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Our History
Honu PRIDE

School Opened

est. 1929

School Mascot

Honu

School Colors

Green and White

Grade Levels

preK-6th

The First One Hundred Years 

The history of Kailua School dates back to 1883 when the first school opened at Maunawili Junction. It was a two room schoolhouse with grades one through eight. The teacher S. Kalole, taught 26 students from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Up until this time students had to attend Waimanalo School or Benjamin Parker School in Kaneohe.

Alapeka Ponika taught 15 students in 1887. The school was then closed due to low enrollment.

This early school was a Common School. Common Schools were located in the country, were free and attendance was mandatory. The teaching was done in Hawaiian with the exception of reading, which was taught in English if the teacher knew English. Most  teachers in Common Schools had an eighth grade education.

 

During this same time there were Government Select Schools located in heavily populated areas. Tuition was charged and instruction was in English. Normal School Training was needed to teach in the Government Select Schools.

In 1886 31 students attended Kailua School.

Kailua School reopened in January 1895 with Manuel Antone teaching 34 students. By this time, a uniform set of textbooks were adopted which the students purchased and instruction was in English. An example of supplies for first and second grades is a slate for 10¢, a primer and a reader costing 25¢. In third grade students purchased a reader and a geography book for 25¢ each. The fourth grade reader cost 50¢ and copybooks 90¢.

September 1895 Mr. D. Kapohakimohewa was hired for $40.00 a month to teach 33 students.

Akuni Ahau began his teaching career in 1903 and eventually became principal.

The curriculum included reading, mental and written math, geography, penmanship, vocal music, if the teacher was musically inclined, and moral truth which included good manners, such as, being honest, kind and helpful to others.

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The school year was 42 weeks of instruction divided into terms 14 weeks long. The year began the third week in September and ended in July.

Kailua in the 1930's

Pali Road1925.jpg

For the first time in 1916 two teachers were hired because the enrollment increased to 40. School hours were from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., but students attended in shifts since the teacher could not teach so many grades at one time.

In 1926 a new school was built near the Windward YMCA. The school was larger, with more teachers so the children could attend school all day.

WebCopy of Campus Drawing.jpg

A Japanese Language School was located next door and most students attended it for an hour after regular school.

 

To get to school students either walked or rode horses. Most students left home in the dark and returned home in the dark. They carried kerosene lanterns to light the way. The children could purchase milk for 5¢ but most could not afford it.

Kailua School moved to its present 7 ½ acre campus in 1929. The school, located where the parking lot is today, was one wooden building with 3 classrooms, a library and an office.

Second Location

Present Location

Hawai'i State Archives #PPWD-12-5-006 Oahu Nu'uanu Pali

Photo credit: R.J. Baker

Throughout the 1930’s five more classrooms were added making it U shaped with a courtyard in the center. The principal lived in a cottage near the present cafeteria until 1970. A home economics room and a woodshop-agricultural building were built near where K-1 & K-2 are. In the 1950’s the home economics room became the Health Room. A garden, which the classes took turns working in for an hour a day, was located in the back of the campus near K-5 & K-6.

 

During the early 1930’s the students were still required to purchase textbooks, but by the end of the 1930’s they paid a rental fee instead.

 

Late in the 1930’s one of the classrooms was used as a cafeteria. Lunch could be purchased for 5¢. In the early 1940’s the price rose to 10¢ and in 1948 lunch cost 15¢.

Akuni Ahau was teacher-principal until Harry Hale took the position in 1932 after he completed Normal School Training.

Henry Hale teacher-principal in 1932.jpg

In 1953, 2,600 students in kindergarten through ninth grade attended Kailua Elementary. Throughout the 1950’s enrollment remained around 2,000. Quonset huts, barracks and portables began to cover the campus. This trend continued through the 1960’s. During the 1960’s the enrollment was around 1,500. The present primary buildings were built around 1950.

Corner of Kailua Road and Oneawa Street

In the 1950's, Kailua Elementary enrollment grew rapidly.  It was the only elementary school in the area until 1955. Until 1950 Kailua Elementary School was an English Standard School. In order to attend, a student had to pass a test to prove he/she was proficient in English. Any child who passed the test could attend regardless of where they lived.

 

Public kindergarten started around 1950.

Field trips were rare before the Pali Highway was built because the trip over the Old Pali Road was quite long.

 

With the improved highway completed in 1959, students began taking numerous field trips in the 1960’s. Some of these included the Honolulu Symphony, Hawaii Theater for Youth, Honolulu Ballet, Sea Life Park, Honolulu Zoo, Waikiki Aquarium, State Capitol, 'Iolani Palace, Bishop Museum, Kawaiaha'o Church, the Mission Houses, Polynesian Cultural Center, Academy of Arts, camping trips to Camp Erdman-Timberline and visiting the Big Island of Hawaii.

I Building was completed in 1958 and the cost of lunch was 25¢.  It later increased to 45¢ in 1981.

Kailua High School which was located where Kailua Intermediate School is today was also built in 1955. It was no longer necessary to travel to Honolulu for a high school education.

The cafetorium was built in 1960. 

Disaster hit Kailua Elementary twice. Once on May 11, 1957 when children playing with lighted candles started a fire and the office, library and several classrooms were destroyed. All school records were destroyed in this fire. And again on November 21, 1975 when an electrical fire destroyed the last remaining barracks.

To learn proper hygiene students brushed their teeth in school each morning. There was a banking program through Bank of Hawaii to teach the children the value of saving.

 

Throughout the years the school has participated in numerous Academic Activities including Speech Festivals, Physical Education Meets, Invention Conventions, Science Fairs, Robotics, Art & Writing Fairs, Education Fairs at Windward Mall, and Performing Arts Programs. Additional educational activities are Career Day, Science Discover Room, Morning News Broadcasts, Egg Drop Contests, and playing in the Ukulele Band. Students worked alongside different professional artists to create the various murals beautifying the campus.

The school held programs for special holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and May Day. A May Day celebration or Hoike has been a tradition dating back to 1929. Other events held to promote School Spirit include Easter Bonnet and Halloween Costume Parades, Talent Shows, Lei Contests, Family Nights, Grandparents’ Day, Adopt-A-Class Day, Dr. Seuss Day, Door Decoration Contests, Backward Days, and dances. A banquet at one of the hotels in Waikiki was part of the sixth grade farewell and a sixth grade graduation was held.

 

There was Student Council and JPOs to help the children learn responsibilities while serving the community. Other community service projects the students participated in included Jump For Heart, Toys For Tots, making lei for Memorial Day to decorate the graves at the military cemeteries, campus beautification and recycling.

In the 1980’s enrollment was around 500 students. One reason for this decline is seven additional elementary schools opened in the area.

1957 Fire Record

Throughout its history Kailua Elementary has been known for its dedicated faculty and staff. Numerous teachers have advanced into various resource positions within the school, the complex, the district and the state. Several school principals became complex or district superintendents and even superintendents in school districts on the Mainland; as well as, Hawaii State Administrative and Personnel positions.

Kailua Elementary has been recognized as a Blue Ribbon School. Principals and teachers have been nominated and selected for special education awards for outstanding dedication to their profession.

BE PROUD OF YOUR SCHOOL – KAILUA

was a slogan for many years. Students, parents, faculty and staff have much to be proud of in Kailua Elementary School’s past, present and future.

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