Department of Education

Hawaiʻi DOE's Tammi Oyadomari-Chun spoke to The Conversation's Catherine Cruz about how education officials are preparing for thousands of students to return to the classroom in just a few weeks — all amid changes at the federal level.

For years, Pūnana Leo o Koʻolau Poko has had two classrooms at Windward Oʻahu’s Pūʻōhala School, which houses an English-medium elementary school and a K-12 Kaiapuni program.

A 47-unit West Maui rental housing development for Lahaina educators is expected to be completed in December.

Graduation season across Hawaiʻi marks a pivotal moment in students' lives. Here is the graduation schedule for Hawaiʻi high schools and colleges for the class of 2025.

In the 2024-2025 school year so far, the department has hired 125 new drivers and has reinstated 125 of the 138 canceled routes. The improvement is partially due to the department's decision to change the qualifications for school bus drivers.

Dana Shapiro, the president and CEO of the Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative, said the organization shipped hundreds of pounds of breadfruit to the 60 or so schools for the program a few weeks ago.

Next month marks 20 years since Hawaiʻi got out from under a consent decree because it failed to live up to federal laws to provide education for students with disabilities. The Conversation talked to civil rights attorney Eric Seitz to learn more.

Recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture will impact some of Hawaiʻi's school lunch programs. The Conversation talked to Dean Uchida, Deputy Superintendent of Operations for the DOE, about how USDA funding cuts may impact Hawaiʻi's school lunch program.

Superintendent Keith Hayashi said his department hasn’t seen any direct reduction in federal K-12 funding but noted that there are significant threats.

Local news gathering and operations are dominated by graduates of private schools, which often have more resources and staff support for students interested in pursuing a career in news media. In this Scholastic Journalism Week, HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports.