Monday message 10.18.2021

Director’s Message

Aloha good people in the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School learning community. I hope this message finds you in good health and happiness after the annual fall break.

A quieter week on campus provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase the generous individuals who serve on the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Board of Directors. These selfless people donate hundreds of hours without remuneration to help govern our school. Nicola, Chris, Ben, Rafael, and Leia are all engaged with the success of our school and have skillfully grown Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School from a thought and vision into one of the fastest improving schools in the state of Hawaii.

Many people in our learning community may not realize that it took several years of effort before Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School was able to open the doors to Keiki. Imagine the amount of patience it took our early founders to stay positive and focused after initial charter applications were denied. Slowly and purposefully, the work continued. Finally, in 2018 the charter was approved, and in a whirlwind, the school opened that August. Our current chairperson, Nicola, was there for every step of the journey for the last six-plus years; she is one of the reasons our school exists.

Opening a school requires an immense amount of work, but growing the school demands even more effort. Student enrollment, staff recruitment and retention, policies, procedures, financial stability, state regulations, and charter expectations are samples of areas that need attention to sustain a successful school. Our Board of Directors has effectively governed these areas. Plus, they have volunteered beyond these duties to build more layers to the school. Take a look at this week’s photos, and you will see that their dedication ranges from attending campus celebrations to supporting the building of new facilities to creating a bus transportation option for ohana and even helping Santa find his way to campus for a visit.

When the COVID pandemic reached our doorsteps, the Board of Directors skillfully helped Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School navigate uncharted territory — finding the best ways to provide an education while keeping everyone in our learning community safe. Mahalo, to our Board of Directors for their contributions to our success.

One of the fresh new areas we are exploring is opening a distance learning portfolio for those ohanas who feel attendance at schools may be unsafe due to the pandemic. Please contact us if you know anyone on our beautiful island of Kaua’i who may be interested in distance learning while being mindful of our charter mandates of socio-emotional learning and project-based learning.

We are extending a friendly invitation to you to attend any of our public Board of Directors’ Meetings and find out more about how we operate. We will hold a virtual meeting on Monday, October 18th, at 5:00 pm, and it is open to everyone. In addition, we are always searching for individuals interested in serving on our Board of Directors. So, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to learn more. We would be happy to share the process with you.

Mahalo, for your support of our unique charter school, and best wishes to all for a happy return to campus this week. Malama Pono!