LIHU‘E — Alexander &Baldwin Hawai‘i visited state Department of Education Kaua‘i Complex Area Superintendent Paul Zina Friday to present the DOE with $150 worth of gift cards for each of its 15 public schools.
LIHU‘E — Alexander &Baldwin Hawai‘i visited state Department of Education Kaua‘i Complex Area Superintendent Paul Zina Friday to present the DOE with $150 worth of gift cards for each of its 15 public schools.
“Normally, we provide the parent community network coordinators with gift cards for the second semester of the school year,” said Stacie Chiba-Miguel, manager of The Shops at Kukui‘ula.
“But the Back to School Bash enjoyed its best year in its history, and a lot of events that provide help to the PCNCs have been affected by the pandemic. We decided that rather than wait until the second semester we could help them now as they prepare to welcome students back to school,” said Chiba-Miguel.
Judy Cano, the DOE district Parent Community Networking Center coordinator and a member of the Back to School Bash steering committee, said the primary goal for the PCNC at the school level is to get students prepared to learn, which means they deal with a range of issues.
“Last year, we received about 300 pairs of rubber slippers from the Visitor Industry Charity Walk,” Cano said. “We ended up sorting them for the different grades for the schools and, believe it or not, we used every pair. This year, there hasn’t been a charity walk because of the pandemic. We also sold out at the Back to School Bash, so there wasn’t anything left for them. This gift really helps.”
The DOE is preparing to welcome students back to school starting Monday, Aug. 17, following a change from its original Aug. 4 start date.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
