Soto Academy

This school is AWESOME and so few know about it. I’m amazed. With the struggles we have in finding the right school for our kids, this one could save so many parents the agony of dealing with public school classes that have too little resources, too many kids or the stress of paying so much $$$ for the mainstream private schools. As a new parent there, I want others to know that I faced those dilemmas. My child was not learning well with so little attention in public school and I could not afford the high price of private school but someone told me to take a tour of Soto and I was saved! The school is clean, the teachers are wonderful (good combination of strict yet loving), the class sizes are small so they get the attention they need and there’s no opportunity for anyone to goof off without getting caught. Just take a tour and you’ll see for yourself. Oh and by the way, its not Buddhist. Its non-​denomiinational. Just is on the Soto Mission property but runs independently. (I know I sound like a fake ad. I swear, I’m just a happy parent!) Okay, one downside — kids transition out after the 5^th grade so you will have to find a new school then or keep your child in a VERY VERY small class size (too small in my opinion).

This is a review for the bon dance on Saturday, August 20, 2011.
Parking Wise: Parking was available in front of the temple, in back of the temple and at the church nextdoor. So if you came earlier it was really easy to find parking. I would suggest calling the temple ahead of time to ask what parking is available since it might change from year to year.
Food Wise: Couple of different various types of baked goods. We tried the hamburger curry on rice and the chili with rice. Both had a really great homemade taste. The hamburger wasn’t salty at all just had the right amount of seasonings, definitely 5 stars homemade doesn’t get any better. The chili with rice had a lot of hamburger inside giving it an excellent homemade taste another 5 star item for sure.
Music Wise: Live music lineup: Iwakuni Odori Aikokai, Hawaii Eisa Shinyuukai and the Honolulu Fukushima Bön Dance Club.
Overall: Great turnout, great parking and great food — who can ask for more?

I echo Roy O’s assessment of Soto Academy.
This is definitely one of the best if not THE BEST K-​6 school around. The academics here are second to none. Very tough but I think rewarding in the long run. It’s tough on parents also because they’ve got to keep up with the kid’s homework assignments. My boy has probably studied harder than I did in his short time at Soto than I ever did!
Great kids, parents, teachers, and cafeteria food, not much more you could ask for. The only thing lacking are the play facilities but that’s about it. I just wish they could expand and cover the 7 – 12 levels. :(
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that it’s about half the price of the «other» private schools.