Haaheo Elementary returns to Wainaku campus following $25M upgrade

News admin August 4, 2026 0 Comments

Haaheo Elementary returns to Wainaku campus following $25M upgrade

HILO (HawaiiNewsNow) – Haaheo Elementary School is welcoming students back to its Wainaku campus just in time for the new school year, following a massive $25 million campus upgrade.

The three-year construction project added three new state-of-the-art buildings and renovated existing facilities at the historic Hawaii Island school.

The brand-new spaces include modern classrooms, a cafeteria, a multipurpose building, a library, and a computer lab. In addition, older structures were renovated to feature expanded classrooms, meeting rooms, administrative offices, and storage.

During the construction, which began in the summer of 2023, students and staff were temporarily relocated to nearby Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Elementary School.

“Opening day is kids. I can’t wait to hear the students’ voices,” Principal Jennifer Sueoka said. “I can’t wait for them to see our new space and feel the same excitement and joy that the whole staff and I felt when we came for the first time.”

While contractors finalize work on two of the new buildings, students will begin using the brand-new classroom building when the school year officially starts on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Safety measures will remain in place around active work areas.

Teachers say the larger, modern spaces will support more small-group learning and allow for larger family gatherings.

“To be back in our community — because Ha‘aheo is really a community school, we have a lot of generations of families from Wainaku — it really adds that last piece in,” said Helena Costa, a teacher and instructional coach at the school.

First opened in 1888, Haaheo Elementary is one of the oldest public schools on Hawaii Island, with some of its newly renovated structures dating back to 1931.