University of Hawaii Laboratory School

I currently have a child attending Kindergarten. I wish that these reviews reflected the attitudes of the parents who currently have students at the school. We feel this is a wonderful school for our child and has incredible, caring teachers and administrators (Mr. Jeremiah and Ms. Tracy are exceptional, compassionate leaders). I suggest that anyone thinking of attending this school schedule a tour to see it first hand. We couldn’t be happier.

i went to this school from 7^th to 10^th grade years ago, and I hated it. It was like a vacuum in my education. For the last two years of high school I went to a decent public school in California, and realized at that point what a real education looks like. I’ve always been self-​motivated, so I learned and read on my own, but the reading level at UH Lab School was REALLY low. My friends in public schools such as Kalani HIgh got a much better education. The only good thing was the art and music classes, but those weren’t even so great compared to a normal school. They had mandatory hula back then too. A really below average school in every way. Socially it was horrible too. If you’re going to have a private school, then at least select the students based on intelligence or merit. This school is especially a disaster for smart kids. If I hadn’t gotten the last two years of my education at a real school, I never would have gotten on the path to a real education, which I eventually thankfully got.

When I first heard about UH lab, it was back in 1997. Supposedly a great school that was highly selective. Supposedly, their students graduated and were known to be some of the smartest and brightest people around. That could’ve been true then, even now, but it’s been 5 years since high school for me and during my time there, it was anything but intellectually stimulating. So, as an alum I will give my honest opinion about how I feel this school compares to some of the others.
First of all some of the positives: UH lab had some great teachers, some of whom demand the highest respect. I believe that most of the core classes (Math, Science, English and History) were very adequately taught and reasonable enough. 2^nd, There was a lot of down time which left lots of room to do other things like sports, beach, etc… 3^rd, the small class sizes made life in general pretty easy because everyone knows everyone throughout the entire high school, not just their grade level.
Some things I felt were negative: 1^st off, why the hell was a Hula class made mandatory? 2^nd, the teachers! They came in left and right, one semester I think we had 6 science teachers teach one course. I don’t know what that’s all about. But some teachers were good and stayed, others good and left, others bad and stayed, etc… 3^rd, Having one open block for an elective of your choice is quite pitiful. Where’s the independence in preparing you for college and having the freedom to choose your own courses? 4^th, there were no AP courses offered. Etc… etc… etc…
So what does this all mean? Well, for me at least, high school was a lot easier than it should’ve been. And quite honestly I don’t think I’m smart or anything. But, 90 percent of the time I think I could’ve walked around w/​just a pen and could’ve gotten away with it. Most of the time, I did have a backpack on but nothing was in it. I breezed through most of my classes without much effort so getting good grades at this school I think was not that hard. So, at the time, yeah, I did feel smart. But oh how wrong was I! Upon graduation I went to a good school a decent university on the mainland and came to realize how UH lab gipped me of an education much needed. Taking basic 100 level courses I felt was quite challenging. Needless to say I had a lot of catching up to do. What made me came to the realization that UH lab almost ruined me was when I was comparing myself to other Hawaii kids, i.e. the ones from iolani, punahou, etc… Most of them came into college with a sophomore standing just because they had taken AP courses in high school. The rest breezed through the first couple of years of college just because they had already seen the material before. Watching how easily school came to them just because they had a far superior education then I had, hence a stronger foundation off of which to build from, I felt quite envious. They were the ones who could party on the weekends play xbox on weekdays and do fine in the coursework. Maybe it was just me? No, other people from my graduating high school class that I kept in touch with also struggled in college. In conclusion, I think going to UH lab is actually a disadvantage compared to the other high schools because it does not provide the foundation to do well at the college level. Which is important when you want more than just a bachelor’s degree.
So parents, I would think twice before sending my child to this school. «the best investment you could ever make is in your education.» The only alums I’ve seen who’ve become successful upon leaving UH lab are the types who are usually already determined to succeed and they are 1) already smart, 2) self motivated, or 3) had good work ethics. I would hope things have changed since but I wouldn’t know. Maybe you could do your own research before sending your child to this school by talking to some of the recent alums to see if things have changed?