The Hawaii State Teachers Association is appalled that the principal of Waialua High and Intermediate School is holding assemblies with large numbers of students in the school gym this week, including one scheduled for Friday morning.
Contrary to Waialua principal Christine Alexander’s false claims, neither the HSTA nor its school representatives agreed to these dangerous activities, especially during a time when the state Health Department metrics now recommend all secondary schools on Oahu switch to distance learning because of increased COVID-19 cases.
According to an email that Alexander sent to school employees Thursday afternoon, 79 students in the 7th and 8th grades were present at a 30-minute assembly in the school gym on Tuesday. She said she expected about 83 students at another assembly for other intermediate students Friday morning beginning at 10:40 a.m. in the Waialua High gym. Those numbers do not include the faculty and staff who are present in the gym at the same time.
On Monday, state Schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto issued a memo that said, “large in-person social gatherings are cancelled through June 1, 2021, including proms, banquets, May Day celebrations, and other school-sanctioned social events with more than 20 attendees.”
According to educators at the school, the principal has scheduled four more mini assemblies for high schoolers next week, each with about 25 percent of the student body, or roughly 70 to 90 students at a time.
Alexander claims the events are academic in nature, but that’s hard to believe since the HSTA understands on Monday, the 7th and 8th-grade classes competed in cheering competitions led by high school students and there was also a basketball shooting contest with students in the gym.
Educators at the school are concerned because parents weren’t notified of these large events in advance and given the chance to opt out, creating a risk for all students and staff.
“Holding an assembly of any kind during a pandemic is dangerous and puts everyone’s lives in danger,” said HSTA President Corey Rosenlee. “We are worried that this principal is creating superspreader events at a time when her school should be transitioning to distance learning for everybody’s safety.”