Carden Academy of Maui Confirms Two Students Tested Positive for COVID-19

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Carden Academy of Maui in Pukalani reports that it received notification on Thursday that two students tested positive for COVID-19.

The campus advisory panel, board of directors and nurse had already implemented a physical closure and conversion to distance learning on Wednesday, Aug. 19, prior to the positive case notifications.  School administrators say the decision was guided by a “conservative metric system.”

According to the school, the students were not symptomatic while on campus, and developed symptoms after leaving school.  They subsequently got tested

The school is working closely and cooperating with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health.

“Due to the school’s conservative policies on social distancing, face coverings, cohorting, hand washing, and other health protocols, DOH conveyed to the school that it does not feel that teachers or classmates will automatically be deemed close contacts, nor that the source of two positives was from school contacts. In an abundance of caution, several families in the affected grades are voluntarily undergoing testing while awaiting the final recommendations of the DOH assessment. Teachers were tested immediately,” according to an update issued by school.

Head of School Kristi Bendon issued a communication to families on Aug. 19 saying, “Maui experienced its highest single day of new cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The recent trend and spike from today conclusively moves Carden Academy from the yellow to the red category in our Alert System. In an abundance of caution for our school and local community, we will be temporarily closing our physical campus and we will pivot to Distance Learning.”

In another communication to parents on Aug. 20, Bendon said, “We offer our deepest thanks to the family for following our school communication protocol and immediately notifying us of the results. This allowed us to take immediate action.”

Board President David Goode said, “We have done everything possible to make the school environment as safe and productive for staff and children, and we are confident in those protocols. However, with the spike in community transmission, we all are more susceptible to possible cases. Our contingency plans worked. I want to thank the entire staff for their ongoing efforts to provide the highest quality education in what is a difficult time for the school and the community at large.”

Carden is an independent, private school located in Upcountry Maui. Founded in 1998, the school serves children in pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8, with one class per grade and a maximum enrollment of 172 students.