The Hawaiʻi Department of Education has opened a distance learning hub to more than 250 Lāhainā students this week.
The hub, located at Citizen Church in Kahana, offers students a self-paced schedule for learning lessons and assignments.
The alternative learning site is intended to provide the Lāhainā school community with support such as emotional learning, meals and other resources.
"We’ve been working really hard with the staff to get ready for today and I think the payoff was in seeing the kids again — they were so happy to be here and see their teachers, see each other, and it was really great to see the parents too,” King Kamehameha III Elementary Principal Jennifer Everett said in a Tuesday news release.
Thousands of students from four Lāhainā schools were displaced by the wildfires more than six weeks ago.
Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary, Lāhainā Intermediate and Lāhainalunā High remain closed until it’s deemed environmentally safe. But King Kamehameha III Elementary was destroyed by the wildfires.
"It was just very warming seeing the kids — a lot of them had smiles on their face, a few of them were there were a little nervous when they saw everybody here, but for the most part, I think all students just had a smile,” said Kaleka Manoha, a Lāhainā parent, in a news release.
The DOE will also provide a learning hub for high needs, special education students and another for the Kaiapuni language immersion students.
Lāhainalunā High students have been relocated to a temporary site at Kūlanihākoʻi High in Kīhei since last week.
All Lāhainā students are expected to return to their campuses in mid-October. Students from King Kamehameha III Elementary will attend Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary.
