More students may soon return to public schools in Hawaii as the state Department of Education strives to bring additional keiki to campus for in-person instruction.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DOE schools have not fully reopened since March 13, 2020.

The DOE’s goal in the fourth quarter is for all elementary students and more high school students to return to campuses every day. The fourth quarter begins on March 22.

Students have lost up to 174 days of in-person instruction due to health and safety mitigation measures, State Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said in a note to Council Chairperson. State Education, Catherine Payne.

Kishimoto will discuss strategies to safely reopen schools to more in-person instruction in the fourth term at a BOE meeting scheduled for Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

“During the current school year, schools have gradually brought students back to campus for in-person instruction,” she wrote. “Schools have implemented educational models that best meet the needs of their students and the school community while adhering to health and safety guidelines from state health officials and responding to employee concerns. .

“It has been a challenge for school leaders who have had to deal with competing demands for student learning and staff well-being. “

Kishimoto said recent research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has shown that attending schools where recommended mitigation strategies have been implemented does not place students in a higher risk environment than that. that exists in the community.

Discussions about when and how students return to school in person have often been divisive, and arguments weighed the health and safety of staff and students against the disadvantages of learning. from a distance.

But with Hawaii’s low number of COVID-19 cases – the state had a 1.1% test positivity rate on Tuesday and the Big Island had a 0.4% positivity rate – growing people are pushing for more students on campus.

Acting state epidemiologist Dr Sarah Kemble said last week that public schools in Hawaii should resume in-person classes as soon as possible because it is safe for children to attend classes.

“While we learned more about COVID-19 and schools, we also learned that schools are not, as originally intended, amplifiers of COVID-19,” Kemble wrote in a letter last Friday to the Democratic Senator Brian Schatz and Hawaii. Department of Education. “Rather, schools are one of the safest environments for children when it comes to COVID-19. “

Kemble said in-person instruction provides children with better educational, social, emotional and physical support than online instruction, and that the universal use of masks, hygiene and keeping children in cohorts can dramatically minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission.

“Schools that have implemented mitigation measures are able to better control the transmission of COVID-19 than many community settings, where children can interact in a less structured way or attend gatherings with their families,” she wrote.

Schatz said he would do his best to support Kemble’s recommendation. He had previously suggested that it would be “a good goal” for Hawaii to try to resume in-person learning after the end of spring break.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said on a live broadcast Monday that he believed schools would be fully open for the fourth quarter.

“It’s pretty important that we get the kids back to school because they’re in pain, but we’ll have the fourth trimester in person,” he said. “It won’t be like your traditional five days a week for the kids – which will happen in the fall. But it also bodes well for summer schools.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association is not opposed to more students returning to campus, but what that return looks like must first be defined, the president said on Monday. Corey Rosenlee.

“I would ask the Department of Education to really define what this means (back to campus) and what their goals are,” he said. “… I think everyone has in their heads what they think it is. I think they think it’s just all the students coming back. I don’t think that’s what the education ministry is trying to suggest, but I think it’s a question the ministry should answer because it’s a little hard to react to something until we do not know exactly what he plans to do. “

Rosenlee said the teachers’ union had previously argued that schools should maintain distance education, but the union’s board said the HSTA would be willing to start discussions on what it will take to bring more back. of students on campus.

“We hope both sides will be able to find a compromise at the end of the day.”

Additionally, Rosenlee said a big concern is that while many teachers will potentially be vaccinated by the end of spring break, it is unclear how comfortable parents will feel in dismissing students. .

“And I think the big question is what accommodations are going to be made for parents who still want to be in distance education.”

Some parents, however, are happy to see the surge in in-person classes.

“I was very pleased to see the statements from Superintendent Kishimoto, Senator Schatz and Dr. Kemble regarding the return of our children to full in-person learning,” said Dr. Lauren Stuart, Big Island pediatrician and parent of elementary school students. “I strongly support starting over early in the fourth quarter, given our low COVID-19 numbers, our ability to immunize our teachers and support staff, and the fact that our climate allows for windows and the doors open to increase ventilation in the classroom. “

Stuart was one of six pediatricians who last month called for keiki to return to full-time in-person learning without delay.

“Our children are suffering,” Stuart told the Tribune-Herald last week. “They suffer socially, emotionally and educationally. … Teachers do their best with what they have been given, but it is not enough for children to learn as they should.

Stuart, who last week criticized the HSTA for hampering students’ return to school, said on Tuesday his goal was to launch a grassroots effort with parents to pressure government leaders, the DOE and the DOH “so that our children return safely to school, preferably on March 22.

Email Stephanie Salmons at [email protected]