Charge—This team is charged with ensuring the school is equipped with the digital technology and infrastructure, equipment, and software to support learning to immediately execute a high quality response to each scenario. 

At Hawaii Baptist Academy, the health and safety of our students are one of our top concerns. To minimize the transmission of COVID-19 through shared devices, HBA is expanding its one-to-one access of devices to Kindergarten through 12th grade. 

One-to-One—Students in grades K-3 will be assigned an iPad, and grades 4-6 will be assigned a Chromebook. Under normal circumstances, elementary students will not take these devices home, but may do so if “stay at home” becomes necessary. Middle and High School students will continue with their current one-to-one program. 

Shared Devices—While on campus, the sharing of computers (laptops and desktops) will be minimal. We will follow sanitizing protocols for any shared devices.

Charge—The Athletics Team is charged with ensuring the athletic programs and services offered to the school are responsive to the needs of the changing situation. 

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS 

Hawaii Baptist Academy values the role athletics can play in the holistic education of our students. The Athletics Team is committed to developing a plan for RTP (Return To Play) protocols that will meet or exceed COVID-19 guidelines established by the HHSAA (Hawaii High School Athletic Association), ILH (Interscholastic League of Honolulu), and NFHS (National Federation of High School Sports). 

Our RTP guide, and accompanying schedule, will adjust as necessary to mirror any changes made by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), City and County of Honolulu and State of Hawaii DOH (Department of Health). 

The Athletics Team hopes to have more detailed information on activities and schedules by the third week of July. 

ELEMENTARY ATHLETICS 

There will not be any organized volleyball or basketball league play for grades 5 and 6 this school year. The CSAL (Christian School Athletic League) canceled its 2020–21 season on June 16.

Charge—The Admissions Team is charged with ensuring that the school is able to continue the vital functions of retaining, recruiting, screening, and accepting students and navigating any changes in relation to COVID-19.

At Hawaii Baptist Academy, your child’s wellbeing and education are of foremost importance. The HBA Admissions Team is committed to developing a protocol that will meet COVID-19 guidelines. Given the worldwide impact of COVID-19, we would like to answer questions that prospective HBA families might have. We pray that the Lord navigates us to serve as a resource as you begin this journey in finding the school that best fits your child.

STANDARDIZED TESTING

Hawaii Baptist Academy has been committed to a holistic admissions process, with the Admissions Committee considering all aspects of a child. We are still unclear how the later months of 2020 will unfold, and we are not adopting a test-optional policy at this time. All students applying to HBA Elementary for the Fall of 2021 will be required to take the HBA Achievement and Academic Ability Tests as part of their admissions process. All students applying to HBA Middle and High School for the Fall of 2021 will be required to take the HBA Achievement and Academic Ability Tests and submit SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test) scores as part of their application. In the future, if testing is impacted to the degree that students are prevented from taking the SSAT due to COVID-19, we will update our protocol.

ON-CAMPUS EVENTS

As the State of Hawaii and HBA prepare for the opening of school, we are hopeful we can host on-campus admissions events such as HBA Open House, interviews, campus tours, and HBA Eagle’s Café. These events will be held with a limited number of participants for the year 2020-21. We are also preparing for remote/virtual alternatives to help prospective families get to know HBA and our community better in order to complete the application process.

Charge—The Human Resources Team is charged with ensuring the school is in full compliance with evolving health and safety requirements, that personnel policies are updated as appropriate to meet the changing situation, and that all employees are receiving the appropriate support and encouragement. 

Maintaining a safe environment for faculty and staff is key to providing the caring, nurturing culture we proudly establish at HBA. In response to COVID-19, our Human Resources Team has enhanced employee benefits including additional Paid Time Off and compliance with the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). In addition, faculty and staff have access to additional counseling services through Work Life Hawaii. 

Charge—The Finance Team is charged with ensuring the school is aware of the multiple financial scenarios and takes the necessary measures to maintain our good financial health while supporting the needs of our families and school community. 

HBA understands that many of our families are facing economic uncertainty due to COVID-19. To ensure that families may continue to benefit from being a part of the HBA community, the school created two sources of funding to fill the financial gaps for these families. 

• Families can seek further assistance if their income has been directly affected by COVID-19. 

• Eagles Kokua Fund—Families could request for tuition assistance if their family was directly impacted by COVID-19.

Charge—The Advancement Team will ensure the school continues to cultivate relationships and philanthropic investments in the school intentionally meeting the needs of the school. 

The health and safety of our HBA community of supporters and our alumni is of our utmost priority. To ensure that we are properly and proactively ensuring this the advancement office has pivoted to take a pause on in-person gatherings to virtual experiences and further enhance our communications methods and frequency. 

We kindly ask that guests who wish to drop off a donation, whether it be monetary or gift-in-kind, please contact the advancement office at development@hba.net, ahead of time to schedule an appointment. 

During this unprecedented time, we have witnessed first-hand the generosity of our community. In May, we launched our Eagles Kokua Fund to provide additional tuition assistance to families who have been impacted most by COVID-19. Your generous donations help keep families at HBA, where an education built on the foundation of Christ’s love is at the core of all we do. Online giving is safe and secure at http://www.hba.net/giving.