American Renaissance Academy

ARA does a great job of preparing and developing talented young students for college and the performing arts.The classroom ratio is ideal and the academy feels like an extended family. What you may miss from a large school/student body is made up for in program quality and personal interactions.Enough cannot be said about the student performances, staff and swim team. With time I only hope the developing campus presents a more polished and 'clean' appearance to reflect all of the great things happening inside the classrooms and studios.

We love this school! We now have three children attending ARA in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. Our youngest started four years ago and what a difference a great school makes! We were attracted to this school for these reasons:*100% of the high school graduates received scholarships to colleges. Mostly for academics and swim.*Smaller classroom sizes - to give each child the attention they may need*Longer school hours - we're both working parents and don't need to deal with the stress of after school care* No homework- this is what the longer school days are for and because quality family time is so important after a long day at school/work*Performing arts - starts from kindergarten to work on their confidence, self esteem and public speaking skills*Dedicated and passionate teachers and staff- positive teachers makes for positive early imprinting *Amazing swim program and it just goes on and on! All three of our children are thriving academically and socially. They are all very active on the competitive swim team, hula, ballet, martial arts and voice lessons, all offered at school! I grew up attending a school with about 25-30 students in a classroom so I know what it's like, and I didn't like it. The smaller class sizes is the perfect fit for what we're looking for. A more customizable education tailored for each child's potential. Seeing how much talent has been produced from this small school makes me hold ARA up on a pedestal. We want to give our kids the best opportunity and ARA offers all we can ask for. If you are considering this school for your child, I recommend giving them a call. We're so happy we did!

We have moved to Hawaii near 3 years ago and found our older daughter strugelling in school academically and also socially due to bullying and lack of attention and communication. It is not the most modern building but sure it makes up in many other areas. My children LOVE the school, the constant focus on play, team work, individual support. They learn from each other and participate in swim team that far exceed my expectations. Focus of school is on performing arts and respecting each other for who they are. I have experienced that many afterschool programs have children that they pay more attention here. Not ARA, its one big family and the CEOs truly care to help families out.

Very supportive staff and a unique curriculum which includes performing arts! Must say that we miss this school! Very kind and awesome staff... My son used to go to this school but had to stop only because of financial reasons.

We moved our kindergartener to ARA two weeks into the public school year. I am a teacher and moved from a top rated school district in Colorado and was not content with what we were experiencing. As with any transition and decision you make as a parents, I was worried about the change of moving him to a brand new school again. I have to say that this fear was unwarranted. Kathy and her team made my family feel wanted and cared for from the get-go. They moved the process of enrolling him in as quickly as they possibly could, even working over the weekend, so he could start on the following Monday. You can tell how much pride and respect the staff and students have for each other and their school. The CEO is not just a name under the school, she is visible, present, and involved. The parents are involved and friendly, and it was very easy, not just for my son to make connections, but for myself, as well. After having only been there for a month, he became excited about reading, which isn't his biggest strength, he is singing his letters/sounds, colors and how they're spelled, the continents, and oceans, as well as creating his own science homework because he loves it so much. The expectations are high, but reasonable. The students are able to reach them due to the small class size, caring and innovative teachers, and ability to express themselves and show pride and ownership in their work. Not to mention the love he has discovered he has for dance thanks to Ms. Jeanne, as well as learning songs, how a piano works, and being able to play a drum kit with Mr. Lowe. Two specials every day compared to a once every other week. The days are long, which is great for working parents, but they are not long and filled with babysitting and fluff activities. They are fulfilling and adding to the educational value of his school day. He thinks the days are shorter now than when he was in afterschool care, when, in fact, he is in school almost the same amount of time. I could go on and on singing ARA's praises, but I'll just leave it at we are trying to stay in Hawaii permanently, and a large factor in that decision is wanting to be able to continue to have our children attend ARA.

Scheduled a tour with this school and was met by a condescending gentleman delivering a canned speech. I really tried to keep an open mind outside of this man's presentation. My child is coming from an accelerated program and successfully understands work at 2 and 3-grade levels higher than their current grade. Not sure if we just weren't dressed right that day, but clearly we weren't up to this man's standards. I've never been so put off by an individual in my life. My child asked me after the tour why that man didn't like us, so clearly his tone and mannerisms were noticed. I would almost encourage you to schedule a tour simply to get a load of this guy. Think Lazy Town's Robbie Rotten meets Sam McMurray....Overall the school is small and using a rather old facility. They encouraged us to check out the productions they had put on. I was not impressed.I would have expected more from a school that costs $16,000 a year to attend...and that's before fees uniforms and books. I was really hoping for a school that avoided a drive to Honolulu, but it doesn't look like that is happening here.Bottom line the curriculum is average and the location is poor if not depressing. I completely anticipated so much more. The dance room floor is dangerous. They tried to talk about how special the floor was and unfortunately, I know dance floors. It looked like a lawsuit if you ask me.I sought out some friends who had known people who have attended in the past and pretty much got the same sentiment about the secretary/tour guide. Overall they too expected more for what they were paying. Their children did well, but they would have done well at any school. Nothing special here. Lots of hype... little substance.

This school is a joke! Parents spend thousands of dollars to send their kid to this school and end up with kids that are behind. The staff talks poorly about parents and children and demand respect. I was hoping that becuase this was a small school my child would grow and get inspired by those around him. But instead all we found was bullying and very few lessons. Take note that many of the good teachers left this year because of the ill feelings toward other staff and administration. Also take note that every year they continue to lose more and more students, once more parents find out what is really going on. Send your child to another school