Lahaina Seniors Wanted A Normal Year. The Fires Changed Everything

Cheira Cappal had big plans for her final year at Lahainaluna High School. As the senior class vice president, she was excited to help organize homecoming week, the senior ball and other school events after spending her freshman year online during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But when the August wildfires destroyed much of Lahaina the day before classes were to start, Cappal knew she had to adjust her expectations. While hers home was untouched, her parents were temporarily out of work and her classmates were facing significant losses. 

The Hawaii Department of Education has estimated that just under half of Lahaina students previously lived in homes that fell within the fire’s burn zone. 

“The fires changed the course of everything,” Cappal said.

Over the past four years, Cappal and her classmates have faced a global pandemic and a historic wildfire that led to online classes, school closures and uncertainty around their futures. As graduation approaches next month, parents and teachers hope to celebrate a senior class they say has shown remarkable resilience. But some also say the DOE must do more to support students’ academic progress and mental health.

Jackie Ellis, a science teacher and senior class adviser at Lahainaluna, said the school currently has about 220 students, only 20 fewer than before the fires. Many seniors wanted to return to Lahainaluna to graduate with their friends, she said.

Enrollment is significantly down for other grade levels. The DOE reported that approximately 2,000 students were enrolled in Lahaina’s four schools in November, 1,000 fewer than at the start of the year.

Academic Recovery Remains A Challenge

Lahaina senior Jazmin Mathias has attended three schools on Maui since August.

When Lahainaluna closed for inspections and repairs after the fires, Mathias temporarily enrolled at Baldwin High School. She then relocated to Kulanihakoi High School in September, joining 500 other Lahaina students who attended the Kihei campus for three weeks.

Mathias finally returned to Lahainaluna’s campus when it opened in October, but she said it was difficult to focus on her academics while her family searched for permanent housing.

“A whole lot of emotions definitely play a part in making sure your grades are ready for graduation,” said Jazmin’s mother, Lorna Mathias.

DOE communications director Nanea Kalani said the department will not change the graduation requirements for Lahainaluna seniors this year. The DOE did not provide an estimate of how many students will graduate next month, and Lahainaluna principal Richard Carosso did not respond to requests for comment.

Teachers have been working closely with seniors to help them make up work and graduate on time, Ellis said. But it’s been difficult to get students motivated about school since the pandemic, she said, adding that some became accustomed to extended deadlines and leniency from teachers during online classes.

According to a DOE report from February, students enrolled at Lahaina’s four schools missed from 28 to 51 days of classes due to school closures after the fires. Students at King Kamehameha III Elementary, whose campus was destroyed in the fires, will have missed nearly 30% of their school year.

The department said it will offer free summer school to help students recover academically. 

Lahainaluna parent Alfy Basurto said he’s worried about how the pandemic and fires will affect post-graduation plans for the senior class.

The University of Hawaii has offered full scholarships to Lahainaluna seniors planning to attend any of its 10 campuses in the fall. More than 80% of Lahainaluna’s graduating class has applied to at least one UH campus, nearly a 30% increase in applications from last year, said Farrah-Marie Gomes, the university’s associate vice president for student affairs.

But other students, including Basurto’s son, aren’t on track to graduate. While his son originally hoped to graduate a year early, Basurto said, he fell behind during the pandemic and was required to retake some freshman-level courses during his junior year.

Counselors tried to help his son catch up academically, Basurto said, but he struggled to remain motivated after the fires. He likely won’t graduate this year and will instead pursue a General Educational Development certificate. While Basurto doesn’t fully agree with his son’s decisions, he also understands that school isn’t a top priority for some students right now.

“We’re all dealing with it differently,” he said. 

Pandemic-Era Mental Health Concerns Persist

Ellis worries her students haven’t fully processed the events of the fires. She said some students didn’t have time to grieve with their peers and teachers, adding that seniors needed to focus on graduation requirements and college applications once they returned to Lahainaluna’s campus. 

“The world didn’t stop, and we had to catch back up to it,” Ellis said. 

According to the DOE website, the department has provided training on trauma and grief to Maui counselors and teachers and has offered support groups for students from other parts of Maui and other islands who are boarded at Lahainaluna. The department has said it plans on hiring more mental health specialists for schools.

But Heather Long, program director for Maui Youth and Family Services, said some students are taking on their families’ stress and worries and don’t know how to seek help. 

The pandemic also affected students’ abilities to socialize with their peers, Long said. After spending the entirety of their freshman year online, she added, many seniors still rely on social media to connect with others.

“I think their level of resiliency is going to be strong, but along with that is their trauma,” Long said.

In the months following the fires, Cappal said, she worried about finishing college applications on time as she had limited internet access in West Maui and moved between schools in Kihei and Lahaina. She’s still concerned that she’s behind in her Advanced Placement biology and calculus classes, especially as she prepares to take the cumulative exams needed for college credit next month.

But Cappal said she appreciates any opportunity to spend time with her senior class. Lahainaluna’s senior ball fell on the night of her 18th birthday, she said, and she’s excited to participate in the senior luau and graduation in the coming weeks.

Still, she added, Lahainaluna seems emptier than usual at times, and she can see the burned remains of Lahaina town from certain points on campus.

“I think definitely the fire and the pandemic caused us to reconsider everything we had planned for the future,” she said.

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.