Superintendent Memo

April 18, 2022

Aloha Parents and Guardians,

As we near the end of the school year, I would like to thank you for your continuous

support and

cooperation throughout this challenging year. Keeping our schools open and safe has been a collective effort and I am grateful for all that our families have done for our school communities.

I understand that there are different perspectives regarding the Hawai‘i State Department of Education’s (HIDOE) indoor masking in schools. Here are the latest updates:

● While we are eager to return to normalcy, we will continue to implement universal indoor

masking in schools through Friday, May 27, 2022 (last day for teachers).

● With extensive scientific literature supporting the effectiveness of masking to reduce

COVID-19 transmission in schools and other settings, the state Department of Health

(DOH) still highly recommends that masks be worn indoors at all times at schools and

emphasizes layered mitigation measures to keep our schools, students and staff safe.

● Under DOH’s guidance for K-12 schools, individual close c

ontact identification, and

notification and quarantine of in-school exposures is no longer required — only if universal

indoor masking is implemented. This major shift in quarantine guidance aligns with our

ongoing priority of maintaining in-person learning students.

● Please stay tuned for updated health and safety guidance for our HIDOE summer

programs, which will be shared at a later date.

We have been working very closely with DOH since the beginning of the pandemic and this

partnership has kept our schools safe and open for in-person learning through the height of the

pandemic. As we cautiously transition back to normal, we continue to rely on the guidance and

expertise of our local health officials.

Mahalo again for your continued support of our Hawai‘i public schools.

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