HONOLULU — The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai‘i and the Senate and House education committees are combining efforts to provide a resource for parents whose children will be affected by the impending Friday public school closures on teacher furlough days.
HONOLULU — The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai‘i and the Senate and House education committees are combining efforts to provide a resource for parents whose children will be affected by the impending Friday public school closures on teacher furlough days.
The Chamber is launching a “Keep Active on Furlough Fridays” bulletin board on its Web site (www.cochawaii.com), listing options for parents seeking activities for their children on the designated Furlough Fridays. The bulletin board is available for use beginning today, a news release says.
“This information will help parents and families make informed decisions for the well-being of their children,” said Sen. Norman Sakamoto, chair of the Senate Education Committee. “We recognize the frustrations both parents and teachers are facing with the furloughs, and we want to present activity options for the days students will not be in school.”
The Web site is intended to help save time for parents by providing a centralized source of information that streamlines the search process. Listings will include a variety of programs offered by businesses and nonprofits — such as the YMCA Honolulu and Maui, Boys and Girls Club, Kama‘aina Kids, Bishop Museum and O‘ahu Discovery.
“We all recognize the importance of keeping our keiki active for the full week and want to provide a single resource where parents and the community can come together in these challenging times,” said Jim Tollefson, president and CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai‘i.
Organizations that are interested in providing information to parents about their services and programs for school-age children are encouraged to post their information on the Chamber’s Web site.
To do so, they should contact Sherry Menor-McNamara, the Chamber’s vice president of business advocacy and government affairs, at smenor-mcnamara@cochawaii.org, or Erin Conner, legislative assistant at Sakamoto’s office, at sakamoto2@capitol.hawaii.gov.
