Summary:
Zip code 96785 covers the Volcano area of Hawaii and contains just one school: Volcano School of Arts & Sciences - A Community PCS, an alternative community public charter school serving grades PK–12 with 325 students, operating under the Hawaii Department of Education. The area summary lists 0 elementary, 0 middle, and 0 high schools, so this single PK–12 campus is the community's only listed public-school option — a broad grade span that means reported "all grades" proficiency figures blend early childhood through high school students. There is no other school in the zip code to compare against, so families should read these numbers as a profile of one school rather than a ranking.
Several measures look favorable. The school reports a 95.0% graduation rate for 2024–2025, a strong completion signal, and an 8:1 student-teacher ratio, which suggests small classes and more individual attention. About 43.38% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch (roughly 141 students), indicating substantial but not majority economic need, and the district carries a 5-star rating. The main watch point is engagement: 25.0% chronic absenteeism means roughly one in four students missed enough school to be flagged, a figure that sits in tension with the strong graduation rate and deserves attention. Per-student spending is reported at $12,922, but that figure is from 2018–2019 and is too old to reflect current resources.
Academically, math is the clearest focus area. Math proficiency was 28% in 2024–2025 and 29% in 2025–2026 — the only subject to improve, but by just 1 point, and still far below the other subjects. ELA slipped 5 points, from 46% to 41%, while science fell 6 points, from 45% to 39%, the largest single-year decline. No state averages are provided here, so it is not clear how these rates compare with Hawaii overall.
Thank you for your feedback!