The number of displaced West Maui public school students who still have not enrolled in new schools or been contacted by state officials is 1,208, down from the 2,025 first reported late last month.
But officials say there is still no easy way to know conclusively how many of that remainder are pausing schooling, have left for private schools or the mainland, or are among the dead or missing in the aftermath of the wildfires.
Of the 3,001 students who had been enrolled in the Lahainaluna complex of four public schools before the Aug. 8 inferno, the latest tally as of Thursday shows 778 have reenrolled in other Hawaii public schools and 874 have applied for or enrolled in the State Distance Learning Program, says a new state Department of Education report. About 29 students have moved to public charter schools, approximately 100 have enrolled in Hawaii independent schools, and about a dozen have withdrawn, says the report, which is expected to be presented Thursday by state Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi to the Student Achievement Committee of the state Board of Education.
The DOE is working through its rosters to reach every one of its West Maui families, but the task has been complicated and lengthened by multiple factors, DOE spokeswoman Nanea Kalani told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday.
Families are widely scattered in the fires’ aftermath, for instance, telecommunications often have been spotty, and DOE officials have needed training in grief counseling before making calls, she said.
“Our Maui-based community liaisons, who have been on the ground since the fires, have also been connecting with families in shelters, at family assistance centers, resource fairs and the like to check in with families and help support their overall and educational needs,” Kalani said. “The department is 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, relocated or paused their child’s education for the time being.”
Kalani said privacy laws prohibit the DOE from saying how many of its students are believed to have died in the disaster.
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