Lahaina Schools Are Recovering From The Fires, But Challenges Remain聽
Growing enrollment and providing mental health services remain a top priority for schools, although teachers believe students are better positioned to learn this year.
Karisa Bayudan spent her junior year of high school moving between hotel rooms after her family lost their home in last year驶s Lahaina wildfires. She did her homework from the couch when she didn’t have space of her own.
Now a senior at Lahainaluna High School, things are better 鈥 for her and her classmates. She驶s keeping up with her coursework and taking classes at a local community college. And school spirit is better, she said, with students more eager to participate in homecoming traditions and volunteer events.
But there are still challenges ahead. Bayudan is worried about what will happen when her family驶s temporary housing ends in the spring. And the consequences of the devastating Lahaina fires on Aug. 8, 2023, can be seen in her classmates驶 academic scores and attendance, even as Hawai鈥榠’s education department has struggled to bring more mental health support to the schools.
鈥淚’m in a much better head space now than I was in junior year, especially since I’m in more stable housing at the moment,” Bayudan said.
Recent data from the 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Department of Education illustrate just how difficult last year was for Lahaina students, with math and reading proficiency rates dropping by nearly half at some schools between 2023 and 2024.
The department received a $2 million federal grant to support student learning and mental health earlier this year, but a shortage of behavioral specialists and therapists has prevented schools from hiring necessary personnel. Instead, most of the funds spent so far have gone toward bus services allowing students to commute from Central Maui to Lahaina for school.
Only two-thirds of Lahaina students have returned to their schools since the fires, which destroyed King Kamehameha III Elementary and closed three other campuses from August to October 2023. Some families are skeptical that Lahaina schools will ever return to previous levels of enrollment and staffing, especially as teacher burnout is high and some students move away from West Maui.
But educators like Jarrett Chapin, who teaches at Lahainaluna, believe their students are benefitting from the stability and structure of this year. Kids are more engaged in class and attend school regularly, teachers say, and schools are doubling down on tutoring and personalized check-ins, with an eye on ensuring kids graduate on time.
鈥淭he fire is a landmark or touchstone that everyone has in common, but it's not as raw,鈥 said Chapin. 鈥淚 think school life has improved.鈥
Improvements In Learning
At Lahainaluna High School, Chapin said his students were in survival mode after the fires. It was difficult for students to stay focused and motivated, he added, especially when they were facing so much uncertainty at home.
Last year, 5% of Lahainaluna students tested proficient in math, down from 10% in the 2022-23 school year. The school's college enrollment rate dropped from 48% to 40% between 2022 and 2023. The University of 贬补飞补颈驶颈 offered full scholarships to students who graduated from Lahainaluna in June, but it's too soon to know whether that led to an increase in students heading to college.
Correction: A previous version of this story referenced 2023 college enrollment rates for the class of 2024. College enrollment rates for the class of 2024 aren't available yet.
Some seniors last spring struggled to keep up in their classes after the fires and complete graduation requirements.
Test scores for the current school year won't be released until next fall, and it's unclear what long-term effects the fires will have on student learning. But at least it驶s a less chaotic year.
"Kids still go through stuff, but gosh, it was so raw last year," Chapin said. "We are so much further away from that."
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, meeting with state leaders and Lahaina principals earlier this month, emphasized the importance of high-quality support for students as they continue to grieve after the fires, and for staff, who may be experiencing burnout.
Students at King Kamehameha III Elementary experienced some of the greatest disruptions, missing over 50 days of school last year. In the spring, roughly a third of students tested proficient in math and reading, down from 45% the year before.
Mindi Cherry, a teacher at King Kamehameha III Elementary, said her first graders seem to be on track with their learning this year. To curb absenteeism, the school is offering ice cream parties to classes with the highest attendance rates, she said. Teachers will also offer tutoring in January to students who have fallen behind.
DOE said recruiting and retaining teachers also remains a priority, although the drop in student enrollment at some schools has corresponded to the loss of some staff. Lahainaluna lost a few teachers in the math and English departments, Chapin said, but the remaining staff has been able to serve the existing student population, which fell by 200 kids this year.
Erin Vegas, who taught fourth grade at Princess N膩hi驶ena驶ena Elementary last year, said she's worried schools could continue to see a drop in their staffing in the future with the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing in West Maui.
鈥淭hey won鈥檛 be able to retain anybody if there鈥檚 this huge fear that so many teachers will never be able to stay,鈥 Vegas said, adding that she moved to O驶ahu after she wasn鈥檛 able to find housing at the end of last school year. The education department plans to build affordable housing on Lahainaluna鈥檚 campus that could be available for teachers starting next summer.
Where Did The Students Go?
While Lahaina's student population dropped by a third this year, not all students left at the same rate.
Before the fires, roughly half of Lahaina students were low-income. Now, at least three-quarters of students at Lahaina schools are, according to data from standardized tests issued every spring.
King Kamehameha III Elementary teacher Robert Livermore says wealthier families may have moved out of Lahaina schools since the fires and transitioned to private or charter schools.
"Those who could did, those who couldn鈥檛 went without," Livermore said, adding that he sees more students coming to school without snacks or supplies this year.
It's more difficult to explain declining enrollment trends among other groups of students. For example, white students made up over 45% of King Kamehameha III Elementary's student population before the fires but have since dropped to less than 30% of the overall enrollment. English language learners now make up more than a third of the elementary school's population, compared to only 18% before the fires.
The department did not respond to questions about enrollment, and there鈥檚 little data available on how the overall population of Lahaina has changed since the fires.
Shrinking student populations in Lahaina could mean cuts in staffing and budgets in the coming years, since enrollment determines a large part of schools鈥 budgets. DOE Deputy Superintendent Tammi Oyadomari-Chun said the department plans on slowly reducing Lahaina schools鈥 budgets over the next few years to prevent schools from losing resources and teachers entirely.
Some families who sought other learning options after the fires still haven't returned to Lahaina schools.
David Weeks chose to enroll his children in 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Technology Academy, a charter school with a Lahaina campus, when he didn't feel safe sending his children to DOE schools near the burn zone last year. While his daughter returned to Lahaina Intermediate this fall, Weeks added, his son has remained at HTA.
Kaliko Storer, a parent at Princess N膩hi驶ena驶ena Elementary, said some families simply don鈥檛 have the money or time to wait for housing to open up in West Maui. She鈥檚 hopeful more students will return to Lahaina schools in the future, but she also understands if families don鈥檛 want their children to keep moving campuses.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a work in progress,鈥 she said.
A Need For More Services
But while there are some indications that academics are on the upswing in schools, staff and students say they're worried about having enough mental health resources to help those who are still processing the events of last year.
Heather Long, program director for Maui Youth and Family Services, said some students are only now understanding the loss and trauma they experienced after the fires. When Lahaina schools reopened last year, she added, many students were still focused on securing their basic needs and weren't fully processing their emotions.
"Dealing with the trauma now, I actually do think it gets worse," Long said, adding that a shortage of counselors and therapists on Maui can make it harder for students to connect with trusted adults or focus on their schoolwork if they're struggling emotionally.
King Kamehameha III Elementary Principal Ian Haskins said the elementary school has two counselors and a behavioral specialist for students, but it鈥檚 still a struggle to find providers amid an islandwide shortage. After the fires, DOE trained Lahaina staff to help students cope with mental health struggles and trauma, and partnered with Kaiser Permanente and other organizations to offer support groups for students.
The Lahaina complex and surrounding region is hiring five positions focused on student behavior and mental health, with some of the positions vacant since January, according to DOE鈥檚 .
But the department has struggled to spend much of a $2 million federal grant supporting mental health and academics. So far, Chun said, DOE has spent roughly $600,000 on bus services for students who are commuting to Lahaina schools from other parts of the island, but hasn鈥檛 been able to hire mental health professionals like it intended under the grant.
The grant will run until next summer.
In the meantime, school principals say they鈥檙e worried about students and staff who spent the last year running on adrenaline. Teachers are tired, said Lahainaluna Principal Richard Carosso, and many were burned out at the end of last school year.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think summer was long enough for our staff,鈥 he said earlier this month in a meeting with state and federal leaders.
Bayudan, the senior at Lahainaluna, said she鈥檚 grateful for the therapists available on campus but wishes students received more encouragement to seek care. Many of her friends and classmates are hesitant to open up about the emotions and challenges they鈥檙e facing, she added.
鈥淚 don't think what we have right now is serving us enough,鈥 Bayudan said.
Civil Beat鈥檚 education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.
Civil Beat鈥檚 coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
