Aloha Island School ‘Ohana,

This morning I got a glimpse of inter-island commuter life. I made plans weeks ago to travel to Oʻahu today as the newest member of the Board of Directors of Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools (HAIS). I am honored and humbled to be a part of this dynamic group of heads of school from across the state, and I knew participating would mean a distinct commitment of time because the five meetings across the school year are on Oʻahu. As I made my plans, I realized that getting on the second plane out of Līhuʻe for the day risked me being late to the meeting, so I chose the 6am flight, thinking that wouldnʻt be too hard…

Well, Iʻve certainly done harder things, true, true. But I will also admit to you that getting myself together for that 6am departure wasnʻt easy. Forcing myself out of bed as my 4:15 am alarm went off and getting my things together in the dark as I tried to let my husband sleep…let me just say it wasnʻt my best plan. The impact of my crack-of-dawn morning, what others regularly do, brought me back to my own commuting days not too long ago when I lived in California where I had a 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minute commute from my school because we couldnʻt afford housing in the area close to my job. I truly feel blessed to be able to live on campus with my family; the immediate proximity allows me to be present in a very different way for the school community than if I lived further away. And, it is important for me, for all of us, to keep in mind what many in our community do - regular, long drives to and from school as part of the choice to go to Island School.

Why bring this up? Because I think it’s important for us to have empathy and awareness for all the different experiences our students have. I see daily students walking from the Kauaʻi bus in the morning or waiting for it after school to head home. I see family carpools from the north shore or others making the trek from Kekaha. Commuting is hard; long bus rides can be exhausting. And as I drove through Oʻahu traffic this morning, traffic is NO FUN, and on Kauaʻi we have our unique version of traffic on our single-lane road vs. the 5-lane highway crawl of Honolulu.

This year we are so glad to be fully staffed again with 4 bus drivers so we can meet the needs of the majority of those who requested to ride on the Island School buses. The drivers, Kehaulani Kaʻiwi, Alika Luka, Sachiko Kalima, and Ron Carvalho, are dedicated and experienced professionals and committed to the transportation safety of all of our students. Sean Magoun works hard with the transportation team to continue to work out kinks in the system when they arise for the am and pm routes. We also are working hard to have the right vehicles and other drivers lined up so we can again offer a late-bus to help families and students after athletic and other after-school activities.

I hope we continue to be a community that supports each other. For those who live closer in to school, I hope you’ll join me in encouraging connections amongst students and families in our respective classes with those who live further away, especially for our students who are too old for Do Drop Inn…because all kids enjoy a place to hang out, have a snack with friends, a place to just have a break after class before a school dance, a play production, music concert, or sporting event. 

And while I know many students and families across our state as well as across the country choose longer commutes in order to attend the school that serves them and their future goals best, we remain grateful for families who live near and far for choosing us. Thank you for staying in touch with us, with your child’s teachers, with your child’s advisor and/or grade-level Dean, and your child’s Division Director so together we can be the strongest partners with you and your family to support your children to thrive at Island School. (You can find their email here if you need it.)

Together,

Nancy Nagramada, Head of School

n.nagramada@ischool.org