Lahainaluna High School students and teachers returned to campus on Monday to the cheerful shouts of “Welcome back!” and brightly painted red and yellow signs reading “Luna Strong.”

As volunteers lined Lahainaluna Road and cheered on families entering the high school, students threw shakas out of car windows and captured the scene on their phones. At the same time, some students dangled N95 masks from their hands, a somber reminder of the damage from the Aug. 8 wildfire that destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina.   

Lahainaluna High School was the first of three Lahaina campuses to resume classes this week after more than two months of closure due to the fires. Lahaina Intermediate follows on Tuesday and Princess Nahienaena Elementary on Wednesday. Students at King Kamehameha III Elementary, whose campus was destroyed in the blaze, will share facilities with Princess Nahienaena Elementary until a temporary campus opens in 2024. 

In preparation for the first day of school, Stefanie Hegrenes cooked a special breakfast of cinnamon sugar toast for her children who are attending their sophomore and senior years at Lahainaluna High. Hegrenes said the family also plans to celebrate the homecoming week at the football game against Baldwin High on Saturday.

It’s exciting for her children to return to some kind of normalcy, Hegrenes said, but concerns about possible toxicity from the nearby burn zone cast a shadow over the festive mood.

Hegrenes said she and her husband felt “sick to their stomachs” upon learning Sunday night that the Department of Health’s preliminary testing in Kula indicated high levels of lead, cobalt and arsenic in the ash from the August fires in Upcountry. While the ash in Lahaina has not yet been tested, it could have similar toxins, DOH Director Kenneth Fink said Sunday in an announcement.

In response, the DOE has updated its reopening guidance, requiring schools to pivot to distance learning if the air quality consistently remains at unhealthy levels and to close completely if the air quality becomes hazardous. The department has repeatedly reassured families that extensive testing of the water, soil and air quality has indicated that it is safe for students and staff to return to the three campuses at this time. 

“Our Lahaina campuses are safe for students and staff to be at, based on current earth quality conditions and the extensive environmental testing we’ve done,” superintendent Keith Hayashi said on Sunday afternoon.

Hegrenes said she is “cautiously optimistic” about her children’s safety but is ready to find a new schooling plan for her family if necessary. 

“I think it’s going to be a fluid process this year,” Hegrenes said. “It’s teaching our kids to be resilient.” 

The risk is one parent David Weeks is unwilling to take. His son and daughter had been set to attend classes at King Kamehameha III and Lahaina Intermediate this year, but he opted to keep them enrolled at Hawaii Technology Academy, a charter school that recently began offering hybrid classes in Lahaina.  

His daughter badly wanted to return to Lahaina Intermediate, Weeks said, adding that some of her closest friends are set to return to campus on Tuesday. But Weeks remains particularly concerned about air quality as rebuilding efforts begin in the hardest-hit part of Lahaina that is covered in ash and rubble.

While he feels fortunate that his children were able to enroll at HTA, Weeks recognizes that returning to the Lahaina campuses remains the only viable option for some families, especially after the DOE closed its distance learning hub last month and ended the temporary bus service to schools in Central and South Maui. Displaced children had been allowed to attend school elsewhere on the Valley Isle in the aftermath of the fires.

“At this point, I think the interruption in education for all the children is the worst part of it, besides, obviously, the potential health effects,” Weeks said. 

Lahainaluna digital media and morning broadcast teacher Jon Shigaki said his class sizes on Monday were noticeably smaller than in previous years. He said he understands parents’ concerns about sending their children back to campus, adding that he has taken precautions such as closing his classroom door and running the classroom’s air purifier. 

“Do what the family wants to do,” Shigaki said about respecting families’ choices and reassuring his students who have not yet returned to campus. “If they say no, we’ll wait for you.”

The Department of Education estimated that around 700 students returned to Lahainaluna High on Monday. Last academic year, the school enrolled 1,037 students.

Even with the smaller-than-usual student population, social studies teacher Mike Landes said returning to campus felt like coming home and restored a sense of normalcy to his life.  

“To be coming back home to our campus is probably the most special homecoming that we’ve ever had,” Landes said.

Celebrations of reopening continued after school as dozens of cars waited in the Lahaina Gateway parking lot to receive snacks passed out by Lahainaluna High alumni. As calls of “Have a great school year,” rang across the parking lot, parents passed plates of doughnuts, spam musubis and juices to children in the backseat of their cars.

Lilinoe Elam-Fonohema organized the drive-by, which received hundreds of treats from community donors ranging from Zippy’s to Maui Specialty Chocolates. As a 2020 graduate, Elam-Fonohema fondly recalled the outpouring of love her class received when they finished their Lahainaluna careers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Three years later, she added, it’s their turn to show Lahainaluna students that they also have the support of the community. 

“Regardless if these kids feel it or not, we’re here,” Elam-Fonohema said. “They deserve everything.” 

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 grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.