HIDOE to Provide Grab-And-Go Meals During School Closures

Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) officials say schools will provide grab-and-go meals at certain sites during the three weeks students are out of class due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Barring any future changes, all public and charter schools will remain closed to students through April 6, following the extended spring break period.

“Closing our schools will help safeguard the health of our children, teachers, staff and surrounding communities as we fight against the spread of COVID-19,” Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto said. “We appreciate the support and commitment of our public school ‘ohana as we collectively navigate these uncharted waters.”

Breakfast and lunch is being served at the following schools:

• Ka‘ū High
• Pahala Elementary
• Kohala High
• Konawaena High
• Pāhoa High & Intermediate
• Waiakea High

Meals will be available for children 18 years and under Monday through Fridays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. for breakfast and 11:30 to noon for lunch.

Meals will not be served on March 26 in observance of Prince Kuhio Day. Some schools may start serving meals later in the week. HIDOE is monitoring the situation and may add additional sites if necessary.

“Our entire state must band together to combat community spread of the virus and school closures are an important part of the response,” said Board of Education Chairwoman Catherine Payne. “We will work closely with the Department and our federal partners to ensure that education requirements continue to be met and students have access to such essential services as meals.”

HIDOE offices except for essential functions will be closed for the next 15 days. School and state offices will continue to provide public services remotely. School staff, teachers and administrators will return to work on different days:

April 3: Custodians, principals and administrators return to work.
April 4-5 (weekend): Custodians continue deep cleaning of campuses.
April 6: Teachers return to work to prepare classrooms.
April 7: Students return to school.

Following earlier guidance, the Department canceled or postponed events involving large groups. Graduation ceremonies, which are normally held in mid-to-late May, have not yet been modified and any necessary scheduling changes will be announced at a future date.