Kaʻū students to return to class as recovery efforts continue in Pāhala, Nāʻālehu

Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary School and Nāʻālehu Elementary School students will resume in-person learning as recovery efforts continue following Hurricane Lala.

Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary will reopen to students for in-person learning Monday, Aug. 31. Nāʻālehu Elementary students will begin at-home learning through instructional packets this week, with temporary in-person instruction scheduled to begin Wednesday, Sept. 2, at an alternate location while recovery of the school campus continues.

The plans are designed to reconnect students with their teachers, classmates, and learning and provide greater consistency and routine as the surrounding communities continue to recover. Families and employees at both schools are receiving more detailed information directly from their schools.

Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary

School staff will return Thursday and Friday to prepare the campus for students. In-person learning and student transportation will resume Monday, Aug. 31.

Power has not yet been fully restored to the campus, but the Hawaiʻi Department of Education is preparing to safely reopen the school Monday even if electrical service remains unavailable. Generators are on site to support the administrative office and cafeteria.

School, complex area, and department teams are working to ensure essential operational needs can be met, including water service, meals, and other necessary services.

Nāʻālehu Elementary

Because the Nāʻālehu Elementary campus requires additional restoration work before students and staff can safely return, the Hawaiʻi Department of Education is preparing the Kaʻū District Gym as a temporary site for in-person learning.

Nāʻālehu Elementary students will begin at-home learning through instructional packets Thursday, Aug. 27, and school staff will report to the gym beginning Friday, Aug. 28, to prepare for students.

Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 2, students are scheduled to transition to in-person instruction at the Kaʻū District Gym on a rotational basis. The grade-level rotation, times, and transportation arrangements are being finalized and will be communicated directly to families.

The Nāʻālehu Elementary campus sustained flooding in multiple classrooms and other storm-related impacts, with floodwaters carrying rocks, branches, and other debris onto the campus. Cleanup, repairs, and restoration of essential services are continuing before the campus can safely resume normal operations.

As work continues to restore learning, the Department of Education on Wednesday launched weekly meal box distributions to support children and families in Kaʻū communities. More than 200 children received meal boxes during Wednesday’s first distribution at sites in Pāhala and Nāʻālehu, representing more than 2,000 breakfasts and lunches.

Each meal box provides a child with five breakfasts and five lunches that meet school meal nutritional requirements. The Department of Education expects to provide approximately 4,500 meals each week through distribution sites in Pāhala, Nāʻālehu and Ocean View. Food service employees are being deployed to prepare, transport, and distribute the meals.

Elementary-age students at Wednesday’s Pāhala and Nāʻālehu distributions also received instructional packets to support at-home learning during the transition back to in-person instruction.

“It means everything to us,” said Heather Doolittle, whose child attends Nāʻālehu Elementary. “When you have no availability of any food or ways to keep your children busy during this time to try to keep their minds normal … the meals and the food and the community that has come together has been just absolutely amazing.”

Meals are available at no cost to children ages 18 and younger. Children must be present at the time of pickup.

Distribution will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the following schedule:

Wednesdays, started Aug. 26

• Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary School, old school gym
  96-3150 Pikake St., Pāhala
• Nāʻālehu Hongwanji Mission
  95-5695 Hawaiʻi Belt Road, Nāʻālehu

Thursdays, starting Aug. 27

• St. Jude’s Episcopal Church
  92-8606 Paradise Mauka Circle, Ocean View

Weekly distributions will continue until further notice. Families should monitor communications from their schools and the Department of Education for any changes to the schedule.