Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday, August 17, 2020

KAʻŪ'S TEACHERS WENT TO SCHOOL TODAY for face to face meetings with students and to provide resources for distance learning. The Grab & Go free weekday meal service began for enrolled students only. At Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary, breakfast is weekdays at 7:30 a.m. Lunch is 10:30 a.m. for elementary students and 11 a.m. for middle and high school students. At Nāʻālehu Elementary, Grab & Go is 8:30 a.m. for breakfast, and 11 a.m. for lunch this week and 12:30 p.m. starting next week.

     VolcanoSchool of the Arts & Sciences returned for a full day of school today, with a plan for a combination of on-campus and distance learning.

     State Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Christina Kishimoto, took to network TV broadcasts this morning. She said that schools are well-prepared. Some 8,000 students came through the schools statewide this summer for summer school, special education, and other programs, rolling out "the largest summer school we have ever had in DOE history," much of it online.

The public school campus in Pāhala opened today for teachers to start meeting and preparing students for  distance learning. Photo by Julia Neal

     Kishimoto said much has been learned and much preparation achieved since Hawaiʻi's schools suddenly shut down in March with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to prevent children from being left behind, she said principals and teachers made pivots that "have been exhausting." She praised them for "a fantastic job" for designing programs for their individual schools and classrooms. She said they "need to be able to roll out their plans." Kishimoto emphasized that, of major concern, are the 25 to 30 percent of students who don't have what they need at home for distance education. The Department of Education bought 10,000 more computers and another 10,000 are on their way. Mobile hubs for internet are rolling out to remote neighborhoods.

     Concerning the on-campus environment, she said that every school is different in terms of the level of students who are in crisis, and need food and on-campus support. She said statewide there is "broad stroke" management for health, safety, and overall education. Schools are encouraged to adapt to their communities. "Our schools are a reflection of our society, which is very diverse."

     Kishimoto said the number of students coming to campus at any one time is very much reduced. Those with computers, internet, and ability to study at home are encouraged to begin distance learning right away.

     Concerning the possibility of COVID-19 on campus, she said health officials advise, "It's not if, it's when." She said the Department of Education will shut down any "space" where there is reported exposure or a case, before the test results come back. Kishimoto said, "Schools are not a pure bubble separate from community. They are part of community."

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HAWAIʻI HAS THE FOURTH BEST COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY, according to a study released today by WalletHub. The study was prompted by American families struggling financially due to COVID-19.

     Community colleges were shown to be nearly three times less expensive than a year at a public four-year college. According to WalletHub, to determine where students can receive the best education at the cheapest rates, it compared more than 650 community colleges across 18 key indicators of cost and quality. The data set ranges from the cost of in-state tuition and fees, to student-faculty ratio, to graduation rate.

     The 20 states with top community college systems, according to WalletHub are: Wyoming, Washington, Maryland, Hawaiʻi, Connecticut, New Mexico, New York, California, Arkansas, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado, Virginia, Oregon, West Virginia, Wisconsin Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky.

     WalletHub touted the importance of community colleges: "Other than serving as an affordable, and in some cases free, option for education, community colleges have a number of attractive qualities. They often provide more flexible schedules, smaller class sizes, and rigorous coursework. Some even go beyond two-year programs to offer four-year bachelor's degrees. These advantages appeal especially to students who need to balance their studies with other commitments, such as family and work."

     In its list of best community colleges in the country, Kauaʻi Community College ranked 23. Kapiolani on Oʻahu ranked 31. Hawaiʻi Community College ranked 297 out of 698. See more at WalletHub.

     Kaʻū Hospital & Rural Health Clinic's Administrator Merilyn Harris said the face shield policy is for "any staff member who will be around patients inside the hospital, whether it be in the ER or the inpatient area." Staff members wear "not just a procedure mask but also a face shield as well."
     She explained that the "decision to add this extra layer of protection for patients has been made by all of the facilities on the island that care for long-term care residents."

The welcoming tent, with shade for those visiting Kaʻū Hospital to see loved ones in long-term care. Photo by Julia Neal

     Harris said, "Because our hospital is so small and we have at any given time 16-18 long-term kūpuna in our care, we want to take this extra step to protect them. We are still blessed with no covid cases but want to keep it that way. Face shields are hot and uncomfortable so we really appreciate all our staff for their commitment to patient safety."
     Kaʻū Hospital, in opening an opportunity for family members to visit long term residents, recently sent out a letter to all families with inpatients, entitled Staying Connected with Loved Ones. It says, "the pandemic has required us to implement extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of the inpatients in our facility. Our no visitor policy has been one of those measures that Kaʻū Hospital, along with all the other facilities on island that provide long-term care services, have enforced since the middle of March of this year. Sadly, that policy remains in place.
     "However, we are very aware that the lack of contact with loved ones has been extremely difficult for many of our patients and their families so we have come up with a plan that will enable them to reconnect in an open-air environment. These visits by appointment only are conducted with the patient inside our fenced in garden area and the family member outside. Both must wear masks and be physically at least six feet apart. So far it has been working really well," said Harris.