kkerr@hsta.org2021-09-24T20:29:27-10:00September 24, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: Aaron Kubo, East Hawaii, educators, Edwin Kagawa, Hilo, Hilo Chapter, HSTA, informational picket, Osa Tui, pickets, safety, teachers union|
Teachers from all around East Hawaii conducted informational picketing late Friday afternoon outside the State Office Building in Hilo, raising concerns about a lack of uniform health protocols in public schools.
kkerr@hsta.org2021-09-22T13:42:29-10:00September 17, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: Bill Arakaki, Bruce Voss, catherine payne, CDC, DOH, guidelines, Keith Hayashi, Osa Tui, Phyllis Unebasami, schools, testing|
Interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi of the Hawaii State Department of Education came under fire Thursday for haphazard COVID-19 testing in public schools and said he had not held discussions yet with state health officials about a possible vaccination mandate for public school students age 12 and older.
kkerr@hsta.org2021-09-10T17:14:58-10:00September 10, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: buses, Cedric Gates, distance learning, Hawaiian language immersion, Jeanne Kapela, Justin Woodson, kaiapuni, Keith Hayashi, Osa Tui, school buses, sites, testing|
The Hawaii State Department of Education’s plans for free COVID-19 testing at public schools statewide are eagerly awaited by students, staff, and parents, but at a legislative hearing this week, school officials did not answer key questions about when the program will be available at all schools.
kkerr@hsta.org2021-07-30T15:42:13-10:00July 29, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: concern, faculty meetings, guidance, in-person meetings, Julie Reyes Oda, Osa Tui, policy, risk, staff, variant|
Educators who reported back to work for the new school year this week said that some principals are insisting on holding in-person meetings with large numbers of staff in school libraries and other school facilities, risky behavior that goes against HIDOE's own guidance.
Terri Inefuku2021-07-26T18:37:24-10:00July 26, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: coronavirus, COVID-19, Department of Health, guidance, health, Julie Reyes Oda, Leeward Chapter, Osa Tui, vaccination|
HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. says he and fellow HSTA leaders are continuing to absorb the updated guidance, and stressed during a news conference Monday that “our teachers have wanted to be back in school with their students for a while now, and they are committed to making their classrooms as safe as possible for their students.”
kkerr@hsta.org2021-07-21T20:00:54-10:00July 21, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: distance learning, in-person, options, Osa Tui, remote, teaching|
The release of distance learning options for families late Wednesday by the Hawaii State Department of Education "is a positive step, but from what we see, teachers are still going to be expected to teach simultaneously online and in-person which the Board of Education last week agreed should not happen," Hawaii State Teachers Association President Osa Tui, Jr. said.
kkerr@hsta.org2021-07-14T09:17:39-10:00July 14, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: board, Board of Education, BOE, catherine payne, christina kishimoto, distance learning, DOE, HSTA, Osa Tui, remote instruction, reopening, students|
For every teacher the state dedicates to distance learning when students return to class in August, it would need to pull a teacher out of the classroom, state Schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said Tuesday.
kkerr@hsta.org2021-07-13T17:31:14-10:00July 13, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: CDC, christina kishimoto, classrooms, David Ige, DOE, DOH, governor, guidelines, HIDOE, HSTA, masks, Osa Tui, president, rules, vaccinations, vaccines|
When most public school students throughout the state return to classrooms on Aug 3, they will still be required to wear masks, state Schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said Tuesday.
kkerr@hsta.org2021-07-08T16:26:51-10:00July 8, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, News|Tags: cases, complex areas, COVID-19, David Ige, disclosure, governor, House, lawmakers, michelle kidani, Osa Tui, override, Senate, veto|
The State House and Senate have agreed to mandate disclosure of COVID-19 cases in public schools, overriding a veto by Gov. David Ige which would have kept secret the precise numbers of students and staff diagnosed with the disease, as well as the names of the schools where people were reported ill.
Jill Meinecke2021-07-03T12:11:07-10:00July 2, 2021|Categories: News|Tags: BOE, Brian Schatz, charter schools, christina kishimoto, Hawaii Board of Education, HSTA, Osa Tui, PBS Hawaii, PBS Insights, students, teachers|
The Hawaii Board of Education chair said Thursday the board will discuss distance learning options for next school year at its next meeting on July 15, just a little more than two weeks before most public school students are scheduled to return to class.
