ʻAnoʻai me ke aloha e nā ʻohana,
Kamehameha Schools would like to begin to share our plans for reopening for the 2020-2021 school year, along with an overview of our approach that places safety as paramount.
We know the challenges of COVID-19 will be with us all year, but that will not prevent us from doing everything we can to deliver an ʻŌiwi Edge standard of excellence that is student-centered and kauhale supported.
Below, find a letter to all KS K-12 campus and preschool ʻohana about the coming school year and the framework that will guide our decisions on school status, along with health and safety activities. This letter outlines the consistent standard that Kamehameha Schools has established across our organization.
Download the chart of COVID-19 Health Risk Levels - School Year 2020-2021
Our kula-specific reopening plan is guided by the standards our system has adopted and is being shaped by the feedback you provided last month. We are in the process of finalizing that plan which will provide more information, including what to expect when the year starts, school calendars, class schedules, bus service, meal service, co-curricular activities, health practices, and more. You can anticipate weekly communication regarding these plans and more information on key dates and activities in the next email.
E ko Kamehameha, e pūpūkahi a holomua!
‘O au iho nō me ke aloha kauhale ē,
M. Kāhealani Naeʻole-Wong
Poʻo Kula, Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi
Date: June 18, 2020
To: Ka ‘Ohana o Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha
Re: Preparing our campuses for School Year 2020-21
Aloha mai kākou,
We hope you are having a great Summer.
Though it’s only June, we are already looking forward to welcoming you in the Fall, and we are grateful for this opportunity to share how we are getting ready for this coming school year.
While we believe the challenges of COVID-19 will likely be with us all year, we want you to know that you have our personal commitments to make 2020-2021 your keiki’s best year ever.
This is our approach.
We have focused our Enterprise Safety Committee on coordination for three campuses and 29 preschools. Key members of this committee include Dr. Kenneth Fink, a widely respected public health professional and director of our Mālama Ola division, and Crystal Busey, our Enterprise Risk Management Director who recently joined us from The Queen’s Health Systems.
The committee also includes school leaders from each of our campuses, our enterprise administration leaders, and other leaders and experts from our enterprise. The committee evaluated information, requirements and recommendations from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the State Departments of Health and Human Services and other authorities; guidelines from leading global and local schools; and findings from recent surveys of KS students, parents and staff.
The committee integrated all of this with our kuleana to serve your family’s needs, create a safe environment for your keiki, and provide your keiki with a world-class education, all while remaining flexible enough to move seamlessly through changing health conditions. The committee established a comprehensive health risk system that has three increasing levels of COVID-19 health risk – low, moderate, and high – that are based, in part, on the risk levels the State is using. This framework allows us to move quickly as health risk levels change. It will be updated regularly. We are attaching a short one-page summary of the COVID-19 health risk levels.
Right now, we expect to start the school year at a Moderate level. Here’s what this Fall will look like:
- All of our campuses and preschools will be OPEN.
- All day students will be able to choose learning either on-campus or at home, by semester.
- Most boarders will start with distance learning (from home or in designated community centers); our KS Kapālama campus leaders are communicating separately with boarding families to provide them with more details.
- Bus transportation will be available. - For everyone’s health, campuses will follow established health, hygiene, and distancing rules.
- Many campus programs and activities will be offered, subject to health requirements.
From this system, each campus is developing its own school reopening plan. Your campus will be sharing its plan with you in the coming days and weeks. This plan will provide you and your family with all of the information you need, including what to expect when the year starts, school calendars, class schedules, bus service, meal service, co-curricular activities, expected health practices, and more.
We offer our mahalo nui to our teachers, administrators, and staff who are working hard to prepare our campuses and programs to make this an amazing school year. And, mahalo to you for entrusting us with your keiki’s education – we strive every day to live up to this kuleana and to honor your trust.
Me ke aloha,
Jack Wong, Chief Executive Officer
Waiʻaleʻale Sarsona, Vice President, Hiʻialo
Scott Parker, Poʻo Kula, Kamehameha Schools Maui
M. Kāhealani Nae‘ole-Wong, Poʻo Kula, Kamehameha School Hawaiʻi
Taran Chun, Poʻo Kula, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama
TAGS
ks hawaii,reopening,covid-19,safety,hawaii campus
CATEGORIES
Kaipuolono Article, Hawaii Newsroom, KS Hawaii Home, Hawaii Elementary School, Hawaii Middle School, Hawaii High School, Newsroom, Campus Programs, Hawaii
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