Hā Initiative helps schools keep kids engaged in STEM learning with online activities

By Nina Holtz.

The Hā Initiative provides afterschool STEM programming to nearly 100 students in Oahu, Hawaii. When COVID-19 cases began to rise in March, the Hā Initiative closed its centers and within a week had moved entirely online. This rapid transition to a virtual learning environment helped keep students engaged and supported working families. 

Families with children participating in the Hā Initiative rely on the program for afterschool care. Even with the transition online, the initiative still provides much-needed relief for parents who are working from home during the pandemic. 

Until the program can re-open in person, the Hā Initiative will continue to provide online, enriching STEM lessons during their pre-pandemic operating hours of 2 p.m-5 p.m. This provides families with three hours of time to focus while kids learn to code, conduct science experiments or practice their math skills. 

Hā Initiative teachers have developed creative ways for kids to keep learning STEM skills. Before COVID-19, many students participated in LEGO League robotics teams, which taught kids how to program using Python. Although kids can’t build robots together in person, one teacher has continued teaching programming by showing them how to create their own games on the computer.

The STEM program uses Zoom, Facebook and Google classroom to provide activities for kids while their families are working. The Google classroom includes links, assignments, and activities that children can participate in. Zoom meetings are also recorded and reposted in case a student wants to revisit a lesson. 

Many of the families that the Hā Initiative supports live in areas with high rates of poverty. Mio Shimada, a STEM manager at the Hā Initiative, said that following up and keeping in touch with parents is even more important during the pandemic. Staff members from the program regularly call and email families to make sure children have the resources they need to learn in an online environment. 

If children don’t have technology access, the initiative partners with schools to provide essential items such as WiFi hotspots or computers. The afterschool program has a direct line of contact with family members, so if a staff member hears that a student lacks access to technology, they will connect the family with schools or organizations that can provide the resources needed.

This line of communication between the schools, the afterschool program and families works both ways. “We also communicate to the schools: ‘Hey, we understand that you have vulnerable students, let us know who they are. We can get in touch with them and hopefully offer our services to them,’” Shimada said. These services include homework help or other support that can make sure a student stays engaged with online learning. 

Shimada said that kids regularly comment on how fun the program is, even with the transition online. They send photos of their activities, such as one module where students learned while baking cookies.

The Hā Initiative will be virtual as long as schools are online, but the program is prepared to return to in-person programming if schools reopen. An in-person reopening would mean a socially distanced classroom with more cleaning and fewer kids. Kids would be taught in small clusters, with siblings or children from the same household kept together to minimize exposure. 

Until in-person classes are possible, the Hā Initiative will continue to provide essential services to schools and families, with programming that encourages kids to have a lifelong interest in STEM. 

To learn more about the Hā Initiative Program, visit their website. To sign up your child in the program, please email: hcapstem@hcapweb.org, or call Mio Shimada: (808) 447-5419.

Annually, over 20,000 Oahu children and adults benefit from the services provided by Honolulu Community Action Program, Inc. As part of the national network of community action agencies, HCAP has over 50 years of experience mobilizing the community and helping those in need through its mission of POI: Providing Opportunities and Inspiration to enable low-income individuals or families to achieve self-reliance. HCAP offers programs and services in six major program areas: Early Childhood; Employment; Education; Economic Development; Emergency & Transitional Programs; and Community Development and Advocacy. 

To learn more about the programs and services HCAP offers, please visit www.hcapweb.org or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.