Current:Home > My'Not one child should be unaccounted for:' After Maui wildfires, school enrollment suffers -TradeWisdom
'Not one child should be unaccounted for:' After Maui wildfires, school enrollment suffers
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:37:09
On a recent night on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Superintendent Keith Hayashi and several board members invited the community to a meeting that was supposed to be about plans to reopen several Maui public schools that were damaged during wildfires in the historical coastal town of Lahaina.
But the gathering devolved into an emotional and impassioned scene: Several Maui community members called on the school board to speed up the search for hundreds of students who haven't enrolled since the fires killed at least 115 people and leveled more than 2,000 structures of acres of land on the island one month ago.
"It's almost been a month – all hands on deck. There’s a lot of anxiety because students aren’t being identified as safe or deceased so what I don’t understand is, ‘Why? Why haven’t all the calls been made?’ said Susan Pcola-Davis during public testimony.
"You need to put yourself in the shoes of those who lost their children. You need to put yourself in the shoes of parents who were not home and had no chance to go save their children," said Wallyn Christian. "At this point from what I calculated, approximately a little more than 900 'keiki' (kids) are missing. That is one keiki too many. Not one child should be unaccounted for."
Hayashi did not say the exact number of students who remain unaccounted for. But the board's own calculations indicate about 966 kids are unenrolled.
Because King Kamehameha III Elementary "was damaged beyond repair" and three other schools – Lahainaluna High, Lahaina Intermediate and Nahienaena Elementary – are undergoing "environmental assessments for air, water and soil quality, as well as ensuring stable power and sufficient broadband connectivity," state officials told families to enroll in a new school or distance learning, according to a post on the department's website from Aug. 29.
Of the 3,000 students enrolled in the four schools at the start of the new school year, they said 782 have re-enrolled in other public schools, 907 have enrolled in a distance learning program and nearly 345 have enrolled in charter schools, private schools or have withdrawn, according to a presentation given Hayashi.
"We are actively reaching out to contact families for the remainder of students who have not yet enrolled in an option, knowing that some may have moved out of state or have paused their child's education for the time being," he said.
On Sept. 8, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green in a video on X said the number of people who remain unaccounted had dropped to 66, and there are 41 active investigations into those people unaccounted for "after people filed missing persons reports."
'Not an easy thing to do':Authorities name 388 people still missing after Maui wildfires
The search continues
In response to the criticism, officials said staff are trying to reach families of students who haven't enrolled in another school, including leaving voicemails. Hayashi said there are about 48 families they "have not been able to make contact with." Heidi Armstrong, the deputy superintendent of the Hawaii Board of Education, said as of Sept. 6, there are some families they haven't called yet.
Kids have already missed a large portion of the school year. The school semester started on Aug. 7, according to the Hawaii State Department of Education. At the meeting, officials said they hope to reopen the three damaged Lahaina schools following a "fall break" that ends on Oct. 13.
Questions about kids' whereabouts are catching national attention
Several social media videos have surfaced and recirculated detailing theories that unenrolled kids are deceased or have been kidnapped since the Department of Education released the information.
In response, community members are demanding answers from trustees at the meeting not only to find the kids, but to combat falsities.
"See how public's minds can just start filling in the blanks without knowing facts because facts aren’t available?" said Pcola-Davis.
Teachers, students and families in Maui are still reeling from the devastation the wildfires brought to their schools, they said at the meeting, adding that clearer answers about the kids who are missing could help provide some relief.
“It’s hard to really quantify the gravity of the experience and the emergency of what happened in Lahaina," said Richard Karuso, the principal of Lahaina High School, at the meeting. "And the emotional toll on our staff and our students is going to be long term."
'Help is pouring in':How to assist victims in the Maui wildfires in Hawaii
Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @kaylajjimenez.
veryGood! (76)
Related
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- AP Top 25: Alabama overtakes Texas for No. 1 and UNLV earns its 1st ranking in program history
- Lynx star Napheesa Collier wins WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, tops all-defensive team
- FBI to pay $22M to settle claims of sexual discrimination at training academy
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Over 90,000 Georgia residents sheltering a day after chemical plant fire sends chlorine into the air
- What is 'Ozempic face'? How we refer to weight-loss side effects matters.
- Epic flooding in North Carolina's 'own Hurricane Katrina'
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- California wildfire flareup prompts evacuation in San Bernardino County
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Do food dyes make ADHD worse? Why some studies' findings spur food coloring bans
- Kristin Cavallari splits with 24-year-old boyfriend Mark Estes after 7 months
- Why Lionel Messi did Iron Man celebration after scoring in Inter Miami-Charlotte FC game
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- 17 people have been killed in 2 mass shootings in the same street in South Africa
- NASCAR Kansas live updates: How to watch Sunday's Cup Series playoff race
- Week 4 fantasy football rankings: PPR, half-PPR and standard leagues
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Missing a beat, streaming service Spotify is back after a temporary outage
Rashee Rice's injury opens the door for Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy
Chemical fire at pool cleaner plant forces evacuations in Atlanta suburb
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Milo Ventimiglia's Wife Jarah Mariano Is Pregnant With First Baby
FBI to pay $22M to settle claims of sexual discrimination at training academy
Key Senate race in Arizona could hinge on voters who back Trump and the Democratic candidate