteeism (41.0%). Keaau Elementary is the math standout and the only school above 20% math, holding 35% in both years, with a small ELA-to-math gap. Keaau Middle has steady science at 32% in both years and the lowest student-teacher ratio (13.9), but weak math (15% in 2025–26). The PCS has the lowest chronic absenteeism (32.0%) and lowest free/reduced lunch (54.77%), yet its results swung sharply: science fell from 67% to 21% and math from 32% to 16%, leaving it at 0 stars.
Math is the clearest shared weakness: 2025–26 math ranges from 14% to 35% and averages 20%, versus 36% in ELA. Chronic absenteeism is at or above 32% everywhere, and free/reduced lunch is above 54% at all four schools, with Keaau High and Keaau Middle above 71%. Student-teacher ratios are nearly identical (13.9 to 14.8), so they do not separate these schools, and per-student spending from 2018–19 varies more, from $11,792 at the PCS to $17,491 at Keaau Middle.
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