Monday message 08.07.2023

Aloha mai kakou to the good people in the learning community of Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School, and we hope this message finds you all in good health and happiness. Our staff joined us on campus last week and we eagerly await the arrival of our learners on Monday, August 7th. We have missed their infectious zest for life on campus over the summer.

The annual Campus Cleanup on Saturday, July 29th was a MASSIVE success due to the kindness and generosity of each of you. Although we do not have an official number of volunteers that showed up, we did see a record number of people volunteer to assist through SignUp Genius. Mahalo nui loa for your contributions to this annual event and for making the campus shine for our keiki.

Mahalo for your patience and understanding in the process to find a new school counsellor to replace the ever-energetic Ms. Giselle. Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School is pleased to share that Ms. Malissa will be the new school counsellor at our school. Ms. Malissa is well known in our learning community for her outstanding teaching plus strong academic support in her role as Assessment Coordinator. Ms. Giselle has kindly agreed to remain in place in a transition phase for the month of August as Ms. Malissa moves into this new role. As an added level of support, it will be my pleasure to work directly and mentor Ms. Malissa in her new duties as a Middle School Counsellor which was part of my journey in life.

Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School is thrilled to welcome Ms. Madison James to our staff for the 2023-2024 school year. Ms. “MJ “as she is known to our learning community has roots in Koloa and joins our team as a teacher in our Special Education program assisting Ms. Cara. Ms. MJ has a friendly and outgoing personality which is a natural fit for our culture and she is a former NCAA Division One softball athlete. Wow!!!!

Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School is happy to reintroduce both Mr. Logan and Ms. Claire to you again as they join our team for the upcoming school year. Mr. Logan comes to us from Colorado and has been nominated for the state of Colorado Teacher of the Year a remarkable five times. Mr. Logan will be teaching the Grade Seven class this year in the newly created classroom on the lower campus. Ms. Claire rejoins Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School and was actually one of the original people who worked at the school so she fully understands all the changes that have happened at our school in the last six years.

There have been numerous news reports swirling about the island about the significant lack of bus drivers which has caused many school bus routes to be canceled. Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School is pleased to share that Akita Transportation will once again be able to service our school this year PLUS add a third bus to our existing routes. The third bus will serve the Lihue area and hopefully eliminate the need for the Kapa’a bus to make stops in Lihue thus shortening their travel time.

Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School is also facing higher contract prices for these bus services that need to be passed on to the consumers. Last year our school subsidized $79,000 out of our school budget to offset the losses on the bus routes as charter schools are not state-funded for transportation like our HIDOE colleagues. After much deliberation at the operational and governance level, our school will charge $98 for the first rider and $73 for additional riders for the 2023-2024 school year. Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School will continue to lose monies from our budget to run these buses as we feel a strong philosophical commitment to all of our learners to be able to enjoy a high-quality free public education regardless of geographic location on Kaua’i.

Mahalo nui kakou to everyone who attended the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School Open House last Friday, August 4th from 9 am to Noon. This festive event is a perfect opportunity for everyone to come to campus, drop off their school supplies, and gain comfort and confidence for the upcoming school year. It was GREAT to see so many people come to campus and help orientate the learners to the new school year.

School will start for our learners on Monday, August 7th, and a cheerful reminder that the first day is early dismissal at 12:30 pm. We all understand that the transition back to school can be tiring for our younger learners so a shorter day helps everyone adjust to the new schedules.

Mahalo nui for your support of our unique charter school. Malama pono.
Best wishes to you all for a wonderful week ahead. Malama pono.

DJ Adams – Po’o Kumu (Director), Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School, Koloa, Hawai’i

“Ua ola no i ka pane a ke aloha.” There is life in a kindly reply.