Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools.
6 public K-12 schools in Kailua-Kona from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Kailua-Kona has more public-school enrollment than 44% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Kailua-Kona's 6 listed schools all sit inside one district, creating a compact governance structure with one budget, board, and reporting chain. That makes citywide comparisons cleaner than in places split across several districts, but it does not make the campuses interchangeable: elementary, middle, and high-school staffing needs differ. The ranked list is best read as variation inside one system rather than competition among separate local authorities.
Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio
3 of Kailua-Kona's 6 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.
Governance mix is central to a fair comparison
2 of 6 listed Kailua-Kona campuses are reported as charters, so district-run and charter records occupy substantial shares of the same city view. They may follow different governance, enrollment, and program structures even when their mailing city matches. The 33-point gap between West Hawaii Explorations Academy and Kahakai Elementary School should be read within that context, not as a single-system league table. Check charter status and district affiliation before comparing two nearby schools, and verify current admissions rules with the operator.
City enrollment
Top 56%
School count
Top 79%
Resource Index average
14th percentile
Teacher staffing
44th percentile
Kealakehe High School accounts for 34.7% of all Kailua-Kona public-school enrollment
That dominant concentration means Kailua-Kona-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
Kailua-Kona school enrollment varies 5.8× across entities
Kailua-Kona school enrollment ranges from 241 students (lowest) to 1,401 students (highest), a spread of 1,160 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.
Kailua-Kona operates one school district — a single-district system
Kailua-Kona's listed schools share one district boundary, budget authority, and reporting chain. That makes citywide and districtwide governance easier to compare, but it does not make individual campuses uniform: grade configuration, staffing, programs, and student need can still vary materially within the same school district.
Kailua-Kona student-teacher ratio is 15.9:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Kailua-Kona is typically wider than the Kailua-Kona-aggregate figure suggests.
33% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Kailua-Kona
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
What do families ask about schools in Kailua-Kona?
Which Kailua-Kona school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼
West Hawaii Explorations Academy has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Kailua-Kona schools in this federal-data comparison at 51/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
How many schools are in Kailua-Kona, HI? ▼
Kailua-Kona has 6 public schools with a total enrollment of 4,036 students. 2 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 15.9:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes:
verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.
