Kihei Elementary School first grader Kamila Payne, 7, and mom Amber Payne cross Liloa Drive on their way to school with help from Maui Police Department solo bike officer Noel Talaroc Tuesday morning. Amber Payne said she was glad the school has been conducting in-person learning. “This year has been good,” she said. “It’s been a challenge, but we’re happy she gets to be in school.” The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
Maui County public school students are returning back to the classroom this week as the county and the state see a surge of COVID-19 cases.
In a letter to parents Monday, interim state Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi acknowledged the concerns of the increase in cases and the highly transmissible omicron variant. But he added that the Department of Education worked with the state Department of Health during the holiday break and monitored the situation.
“We continue to prioritize keeping schools open at this time and are looking forward to welcoming students back to resume in-person learning this week, with consistent safety measures in place,” Hayashi wrote.
But he said the department also anticipates to see a “rise in case counts because schools are a reflection of their communities; however, data shows the safety measures practiced in schools are effective.”
Since a combination of COVID-19 variants and holiday travel have spurred a rise in cases statewide, Honolulu County has been averaging 2,039 cases a day, followed by Maui County at 226 cases a day, Hawaii County at 205 cases a day and Kauai County at 101 cases a day, according to DOH data as of Wednesday.
School buses are driven down Liloa Drive beside Lokelani Intermediate School and Kihei Elementary School Tuesday morning. Maui County public schools resumed classes this week amid a surge in COVID-19 cases across the county and state. Education officials acknowledged the risk but committed to in-person classes, saying the preventative measures in schools are working.
Prior to the discovery of the omicron variant in Hawaii in early December, Hawaii public schools at their highest point in November had averaged 20.67 new daily cases, according to DOE data. By Dec. 15, shortly before winter break, schools were averaging 49 new cases a day.
Last week, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the union that represents the public school teachers, criticized the state over its plans to bring students back from break with COVID cases rising.
Some school districts across the country have extended their winter breaks and some have gone back to online learning. But there are others, including New York City, that have resumed in-person classes, the Associated Press has reported.
Jamie Yap, interim superintendent for the Baldwin-Kekaulike-Maui Complex Area, echoed Hayashi’s comments.
“The department has put out a memo, they want students back in face-to-face learning, so we are here to support that decision and bring our kids back and support the community and the parents and do the best job we can with the direction from the department,” Yap said on Tuesday as some Maui County students returned to the classroom after the break.
He said previous mitigation strategies are still in place, but added that the DOE did update its guidelines after the DOH, following federal recommendations, reduced isolation and quarantine from 10 to five days.
Kalama Intermediate School Principal Timothy Lino said on Tuesday that he is excited to welcome students back to campus today.
“To me, a school campus is as safe as it can be, with the mitigation strategies that we already have in place,” Lino said.
“It’s important that kids are back in school, not only for cognitive learning, but for the development of their social and emotional needs,” he added.
The school will continue to implement the mask-wearing policy which makes it mandatory in all indoor settings as well as doing their best to honor physical distancing, which may not be easy when school is fully open.
The school has also promoted vaccinations and continues to promote daily wellness checks before school. It also continues to promote and practices frequent hand washing and sanitizing, and reminding students and staff that if they are sick that they should stay home, Lino said.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
