Category: News

HIDOE employees to begin remote work March 19, schools to close March 30

Published on by Jihae Paek

HIDOE employees to begin remote work March 19, schools to close March 30

18-Mar-2020

HIDOE will close its offices except for essential functions effective Thursday, March 19. Schools will close March 30 following the extension of spring break

The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) will close its offices except for essential functions effective Thursday, March 19. Schools will close March 30 following the extension of spring break. Employee return dates will be staggered. Students are anticipated to return to school April 7. HIDOE employees will be working remotely and those who need to perform duties at a campus or office during this period will be limited to those tasks before returning to their telework arrangement.

The Department will be meeting internally and with key stakeholders today to finalize logistics. Additional details will be made public at a press conference Thursday. Media requests for information and interviews will be declined until then.

Media Advisory
What: HIDOE press conference
Where: The press conference will be streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/HIDOE808.
When: Thursday, March 19, 2020, 3 p.m.

HIDOE extends spring break through March 27 for all public schools

Published on by Jihae Paek

HIDOE extends spring break through March 27 for all public schools

15-Mar-2020
The Department will use the additional time to plan for implementation of social istancing within the school setting, arrange for professional development to support modified operations, and thoroughly clean schools.

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) is extending its spring break through March 27 for all public and charter school students. The Department will use the additional time from March 23-27 to plan for implementation of social distancing within the school setting, arrange for professional development to support modified operations, and thoroughly clean schools.

Mililani Middle, Kapolei Middle and Holomua Elementary will be off multi-track schedules for two weeks from March 16-27. Normal school operations for all schools are expected to resume Monday, March 30. Spring break was originally scheduled to run from March 16-20 for most HIDOE schools, and Thursday, March 26, is Prince Kuhio Day, which is a state holiday.

“We understand the impact this will have on our families. This was not an easy decision to make but we take seriously our responsibility to safeguard the health and safety of our students, staff and the broader community while carrying out our educational mission,” Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto said. “Public schools serve as hubs of care in our communities, from access to health care to providing free and reduced price meals. We intend to restart school immediately once it is deemed safe to do so to reduce disruption to our school communities and provide consistency for our children.”

All planned school and Department-coordinated events of more than 100 attendees are being canceled, effective Monday, March 16, until updated guidance is provided by health officials. Graduation ceremonies, which are normally held in mid-to-late May, have not yet been modified; scheduling announcements will be made at a future date.

Official updates will continue to be posted on HIDOE’s website and social media.