To: All who attended our meeting and those that could not make it.
First, we would like to express our gratitude to all those who attended our meeting last Thursday in person or virtually via Zoom. We would also like to thank everyone who took the time to share written and verbal testimony. Your input is greatly appreciated as it helps us all move towards the common goal of supporting the students of our community. The major takeaways from the meeting are listed below:
Distance Learning
We have reviewed and discussed the various feedback regarding the need for an all-virtual learning program. As noted, there are current budget and staffing limitations that pose challenges in creating additional high-quality interactive virtual programs for our students. However, after careful consideration, we have decided to allow individualized all-virtual programs on a case-by-case basis for the time being. If there is a specific medical need for a student or a household that requires an all-virtual program, please direct your request to our head of school, Michael Stubbs, at mstubbs@kiheicharter.org. He will review and consider all inquiries for an adapted learning program.
Communication
Methods of communication:
·Board Meetings on Zoom – Board meetings will be available via Zoom to allow for safer and more convenient attendance for parents and provide them the opportunity to give their input to the school board and administration during the public testimony section.
·KCS Facebook Page - KCS is creating an official Facebook page as another avenue to communicate with parents. This will allow for easier posting of information by school administrators and help prevent misinformation from being spread.
·Community Surveys- KCS is planning to utilize surveys more often to collect and measure feedback from families, students, and faculty. Survey results can then be taken into consideration for decision making.
·Email Distribution – KCS will also continue to distribute announcements via email.
Website
Updates on the website:
·Design – The school ultimately plans to give the website a design refresh, however, given the current and expected future budget deficit, this will remain the same for the time being.
·Information – All information on the website is in the process of being updated.
Safety Plan
The school safety plan was developed with the Department of Health guidance for schools and the CDC guidance for operating schools. The KCS Safety Plan has been approved by the DOH and the school is working directly with a DOH officer and epidemiologist. Much work has gone into it to provide a safer learning environment within the school for students and faculty alike. The plan has evolved since the pandemic started and will continue to be improved upon as the situation changes and improvements are identified. The school board feels this plan is a good start. If parents have suggestions for improvement, please submit them to the Covid-19 Response and Safety Team for review at efederoff@kiheicharter.org.
*Vaccine Update: We believe the majority of our staff will elect to be vaccinated. A large number of our personnel have already received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week.
All those who wish to provide continued input to our school board and administration may send it to testimony@kiheicharter.org. Furthermore, families are always welcome to attend board meetings as they are open to all members of the public. Board meeting dates, times, location, and agendas may be found on our website at kiheicharter.org. Lastly, families are also welcome to directly contact any member of the school board or administration at any time.
Again, we appreciate all the input we receive from our ‘ohana. Moving forward, we hope our school is able to provide a safe and effective educational program that supports all needs and raises the bar on what a modern educational platform should be. Please take care and may the coming days, weeks, and months bring better times to all of our communities, and especially, our KCS family.
Mahalo,
KCS Governance Board and Administration