As parents begin to make plans to enter their keiki in summer programs, the biggest safety concern has been insulating them from the coronavirus. Now there could be a new one: Will the kids be in any other danger on excursions or other entertaining activities?
What prompts this worry dates back a year before COVID-19, when on March 28, 2019, a 5-year-old boy drowned in a kayaking outing conducted during the spring-break program at Mid-Pacific Institute.
The boy’s parents, Lucius Chiu and Kana Inubushi, have reached a $7.26 million settlement Opens in a new tab with Mid-Pacific. On Monday, they publicized the pact to spotlight schools’ need to take safety precautions for children.
That general cautionary note is undoubtedly warranted — water sports and other summertime activities are common causes of injury — but the circumstances here were extraordinarily alarming.
According to the family lawsuit, the kayak ride in Kaaawa ended with the death of Alaric Chiu and the woman paddling, Mid-Pacific employee Maria Davis, after a wave swamped the craft. Two other children aboard were rescued; nobody had a life vest or flotation device as state law requires for children under 13.
The element disclosed in the lawsuit that’s even more stunning: This had been an unscheduled activity on a beach without lifeguards, the kayak borrowed from program staff friends who lived nearby.
Some level of hazard exists in the best-run programs, but the Mid-Pacific case stands apart. This is the sort of risk that sometimes is assumed by an individual or casual group but certainly should not be happening in any official or organized setting, and certainly not within a school-sponsored program.
Mid-Pacific has enhanced its safety protocols for off-campus trips and water-based activities, requiring specific training for faculty and staff. That was a positive step.
The family’s lawyers offered a number of advisories in a news conference this week that bear repeating. In addition to ensuring the qualification and training of employees, they recommend planning ahead and enforcing safety procedures and clear, open communication about plans with staff, students and parents.
Few would dispute the importance of these protocols. And with the closure of the heartbreaking Alaric Chiu case, parents are reminded that doing due diligence about summer programs could also help to prevent tragedy.
