How has a difficult year of disruption and distance learning amid the coronavirus pandemic affected Hawaii’s public school students?

More than 1 in 4 high school seniors a couple of months ago were considered off track and in danger of not graduating this year, according to data from the state Department of Education.

Public school officials told state lawmakers Friday that educators are working hard to bring the faltering seniors back on track, and they expect to see much better graduation figures by the time the final numbers are calculated in July.

But the March snapshot of the senior class of 2021 helps illustrate the challenges the entire statewide school system faced as many students struggled over the past year.

Schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto told a joint meeting of the Senate and House education committees that the school system plans to offer a robust array of programs this summer that will target struggling students.

In addition, the system will start the 2021-22 school year strong with back-to-campus, in-person learning starting Aug. 3, she said.

“When we talk about learning loss, we’re not going to address the learning loss from a year of distance learning and interrupted learning in one summer,” Kishimoto said. “This is really about the next two summers and the next two school years, monitoring the data very carefully and making sure we have multiple approaches to reach students.”

Some 252 public schools will offer summer “learning hubs” on campus across the state in what Kishimoto called the largest and most extensive learning program ever provided during the summer.

The learning hubs are being planned by each individual school and will be designed to help students catch up or reengage with school.

Summer plans also include regular for-credit courses, support for students with special needs, accelerated programs in targeted subjects, and internships and college onramp programs.

Also planned is a three-week transition program for incoming kindergartners who missed out on preschool due to the pandemic.

And for those high school seniors who were behind — more than 2,800 of them — their fourth quarter will be extended into the summer to allow them to complete credits they need to graduate.

Complex Area Superintendent Rochelle Mahoe said it’s likely that the final numbers will be much better. She said the principal of her largest high school told her the number of seniors who were off track was down to 60, or about 10% of the senior class.

“During credit recovery time and summer, he anticipates about 50 of them can finish. They just couldn’t do it by the graduation date,” Mahoe said.

The Board of Education voted last month to make summer school free, using $34 million from the second round of federal pandemic relief funding to cover the cost.

Planning for the summer has been complicated because of personnel issues, and many of the offerings will be limited in the number of students accommodated.

“It’s been such a trying year that a lot of teachers just want a break, to be quite honest,” Mahoe said. “So we are limited by qualified teachers.”

Hawaii schools first closed to students in March 2020 following the state’s emergency orders. Eventually, Hawaii schools went to a distance learning model, which evolved to a blended approach as health and safety guidelines allowed for various levels of reopening.

As for the upcoming school year, Deputy Superintendent Phyllis Unebasami said no school will be required to offer distance learning. On-campus learning will be the priority.

“We know that the students will do much better if they are in class in front of an effective and caring teacher,” she said.

Kishimoto sent a letter to parents Monday informing them the school year begins Aug. 3 with all schools fully opened and activities such as clubs, bands and athletics resuming.

The superintendent said the public schools will continue to follow state COVID-19 guidelines for wearing masks and washing hands. In support of those efforts, she said, is a vaccination program aimed at students 12 and older. Thirty-one clinics already have been held at Hawaii schools, and more are planned.

“Additionally, the Department is finalizing plans for weekly COVID testing at select pilot schools to further contain the spread in our school communities. With these systems in place, we are optimistic we can sustain positive changes and start to resume a sense of normalcy in the fall,” Kishimoto wrote in her letter.