Keeping COVID-19 at Bay in Hawai‘i’s Schools

COVID-19 vaccinations are critical to keeping the pandemic under control, but the value of ongoing testing should not be underestimated as a mitigation tool. Although COVID-19 vaccinations are now available to children ages 5 to 12, testing will remain important in Hawai‘i’s schools as a tool to prevent the spread of the virus.

Through the collaborative efforts of the Hawai‘i Department of Health, Hawai‘i Department of Education, the University of Hawai‘i’s Hawai‘i Keiki Nurse Program, and private laboratories, COVID-19 testing is becoming a part of the daily routine of students, teachers and administrators at Hawaii’s public schools.

The turnaround time for test results is important. Chasen Fukuda, School Liaison with the health department’s Disease Outbreak Control Division, recently announced that through a partnership with PerkinElmer and a local private laboratory Diagnostic Laboratory Services, the turnaround time for testing results has been greatly improved even after only one week.

As the program continues to grow, schools are learning from their experiences.

Recently, Shelley Ferrara, Vice Principal of Leilehua High School; Ryan Kusuda, Principal of Waikiki Elementary School; and Andrew Scott, Complex Academic Officer for Kaʻū Keaʻau Pāhoa Complex, candidly shared their insights and lessons learned to make it easier for other schools adopt testing.

Tip #1: Learn from Other Schools

Ferrara: “It was helpful to visit another school site before we started testing to see how they set up.”

Scott: “It helped that we held testing at our complex office so that we could figure out all the steps first, and then share that information out to the schools. Each school implemented testing at a different pace. Being available to them when they reached out for support was a necessity, just like with any complex-wide endeavor.”

Tip #2: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

Kusuda: “Send out more than one message to families explaining what testing is and why it’s important. Our frequent parent messaging led to around 20 additional registrations a week.”

Tip #3: Be Patient

Kusuda: “It does take time to go through the consent (eligible) list online and then cross reference it with our own list. We need to add information like the child’s grade level and homeroom teacher to help with the calling down of students. We also ended up purchasing a barcode scanner which greatly sped up the overall process.”

Tip #4: Encourage COVID-19 Tests Even for Fully Vaccinated Staff

Kusuda: “Encourage teachers and support staff to test. Even if they’re fully vaccinated, testing does provide some peace of mind as lots of staff cross multiple cohorts. For young kids, we put stickers with the child’s name and birthdate on the barcode receipt that goes home with the kids.”

Parents of students attending Department of Education schools should take advantage of COVID-19 testing available in their schools. Parents can reach out to their children’s school principals to learn more.