The Maui News

The state Department of Education will be offering summer school online, with some face-to-face options available for high-need students and mobile learning labs placed in remote locations like Hana, the department announced Tuesday.

“The state’s transition from the ‘safer at home’ phase to this new ‘act with care’ phase comes at a time when our complex areas and schools are preparing for blended summer learning plans,” DOE Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said. “The focus of our programs over the next two months is targeted toward our high-need and hard-to-reach students, with added opportunities for credit advancement for our secondary students.”

Kishimoto said the DOE is also looking into ways to continue distance learning into the fall, including the permanent expansion of its E-School programs and mobile learning labs.

The following programs will be available over the summer:

• Summer School: Summer learning comprises five main program areas: statewide credit recovery, statewide credit acceleration, official summer school, E-School and school-based opportunities. Credit recovery is being offered at no cost for students currently in grades 11 and 12. The DOE will provide up to 6,000 students the opportunity to take up to six courses each and will also offer virtual learning via 19 official summer school sites. Baldwin High is the only school in the Maui District currently scheduled to offer summer distance learning from June 4 to July 9.

• Mobile Learning Labs: Mobile labs with Wi-Fi access will be launched in four pilot locations in early June to assist students who were not fully proficient at the end of the current school year in advancing to the next grade level. Learning will focus on English language arts/reading, math, social studies and science. Pilot locations will focus on rural communities, including Hana, Molokai, Kauai and Ka’u on Hawaii island. The goal of the pilot program is to transition from summer Mobile Learning Labs to permanent Micro Learning Hubs in the fall.

• YES Project: The program will launch as a pilot in mid-June with a bus that will travel to each school district on Oahu once a week to engage with hard-to-reach students, provide basic necessities and deliver fun educational activities.

• Summer Feeding Program: The grab-and-go school meals program will be extended through June 3, with the DOE’s summer food service program starting June 4 and running through July 17. Currently, there are 35 participating public school sites that will be offering breakfast and lunch, including Kahului and Waihee elementary schools and Iao, Kalama, Lahaina, Lanai and Lokelani intermediate schools. Churches and nonprofits will also serve meals to children at other locations.

• Internships: DOE is working to provide a variety of summer internships within its state offices, offering a paid learning experience for recent graduates that are tied into Career and Technical Education areas of focus. More information will be available in the coming weeks, with internships expected to start in June.

• Community Feedback: DOE is launching a survey to get feedback on distance learning and areas of need. Survey links have been sent to all teachers and eligible secondary students and will be available to families in early June.

Kishimoto said DOE’s future plans include launching an IT support service for public school families who have trouble setting up their computers at home.

For more information on summer programs, visit www.hawaiipublicschools.org/DOE%20Forms/Summer/HIDOE-2020-Summer-Learning.pdf.