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State Department of Education Superintendent Christina Kishimoto visits Pomaikai Elementary School in 2017. Maui educators said her tenure began with âhigh hopesâ but ended in frustration during the pandemic. Kishimoto plans to step down July 30. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Christina Kishimoto’s tenure as school superintendent began with “high hopes” among Maui teachers and ended in months of stress and uncertainty over school reopening plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Grace should always be extended in unprecedented situations, but in a crisis, she could not provide the strong leadership we desperately needed,” Maui High School mathematics teacher Jodi Kunimitsu said Wednesday. “Over the course of the past year, far too many decisions were made on a whim without collaboration or communication.”