Kealakehe High will temporarily beef up security and decrease the amount of time students have for lunch and breaks after several large fights linked to rising "cultural" tensions at the Hawaii island school spurred the cancellation of classes Friday, Department of Education officials said.
Students will return to the campus Monday.
DOE officials and parents blamed the tensions on discord between two relatively small factions of students — and to changing community demographics.
"The root of the arguments between involved students is a misunderstanding between local, Micronesian and Marshallese cultures and lifestyles," a DOE news release said.
Arthur Souza, complex-area superintendent for Kealakehe and surrounding communities, added that the "misunderstanding of cultural assimilation by Marshallese and Micronesian families is not isolated to Kealakehe High School."
Reached Friday, several parents said they supported the school’s decision to close its doors to students for a day, giving students a cooling-off period and teachers and administrators an opportunity to meet to plan their next steps.
Several parents also said that it appeared months of bullying may have spurred the Micronesian students to lash out this week, and urged the school — and its teachers and students —to see the fighting as a wake-up call.
"I really would like them to be a little more cognizant of the situation, now that we know there is this tension out there," said Monica Balanay, who has two daughters, a ninth-grader and an 11th-grader, who attend the school. "Don’t keep it hidden. Don’t wait until it gets to a breaking point."
The school canceled classes Friday after two days of fighting on the campus.
On Thursday the school dismissed students in increments starting at 2:15 p.m., an hour before classes were supposed to end.
The problems started Wednesday at about 1 p.m., when escalating tensions led to students "posturing" and at least one fight on campus, said DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz.
Then on Thursday, eight students were arrested at the school following a melee that involved about 30 students.
Those arrested Thursday — seven males and one female — were charged with disorderly conduct and released.
The DOE said the students will face disciplinary action "that for some may include suspension."
Dela Cruz said none of the fights involved weapons, and the number of students involved is a small fraction of the school’s enrollment of 1,470 students.
Still, she acknowledged it is rare for a Hawaii public school to cancel classes because of fighting, and she could not recall the last time it had happened.
"It is serious," she said.
Four additional security guards have been assigned to the campus, in addition to the five it already has. Dela Cruz said counselors will also be on hand Monday to address bullying.
State Sen. Josh Green, whose district includes Kealakehe High, said the school acted appropriately by canceling classes Friday.
In the short term, he said, it’s important for the school to boost its security presence and tackle bullying and raw tensions among students.
In the longer term, he added, "there has to be an open dialogue about race relations."
Green said the number of Micronesians in the area has grown considerably in recent years, and, as in other communities statewide, that has been a source of tension for residents.
Shane Kitchens, co-chairman of Kealakehe High’s School Community Council, said he supports the school’s decision to cancel classes Friday to "get a better understanding of what happened."
He said he wanted to keep his daughter, a senior, home from school Thursday after hearing about the fights on campus. She wanted to go because of upcoming final exams, so he relented.
He said he hopes the school uses the incidents as a chance to study its policies and procedures around student safety and discipline.
"I’m hopeful … they’re a little more strict," he said, adding the fighting has raised awareness about issues at the school.
"Maybe now they will look more holistically at a fight on campus as maybe part of a large pattern."
He added he feels confident that when he sends his daughter to school Monday, the campus will be safe.
