Dear Alaka’i O Kaua’i community,

Once a month, we share a new Together Tuesdays video. Click here to submit your photos or short videos for the next edition! Submissions received by the Friday before each edition are eligible to be included.*

We can’t wait to see your contributions!

If you have any questions, simply reply to st*****@il**********.org.

Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team

*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.

Dear Alaka’i O Kaua’i community,

Once a month, we share a new Together Tuesdays video. Click here to submit your photos or short videos for the next edition! Submissions received by the Friday before each edition are eligible to be included.*

We can’t wait to see your contributions!

If you have any questions, simply reply to st*****@il**********.org.

Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team

*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.

Dear Alaka’i O Kaua’i community,

Once a month, we share a new Together Tuesdays video. Click here to submit your photos or short videos for the next edition! Submissions received by the Friday before each edition are eligible to be included.*

We can’t wait to see your contributions!

If you have any questions, simply reply to st*****@il**********.org.

Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team

*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.

Dear Alaka’i O Kaua’i community,

Once a month, we share a new Together Tuesdays video. Click here to submit your photos or short videos for the next edition! Submissions received by the Friday before each edition are eligible to be included.*

We can’t wait to see your contributions!

If you have any questions, simply reply to st*****@il**********.org.

Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team

*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.

Dear Alaka’i O Kaua’i community,

Once a month, we share a new Together Tuesdays video. Click here to submit your photos or short videos for the next edition! Submissions received by the Friday before each edition are eligible to be included.*

We can’t wait to see your contributions!

If you have any questions, simply reply to st*****@il**********.org.

Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team

*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.

Greetings, Alaka’i O Kaua’i community,

Last spring, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced our learning communities to physically distance, we launched a weekly campaign with the goal to reunite our facilitators and families and lift their spirits. Every week, a new Together Tuesday video featured photos of families, learners, and staff throughout the iLEAD nation — a reminder that we’re all in this together.

This year, Together Tuesdays will be making a comeback, now as a monthly feature. Whether your kids are learning on campus, from home, or a combination of the two, we’d love to see your contributions.

The first video of the 2020-21 school year will go live on September 29. To ensure your submissions are included, please click here to submit. Photos received by the Friday before each Together Tuesday are eligible to be included.*

We’re all in this together, and we can’t wait to see your photos!

If you have any questions, simply reply to st*****@il**********.org.

Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team

*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.

Greetings, Alaka’i O Kaua’i community,

Last spring, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced our learning communities to physically distance, we launched a weekly campaign with the goal to reunite our facilitators and families and lift their spirits. Every week, a new Together Tuesday video featured photos of families, learners, and staff throughout the iLEAD nation — a reminder that we’re all in this together.

This year, Together Tuesdays will be making a comeback, now as a monthly feature. Whether your kids are learning on campus, from home, or a combination of the two, we’d love to see your contributions.

The first video of the 2020-21 school year will go live on September 29. To ensure your submissions are included, please click here to submit. Photos received by the Friday before each Together Tuesday are eligible to be included.*

We’re all in this together, and we can’t wait to see your photos!

If you have any questions, simply reply to st*****@il**********.org.

Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team

*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.

Aloha to the good people in the Alaka’i O Kaua’i learning community and hope this message finds you in good health and happiness. We greatly appreciate your support of the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Orientation Days and are proud to share that we are the only public school in the state of Hawai’i that welcomed students back to campus this week. We had around a 75% attendance rate for these optional days, and the feedback from the daily learner surveys was extremely positive. We were able to make several key new discoveries as a staff around our driving question, “How does Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School welcome back learners safely?”

Here is the schedule for this week:

• Tuesday, August 11: Grades 4 and 6
• Wednesday, August 12: Grades 1 and 3
• Thursday, August 13: Grades 2 and 5
• Friday, August 14: Kindergarten

Our apologies, but we can only accommodate learners in the designated grades on these days. We do love parents on campus, but please not at this time as we attempt to remain as safe as possible and reduce cross-contamination potential with larger groups of people on campus. We are excited and happy to be open for face-to-face education, and we wish to remain open for our keiki. We all understand the importance of social-emotional learning that best occurs in a face-to-face setting on campus.

During Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School Orientation Days, we are helping our learners understand the new policies, procedures, and protocols that we follow to keep everyone safe and healthy. We are also performing valuable assessments to determine the current educational level of our keiki, as they have been without face-to-face education since March. In addition, we are practicing our drop-off and pick-up procedures. During our Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School Orientation Days, our start time for all our learners is the regular start time of 8:45 AM, but dismissal is 2:50 PM for everyone. Please remember to bring your lunch and snacks!

Drop-off of educational supplies is also encouraged this week so we can speed up the drop-off procedures when we have all our learners arriving at the same time starting on the projected date of Monday, August 17.

Mahalo for your support of our school and best wishes to all for a healthy and happy day.

DJ Adams, B.Ed., M.Ed.
School Director

Aloha to the good people in the Alaka’i O Kaua’i learning community and hope this message finds you in good health and happiness. Hopefully Hurricane Douglas decided to leave your family alone, and we were appreciative to have minimal impact on campus.

We did enjoy maximum impact on campus with all the great work selflessly provided on our School Beautification Day, as many hands and many hearts made significant changes. Mahalo to you all who contributed to this successful event, and it was wonderful to see Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School come together again as a community. It is amazing to see what can be accomplished when like-minded individuals come together to make our world a better place.

Last Wednesday we welcomed our dedicated staff back on campus, and we are excited to start our 2020-2021 school year with our learners soon. The facilitators and educational assistants are busy preparing their classrooms, planning curriculum, writing lessons, plus actively engaging in their own professional learning. Full compliments to our staff for their professionalism, flexibility, and adaptability in making the transition back to campus seamless and comfortable.

On Thursday late afternoon, the Hawai’i State Board of Education passed the conditional agreement between the Hawai’i State Teachers Association and the Hawai’i Department of Education, pushing back the start of the school year to Monday, August 17. We fully respect these decisions and understand the concerns raised in pages of testimony plus hours of deliberation. This agreement does have some impact on the start of the 2020-2021 school year for us here at Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School, as all of our facilitators are members of the Hawai’i State Teachers Association.

Our 2020-2021 school year will still commence on Tuesday, August 4, as promised to our learning community, but we will shift away from the half days model that was originally advertised. We will welcome back our keiki on campus for optional full-day education according to this schedule:

• Tuesday, August 4, and Tuesday, August 11: Grade Four and Grade Six
• Wednesday, August 5, and Wednesday, August 12: Grade One and Grade Three
• Thursday, August 6, and Thursday, August 13: Grade Two and Grade Five
• Friday, August 7, and Friday, August 14: Kindergarten

These full days on campus will be used as Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School Orientation Days. We will help our learners understand the new policies, procedures, and protocols that we need to follow to keep everyone safe and healthy. We will utilize this opportunity to perform valuable assessments to determine the current educational level of our keiki, as they have been without face-to-face education since March. We will also have a great chance to practice our drop-off and pick-up procedures. During our Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School Orientation Days, our start time for all our learners will be the regular start time of 8:45 AM, but dismissal will be 2:50 PM for everyone. Please remember to bring your lunch and snacks!

We also encourage all of our learners to bring their classroom supplies, including their masks, during the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School Orientation Days. The productive use of these days will allow us all to be better prepared to welcome back to campus all our learners for full-day face-to-face education starting on Monday, August 17.

We will also commence our bus service for keiki on Monday, August 17. As the bus service is starting a little later, we will cheerfully prorate the fees for the month of August.

Now that we have had an opportunity to sit together in collaboration to examine the school year, there may be some greater detail for you all regarding new procedures at the school. The Fall Opening Plan and health check procedure are already on the website (see here), but coming soon will be written drop-off and pick-up procedures. We hope to be able to create an easy-to-watch video as well so visual learners can view to discover how the school day will begin and end. Please do check the website for these details.

We also wish to acknowledge the kindness of your patience in accommodating all the changes that have come forth with the opening of school for the 2020-2021 school year. We recognize the issues and challenges these have created for your families, and we are attempting to make the return to campus safe, enjoyable, and positive for all.

Mahalo for your support of our school. Stay safe. Stay strong!

DJ Adams, B.Ed., M.Ed.
School Director

Aloha to the good people in the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School learning community, and hope this message finds you in good health and happiness.

We now find ourselves moving quickly toward school opening as the dedicated facilitators return to campus officially this week, although they have spent much of their summer preparing for the 2020-2021 school year.

We look forward to returning to on-campus face-to-face education at Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School on Tuesday, August 4, following the Board of Director’s approved School Opening Plan. This plan can be found on the school website, along with details of the procedures and protocol that we will be following for the safety of all of our shareholders.

Social-emotional learning is a key cornerstone of our mandate as a charter school, and it is essential for proper learner development to provide this education face-to-face. Learners will be on campus for face-to-face education for half days August 4-14, followed by regular full-day education on campus for each learner starting on Monday, August 17. As a remote location surrounded by nature with large classrooms inside and newly created outdoor classrooms, we can meet the government and health requirements for physical distancing but also need the support of all involved.

As a project-based learning school, it is always important to remember that we have incredible inquisitive minds filled with creative ideas. Accordingly, the first driving question to start the 2020-2021 school year for us all is  “How does Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School continue to operate safely on campus in a pandemic?”

Mahalo to Jon, Jennifer, and Giselle for their countless hours preparing our campus for the 2020-2021 school year. Jon has constructed outdoor classrooms and desks for each grade (WOW!), while Giselle and Jennifer have handled the challenges of a quickly expanding school population. We still do have some limited spaces in a few grades. Click here for enrollment information.

Mahalo also to the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Board of Directors for their vision and leadership in signing a bus contract with Akita Transportation to provide bussing to the school. Should you need additional details on this new program, please contact the office to discover the pickup points, pricing, and other information.

We greatly appreciate your support of Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School, and we look forward to a promising 2020-2021 school year.

Mahalo,

DJ Adams, B.Ed., M.Ed.
School Director

Aloha to the good people in the Alaka’i O Kaua’i learning community, and hope this message finds you happy and healthy during your summer. As we turn the calendar over to the month of July, it is important to share our plans for the start of school in August.

First off, it is my honor to serve as your new Director of Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School, and mahalo to so many who have warmly welcomed me to the school. My journey in life has been blessed with the experience of being a principal at six different schools in three different countries, including our own beautiful island of Kaua’i. We wish to acknowledge and appreciate the work of retiring Director Fred Birkett for his contributions to our school, especially during the challenges of the pandemic.

Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School plans to return to on-campus face-to-face education for our learners starting on Tuesday, August 4. We will be offering half days on campus for our learners August 4-14 to ease the transition for all members of our learning community. On Monday, August 17, our plan is then to return to on-campus face-to-face education for full days, as our school is fortunate to have a remote location with expansive outdoor areas plus large classrooms to allow for proper physical distancing. We all understand that the Hawai’i Department of Health does have authority over this opening plan, but currently they are supportive of this initiative.

We understand that this back-to-school transition may require advance planning for some families, and accordingly this outline is being shared early in July to assist our families. Further details will be shared as we edge closer to Tuesday, August 4.

Mahalo for your support of our school, and look forward to seeing you in August.

DJ Adams, B.Ed., M.Ed.
School Director

“Project-based learning (PBL) is an inquiry-based process designed around important questions or problems that need to be answered or solved. Throughout the process, students are compelled to acquire core knowledge and other information necessary to answer the questions or solve the problems. The overall process leads to deeper learning and enduring understanding.”

– Thom Markham, Project-Based Learning Design and Coaching Guide

As you know, Alaka`i O Kaua`i is a charter school with a focus on project-based learning. The quote above defines PBL as atmosphere of deeper learning with a level of understanding about a concept being taught. This year, your child has been involved in many different PBL activities, which is why many of you chose our school.

As I reflect on our school year, which is coming to a close this week, I am grateful I was able to witness firsthand the wonderful projects your children created. I was pleasantly surprised to see learners able to describe the projects they’d been working on for weeks with knowledge and understanding not usually seen by learners at such an early grade. Many families were able to see and hear the children explain what they learned from many different projects they worked on over the past year.

One of my favorite memories is when approximately 30 of our 5th and 6th grade learners were able to gain an understanding and appreciation of how a ukulele is made. They were given an opportunity over a three-hour period of time to make and design their own ukuleles. What impressed me the most was to see how each and every one of our learners enjoyed the process of building their own ukuleles from scratch, with the assistance of teachers from a charter school on the Big Island and a University of Hawaii professor. This process of building their own ukuleles represents the foundation of project-based learning, which is the hallmark and foundation of Alaka`i O Kaua`i. The pictures below show how engaged all of our learners were as they collaborated and worked together on this project.

I am grateful for the authentic learning experiences our learners have had this school year.

Frederick A. Birkett, Ed.M
School Director