Superintendent Memo
Updated: Apr 28, 2022
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.