Schools hustling to map out plan for final 30 days
By Johnny Brannon and Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writers
Hawai'i's public schools are scrambling to work out education plans following the end of the statewide teachers strike, but all expected to be ready to welcome students back today with classes, meals and full bus service, school officials said.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
"I don't know if the kids are ready, though," said George Okano, student transportation chief for the Department of Education. "Maybe they're used to sleeping late now. I hope they're at the bus stops ready to go."
Nu'uanu Elementary School coordinator of student services Clayton Tom puts up a banner that will greet students returning to school after more than two weeks off while teachers were on strike.
About 183,000 students are to return to classes, signaling an end to the turmoil fostered by a 20-day teachers strike that paralyzed the education system, derailed school reform efforts and sent parents scrambling for childcare.
Some Neighbor Island schools may have to substitute juice for milk for a day or two while supplies are restocked, but otherwise all system are go, DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen said.
All around the state, anticipation was high. Teachers were readying their lesson plans and hand-lettering banners that read, "Welcome back students."
At Wai'anae High, it seemed a little like the first day of school.
"The students have been dropping by during the strike and waiting to come back," principal JoAnn Kumasaka said. "Everything is ready to go."
The same is true at Hana High and Elementary on Maui, where a May Day performance scheduled for tomorrow has been canceled but morale was still good, principal Melanie Coates said.
"It's like the 'go' button," said Coates. "Once the strike was over, everybody hit 'go.'"
The cafeteria workers even had continental breakfast ready for teachers yesterday, Coates said, so the positives make cutting things like field trips a little easier to take.
Across the school system, student activities must be streamlined to maximize instruction time during the 30 school days that remain before summer vacation, said Knudsen.
"If any field trips are to be made, they must have an educational component," Knudsen said. "Certainly no going to the beach for fun and sun."
At Ahuimanu Elementary School in Kane'ohe, principal Anne Marie Duca was busy calling all of the part-time teachers as a courtesy to remind them that class is back in session.
"I think the hustle today has been to make sure all the bases are covered," she said.
At Kahuku High and Intermediate School, everything appeared to be on track to welcome the school's 1,900 students back, said principal Lisa DeLong.
The school will specially acknowledge the many Kahuku students who competed in statewide academic contests during the strike, some winning top awards in history, debating and chess tournaments, she said. A group of 27 even traveled to Washington, D.C., to compete with students from around the country in a program that tests understanding of the U.S. Constitution.
"I don't think learning ever stopped in our community," she said. "Feelings here are really positive and strong."
