This week, HPR brings you a series of stories from survivors of the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire on Maui. HPR contributor Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi revisited one educator who remains steadfast in uniting all kaiapuni students in West Maui on one campus.
Hawaiian language immersion teacher Liko Rogers is preparing his classroom at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School for the incoming class of kindergarteners. It's something he’s done every year before the school year begins.
But this year is different.
“Ua loli nō. ʻOiai kekahi ʻo nā ʻohana ua pono e neʻe aku i waho o Lahaina a kekahi haʻalele loa paha. ʻIke wau he ʻeiwa papa mālaaʻo i kāinoa a hiki i kēia manawa. Mahuʻi wau e ulu hou aʻe ana kēlā helu kekahi ke hiki aku mākou i ka hoʻomaka ʻana o ke kula.”
Rogers said some Hawaiian immersion, or kaiapuni, families have relocated elsewhere on Maui, while others have completely left the program. He currently has nine kindergarteners registered, but he expects that number to rise as the start of the school year nears.
Last August, Rogers told HPR that time was of the essence for kaiapuni students to return to the classroom because they need that immersion experience to maintain their fluency.
“He hopohopo māoli nō kēlā a ʻo ia kekahi o nā kumu a mākou e makemake nei e hoʻomaka koke ke hiki."
Rogers’ family is one of more than 60 Hawaiian immersion families in West Maui impacted by the fire. He said the fire has led to a drop in kaiapuni enrollment, but he hopes it's temporary.
Rogers is still pursuing his dream of uniting all Hawaiian immersion students in West Maui, from preschool through grade 12, on one campus. He said Lahaina’s youngest ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi students are actually moving in next door.
“Eia kekahi, ʻakahi a komo mai ka Pūnana. Aia ana ka Pūnana Leo O Lahaina ma kekahi ʻaoʻao oʻu. ʻAkahi lākou a haʻalele. Aia lākou ma ʻaneʻi. Nui nā kumu ma ʻaneʻi.”
Preschoolers at the Pūnana Leo O Lahaina, who lost their school in the fire, are moving into the classroom next door to Rogers. He is also in discussions with the DOE to have the kaiapuni middle school students join their younger counterparts at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena.
