Kalaheo was once dominated by pasture land. Today, semi-rural housing scattered on the hills serves as a bedroom community for the government offices in Lihu'e, Po'ipu resorts and the military facilities at the Pacific Missile Range Facility.

The Kalaheo community is central, but not a center, and the K-5 graduates tend to graduate in different directions — west to Waimea Canyon Middle School and east to Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School.

Yet, for all the forces pulling folks away from the community, Principal Erik Burkman is effusive about the support of parents and others connected to the school.

"We have community volunteers tutoring, doing fund-raising, doing repairs," he said.

What are you most proud of? "How our community as a whole values education and supports our school," Burkman said.

Best-kept secret: "How friendly and nice our children are. We have very, very few discipline problems. ... The kids realize they're part of the community."

Everybody at our school knows: Bob Gilmore, who retired last spring but is back at school doing part-time tutoring and running intramural sports for the fourth and fifth grades.

Our biggest challenge: "Transitioning to a standards-based school. Traditional teaching and learning that was used 25 years ago doesn't work in standards-based education."

What we need: More money for technology, such as computers, digital cameras, video equipment, software and more.