Kumon Math and Reading Center of Manoa

I wish I had started bringing kids here years ago! I can’t say enough about how amazing the staff is. 2 years of fighting my son on school work and trying everything I could think of to get him on par with is peers and seeing little to no improvement, I had almost given up. After less then a month of him coming he is reading!

I’ve been bringing my 5 year old daughter who’s in Kindergarten since the beginning of the school year.
She was having a hard time in school and just with a couple months of Kumon, the teacher’s and I see her improving in math and reading… Miss. Debbie and her staff are wonderful, they’re very friendly…
And on top of it all, my daughter loves it and enjoys coming here…

Ms. Debbie and her staff at the Manoa Kumon Center are dedicated to students and are open three times a week for students to attend the center. We were able to pick up Kumon lessons prior to our vacation so our daughter wouldn’t fall behind in her lessons. The stories in the Reading lessons are interesting and include classics, fiction and non-​fiction passages. The staff is accommodating and friendly. If you are thinking about sending your child to Kumon, this is the center to visit!

We started our son at the age of 3, despite many of our friends and family questioning why we were starting him so young.
My half-​joking, half-​serious answer: how else is he going to learn to do calculus by the 6^th grade?
Anyway, part of the reason we were sold on this Kumon was because of Debbie, the owner of this location. She exudes caring, and works to build long-​term relationships with the parents. I’ve often commented to her that it’s more work on her part to do it her way, but that’s what makes her special.
There were a handful of times that we worked out some accelerated schedules with her for our son, who was doing so well with his reading that he was moving ahead of his school’s pace, so we crafted a strategy with Debbie for how to keep close to the Kumon model while keeping a good track with his school.
With our experience, Kumon is equally good at remedial as it is with enrichment, but it’s the teacher that makes the difference. I can’t comment on all Kumon centers because they’re independently operated, so I will only comment on the Manoa (and associated Kailua center) location, that go to see Debbie if you want to help your child get ahead.

I have a 9 year-​old who has attended the Kumon Math and Reading Center of Manoa since he was 3. Ms. Debbie is the head Instructor here and she also has a location at Kailua Elementary School. Kumon and Ms. Debbie have our utmost confidence and we recommend both.
Over the years I have come to realize that a student’s teacher (s) and the curriculum at school change every academic year, for better or worse. Parents are also typically stuck with standardized testing, core curriculum, etc. and grading systems that can be abstract (i.e. «exceeds expectations…»). In addition to building math and reading proficiency, Kumon provides parents with an objective measure of where their child stands. The student gets the benefit of academic continuity from the Kumon program and a great instructor like Ms. Debbie. The bottom line is that Kumon and Ms. Debbie have been there for us throughout the years.
I am extremely cautious about who is in contact with my child. Another plus for the Manoa Kumon is its excellent staff retention — most have been here since we first started attending.
Finally, for those of you who are navigating the private school admissions scene, I would note that we were admitted to our school of choice. Kumon was key to this process and Ms. Debbie is very knowledgeable about the local education marketplace.

I have been sending my 9 year old to this Kumon for the last 4 years and I can honestly say it has been helping him with his reading and math. His reading scores are way above the national average as reported on his results on a private school standardized test. His math scores were a bit lower, but still above the national average. I believe this is the case because he was given the extra consistent work Kumon provides.
The staff at Manoa Kumon is very friendly and really works well with the students. I also just started my 5 year old a few months ago, and he too is showing progress. His elementary school teacher says he is doing well and his penmanship is above average I recommend this Kumon 100%!!!

We have 2 daughters who attend Kumon at the Manoa campus. They both started at the beginning of kindergarten, so the adjustment of doing homework and Kumon appeared seamless. Our oldest daughter is currently in the 4^th grade and recently tested into her school’s «gifted and talented» program. We are proud to attribute her academic success thus far, to the Kumon program and Manoa staff. They are always positive, calm, and always willing to help the student and parents in any way they can. Our other daughter, currently in Kindergarten, just started and feels like a big girl doing Kumon along side her sister. We sometimes struggle getting our kids to do their Kumon daily, but found that doing Kumon in the morning works out better then after school when they are tired.
My husband and I strongly feel that a child’s outlook on school is heavily based on their academic success. If the school work is easy for them, then they tend to be more confident in themselves and willing to try new things. If they are constantly having a difficult time in school, they tend to dislike going to school and lack confidence in their abilities.
Debbie’s staff are all long time employees, and cumulatively have a wealth of knowledge and experience. They all sincerely enjoy watching our children’s spirits grow through hard work and perseverance.
I highly recommend the Manoa Kumon Center. Debbie, Wade, Tiara, and Andrew are all warm, welcoming, and treat everyone like family.

My son Tommy attends the Center under the direction of Debra and her staff. He was taking Kumon Math to help him at Midpacific Institute. He had to take an accelerated Algebra class in 4 weeks over the summer. Thanks to the caring team at the Manoa Kumon he was able to earn an A. They exceeded my expectations. I also could bring hom to their site at Kailua elementary school
Mahalo Debbie.

Great staff led by a great leader with the personality of a superstar. My child has been attending here for 18 months now and has jumped from a standard Kindergarten level student to one doing 2^nd to 3^rd grade level math and reading (respectively) in a very short amount of time.

My 11 year old son had been struggling in math a few years ago, which is why I decided to sign him up for Kumon in Manoa. This was one of the best decisions I’ve made for him. Debbie and her staff are great at providing him with challenging repetitive worksheets that have helped to make him become so much more confident in math. In fact, he has achieved above average scores on the Hawaii State Assessment test in the math section since he has attended Kumon. One of the best benefits as a parent, is that he gets less frustrated while doing his homework, and is able to complete it with no help from me most of the time, allowing for more quality time shared between us. Thank you Debbie and the Manoa Kumon staff for taking the time to encourage and strengthen my son’s math abilities! We are very appreciative!

My son has been attending the Manoa Kumon Center for about 3 year now and my wife and I are pleased with the strides my son has made in math and reading. My son is 7 years old now in the 1^st grade and his reading and math skills are at the 3^rd grade level.
Ms. Tajiri (or Ms. Debbie as my son refers to her as) has been encouraging and insightful of my son’s learning aptitude. From my experience the staff members have shown dilligence and patience in tutoring my son.
At first the daily exercises seemed repetitious but as I reviewed the work over the months the more I began to see that the exercises built a solid foundation which set the stage for the next levels of math and reading.
We’re happy we choose to send our son to Kumon.

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who just turned 6 years old. My mom and dad told me that I would be going to a place that will help me learn my ABC’s and 123’s better, and it isn’t like my normal school that I was already attending. My dad told me that I’ll have a new teacher plus the ones I already have at my normal school, and her name was Ms. Debbie. That Saturday morning, I walked up the steps and down the hall to a light blue door (see attached local picture). We met Ms. Debbie there, and she showed me all these fun worksheets with letters and numbers on them. She even showed me a fun board game about matching numbers. That is one of my earliest memories of learning, and I haven’t stopped wanting to learn since.
Today, almost 20 years later, I bring my 4-​year-​old son here every Saturday morning for his weekly Kumon meetings. I still see Ms. Debbie and now my son has her as a teacher. She is still as I remember her all those years ago; still open, loving, and passionate about the Kumon program. Her staff, though different from the ones I had as a child, is wonderful just like her and have such a great approach to teaching: compassionate and challenging; patient and determined. My son immediately felt comfortable and continues to build confidence and knowledge in the program.
The program is designed such that students meet at the Kumon center once or twice week for their lessons. Afterward, the teacher sends each student home with lessons to complete every day until the next meeting at the center. This is my favorite program attribute: PARENTS ARE INTEGRAL TO THE PROGRAM. Parents help their child complete lessons and they also check their lessons accordingly. To me, these activities foster and cultivate the parent-​child relationship. As the child progresses in the program, timed tests are taken to advance to each level (this is different for the younger students like my son). There are no grades; just encouragement.
As a mom and former student of this Kumon center, I cannot say enough about all the positives and anything about the negatives (because really, there are none). Having experienced and utilized the benefits of this program first hand, I am investing in my son’s learning for approximately $ 110 each month (per subject: math or reading). I believe in this program because Kumon believed in me.