New online report gives DOE updates on Lahaina schools

A new online status report on Maui public schools and students affected by the Aug. 8 wildfires — including campus safety testing of soil, water and air at three closed campuses in Lahaina, and reopening plans — was made live by the state Department of Education on Wednesday and will be kept updated, officials said.

However, the status report, at bit.ly/Lahaina SchoolsProgressReport, as of Wednesday did not include data on how many of the 3,001 students of Lahaina’s closed public schools have been reached by DOE officials, and whether and where they are reenrolled. Some state school board members and public testifiers have expressed frustration over what they believe is slow and confusing information from DOE on the status of its students after the wildfires.

But DOE Communications Director Nanea Kalani told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday that some data on department efforts to contact and account for all of its Lahaina students is expected to be added to the report “in the next day or two.”

Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a news release that “by making vital data readily accessible to the public, we aim to keep our school communities informed while fostering trust and confidence in our response efforts.”

The status report page gives the public a brief glimpse into the DOE’s multiple efforts for the affected Maui schools, employees and students. For instance, it notes that external sensors for air quality are installed at three schools and results are publicly reported at maps.purpleair.com, and an independent firm is conducting water sampling, in addition to initial testing by the Maui County Department of Water Supply, while the state Department of Health is being consulted.

“​Contracted independent firm to conduct soil sampling to detect the presence of heavy metals and dioxins. Soil samples taken and being tested at the lab,” the report also says.

The status report also outlines multiple efforts by the DOE to support the mental health of students and employees.

Hayashi has said the tentative goal is to reopen the campuses of Lahainaluna High, Lahaina Intermediate and Princess Nahienaena Elementary schools after the fall break, which runs Oct. 9-13. The exact date for students to return will depend on each school’s phased reopening schedule, the DOE said.

King Kamehameha III Elementary School was damaged beyond repair in the Lahaina fire. The DOE’s plan is for its students and staff to initially share a campus with Princess Nahienaena Elementary while a temporary separate site for the school is sought.

More than 800 displaced and affected students have reenrolled in other public schools as of Wednesday, the DOE said.

In related updates, today is the first day students of Lahainaluna High School are scheduled to attend classes at Kulanihakoi High School in Kihei. The Lahaina students will stay together as a “school within a school.”

The DOE also announced that a distance learning hub for Lahaina students in grades K through 8 will begin welcoming students Tuesday at Citizen Church, 4275 Hine Way in Lahaina. The learning hub will provide distance-­learning students with in-­person teacher support, opportunities to socialize with peers, access to meals, social-emotional learning and more.

Two other learning hubs are planned in West Maui: one for high-needs special education students and another for Kaiapuni Hawaiian language immersion K-8 students. Families are being contacted directly for the special-needs hub, while details on the Kaiapuni hub will be announced soon, the DOE said.