“Children First”

To meet the Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 guidelines for schools, the Hawaii Department of Education implemented a public school policy that reduced students’ classroom time from 5 days a week to 2.5 days by bringing only half the class on campus on a rotating basis. This reduction in classroom time and access to quality early learning experiences can hinder and negatively impact a young child’s brain development, and subsequently, their long-term success. Also, parents, especially working parents, were forced to absorb additional child care costs or not return to work to take on their child’s education at home without much support.

With grants from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, Hawaii Community Foundation and financial support from individual donors, the Hanalei Initiative sought to meet an important community need by providing educational stability and quality tutoring for all kindergarten and first graders attending Hanalei School using credentialed teachers as tutors and working in concert with Hanalei School to create a supportive learning environment for our most vulnerable aged children when they are not in the classroom. Additionally, the Hanalei Initiative provided the home support needed so parents could confidently return to work during this time of so much economic uncertainty. For more information about the program, please contact The Hanalei Initiative’s Executive Director at hanaleiinitiative@gmail.com.