Hawaii public schools’ traditional one-week spring break has been extended to three due to the coronavirus outbreak. While educational instruction is on hold until at least April 7, it comes as welcome relief that starting today select campuses will begin serving grab-and-go breakfast and lunch to students who might otherwise miss meals.

Also needed is that this week, teachers are slated to start working from home to help plan future instruction. Given that social distancing is essential to slowing the spread of COVID-19, the abrupt change in the school year calendar was necessary. As of late last week, 45 states had decided to close schools for varying lengths of time.

Education of Hawaii’s students, though, should resume as quickly, and creatively, as possible.

Instruction plans taking shape, according to schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto, include a “mixed delivery” that could include online education as well as hard copies of instructional packets that can be used by those without internet access. Also in the works are plans for support services for special-needs students.

The state Department of Education faces a daunting challenge in piecing together logistics for delivery modes that accommodate social distancing and address equity concerns spanning the statewide district that enrolls 179,000 students in traditional and charter schools.

In coming weeks, as the state contends with the public health threat, the DOE, in tandem with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, should not have to go it alone. The business community, local government and parents should step up efforts to help provide students with effective learning environments that are both positive and safe.

Now’s the time to embrace community-generated creativity and resourceful collaboration in small and large ways. For starters, why not make available for pickup free books, board games and educational video games — or gift cards for such merchandise — alongside grab-and-go meals so that kids who may not have internet access have more stopgap activities?

In addition, as teachers plan how to move forward with the school year’s curriculum, many parents juggling work schedules and child-care could surely benefit from their pedagogical guidance on matters such as where to turn for educational enrichment programming and supplemental materials.

By late last week, COVID-19 had sickened people in more than 150 countries; and the count of known cases in the United States had shot past 16,600. In Hawaii, despite a relatively low tally of confirmed cases, health care providers are bracing for the possibility of a rapid rise in coronavirus patients.

Given the possibility that social distancing directives could continue for months, classroom setups at all levels are being replaced with makeshift education instruction delivery systems. Across the University of Hawaii’s 10-campus system, students returning from spring break today will finish the semester with online-only classes.

In New York City, in response to the pandemic, public school classes are moving to Apple iPad and Google Classroom formats, with the city paying to eventually provide some 300,000 students with an internet-connected device at home.

While Hawaii’s cash-strapped K-12 school system lacks the resources for a quick switch to across-the-board online education, now’s the time to size up options for expanding the reach of remote learning — possibly through partnerships with tech-focused businesses and nonprofits, such as Olelo Community Media, which airs local programming on community cable channels.

Expectations regarding what the DOE can do — amid public health concerns — are changing. In response, Hawaii’s various communities must shoulder more shared responsibility in helping our public schools navigate uncharted waters.