Aloha mai kakou to the good people in the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School learning community and hope this message finds you all enjoying the first days of your Summer Break. Mahalo nui to the dedicated staff members who are 12 month employees as they quietly work on campus all summer to ensure that Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School is ready for the return of students and the rest of the staff in August. One of the people we wish to highlight this week is “Dr”. Jon.

The visionary and talented “Dr.” Jon was the very first staff member to walk on campus seven years ago. We understand that we have many doctors in our learning community from a number of varied backgrounds but we respectfully suggest that “Dr.” Jon has his PhD in Fixology!

Most people may not realize that “Dr.” Jon walked onto a campus that had sat vacant for over six years. The jungle had reclaimed much of the property. The rats and mice had moved into the vacant buildings and the toilets were literally falling off the walls in the bathrooms. “Dr.” Jon quickly moved into action working alone to get the school up to operational status for the start of school. Ironically, despite all his amazing efforts, the school started one day late due to flooding from Hurricane Lane. “Dr.” Jon was the steady pillar of safety as he guided people away from the massive flooding over the road to campus.

Over the next seven years we have seen Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School move from surviving to thriving. This remarkable transition would not have been possible without the skills, talents, and expertise of “Dr.” Jon and we wish to extend our greatest gratitude for his tireless contributions.

We are thrilled to share that Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School is in the final stages of the Building Permit process due to the leadership of “Dr.” Jon. We hope to commence construction this summer on the planned additional building that will house both Art and Hawai’ana classes.

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful week ahead. Malama pono.

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