Enrollment
559
Hawaii · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 150003000011
Kainalu Elementary School — Kailua, HI
Federal NCES profile for Kainalu Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 24/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 28
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Hawaii Department of Education · Hawaii
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 14.3:1 Hawaii avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.5%
vs 40.0% Hawaii avg
-66% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Kainalu Elementary School compares with Hawaii and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Kainalu Elementary School reports 559 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% above the Hawaii state mean of 14.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 66% below the Hawaii average and 74% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 559 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 28.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hawaii Department of Education spends $19,381 per pupil district-wide, above the Hawaii average of $19,381 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 0.8% from local sources (property taxes), 84.7% from the state, and 14.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Kainalu Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Hawaii state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Hawaii | Hawaii avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.2:1 | ▲ 6% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.5% | ▼ 66% | 40.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 559 | top 61% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
13.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 66% below the Hawaii average of 40.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.2:1
students per teacher
— 6% above state mean
Top 66% in Hawaii — lower ratio than 34% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
28.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,381
per pupil, district-wide
— above Hawaii avg of $19,381
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 559 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 559 Top 61% in Hawaii — larger than 39% of 295 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 15.2:1 +6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.5% -66% vs state
NCES ID 150003000011
Student demographics
White 41.9%
Two or More 25.6%
Hispanic or Latino 19.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 9.3%
Asian 3.6%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 41.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 559:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 28.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hawaii Department of Education, which includes Kainalu Elementary School.
$19,381
Per student
+0%
vs Hawaii
Avg $19,381
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 0.8%
State 84.7%
Federal 14.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,890
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,538
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,382
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 2,094
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 1,966
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
Similar other schools in Kailua
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Mokapu Elementary School
Standard public school
805 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Aikahi Elementary School
Standard public school
485 students 16.3:1 students per teacher
Maunawili Elementary School
Standard public school
361 students 13.3:1 students per teacher
Ka'Ohao Public Charter School
Standard public school
332 students 14.3:1 students per teacher
Kailua Elementary School
Standard public school
267 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
Enchanted Lake Elementary School
Standard public school
258 students 17.2:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Kainalu Elementary School
How many students attend Kainalu Elementary School?
Kainalu Elementary School has 559 students enrolled. It is a other school in Kailua, HI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Kainalu Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Kainalu Elementary School is 15.2:1, which is 6% higher than the Hawaii average of 14.3:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kainalu Elementary School?
13.5% of students at Kainalu Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Hawaii average of 40.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kainalu Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Kainalu Elementary School is White at 41.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Kailua, HI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Kainalu Elementary School?
Kainalu Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.