Summary:
ZIP code 96781 covers Papaikou, Hawaii, and contains just one public school: Prince Jonah Kalanianaole Elementary School, an elementary campus serving grades PK–6 with 183 students. There are no middle schools, high schools, or alternative schools listed in this ZIP, so older students travel outside the area for those grades, making this the only public elementary option in the community. It operates within the Hawaii Department of Education.
Academically, the school has shown real movement in two of three tested subjects. ELA proficiency rose from 36% in 2024–2025 to 42% in 2025–2026, and math jumped from 20% to 33%. Science moved the other way, dropping from 50% to 29% — a sharp reversal from being the strongest reported subject to the weakest. Science is measured by the HSA while ELA and math use the Smarter Balanced Assessments, so the exams are not identical. Statewide, the school climbed from 201 of 207 (3rd percentile, 0 stars) in 2023–2024 to 148 of 204 (27th percentile, 1 star) in 2024–2025, then slipped slightly to 160 of 203 (21st percentile, 1 star) in 2025–2026 — still far better than two years earlier.
Families should weigh that progress against the school's context. In 2024–2025, 70.49% of students (about 129 of 183) qualified for free or reduced lunch, and chronic absenteeism was 28.0% (roughly 51 students). Resource indicators are mixed: a 12.2:1 student–teacher ratio (about 15 teachers) is relatively low, and per-student spending was $19,667 in 2018–2019 — a high figure, though dated. The district shows 5 stars at rank 1 of 1, but because Hawaii has a single statewide district, that comparison is not meaningful. The school's own rank history and test scores are the better guide.
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