​LAHAINA — U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona spent a day immersed in the stories of resilience and hope from Lahaina’s students, educators and community leaders. 

"I'm leaving with a sense of hope, knowing that this community can teach the rest of the country lessons about how to come together," Cardona said. "I learned how, at the federal level, we need to continue to not only support, but listen to the needs of our students in our community here, and I have to say, I'm leaving inspired."

Cardona was in Hawai‘i Friday to see first-hand how Lahaina schools and the Hawai‘i State Department of Education are recovering and rebuilding following the Maui wildfires that displaced over 3,000 students in West Maui. 

He started the morning at the temporary school for King Kamehameha III Elementary at Pulelehua. After the fires consumed the elementary school's original campus on Front Street, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the temporary site, which opened to students in April.

In a table-top discussion Cardona led with Superintendent Keith Hayashi and school leaders, the dialogue centered on recovery milestones, ongoing challenges, and the importance of federal support.

"Before, during, after ... I think the main point is children are resilient. Our staff and our community, they're resilient," said Gary Kanamori, principal of Princess Nāhi‘ena‘ena Elementary School, which shared its campus with King Kamehameha III Elementary for six months after the fire.

"As long as I can remember, just being a kid growing up on Maui, Lahaina has always been extremely strong – its sense of place, its strength in community," Kanamori said. "And even though it suffered one of the most devastating fires in our nation's history, the kids are resilient. Kids are kids, and they love being at school."

He said despite academic setbacks due to lost instructional time, the Lahaina schools are providing a consistent environment where students are loved and cared for.

"In terms of academics, obviously they missed out on a lot of 'normal' instruction but because we have systems in place ... we're able to meet them where they're at and address the needs and the pockets," Kanamori said. "We're able to understand when those red flags occur, address it as needed, and then also give the parents resources – both on the academic and the emotional front."

At King Kamehameha III Elementary, Principal Ian Haskins shared how his staff has prioritized addressing the emotional well-being of students in the wake of the fires. He said students grieve differently than adults, and the school continues to monitor students' emotional health and provide needed supports.

Cardona said that with the fires coming on the heels of the pandemic, he expects school staff are also coping with the trauma while being expected to care for students.

Lahainaluna Principal Richard Carosso said his school leveraged a one-year grant to provide mental health support on campus for staff, which employees are taking advantage of. 

"We didn't know how many kids were going to show up. We didn't know how many adults were going to show up," Carosso said, referencing Lahainaluna's plans last school year to open a satellite site on the Kūlanihāko‘i High campus in South Maui while Lahainaluna's campus underwent environmental reviews and cleaning after the fire.

"Last year, I think a lot the adults, we all just kind of ran on adrenaline just to be back for the kids," Carosso said. "While as leaders we were all worried about all the different possibilities that could go wrong, the staff just rallied and made everything right. More kids showed up than we expected, and more staff showed up than we expected."

Cardona pledged to take what he learned back to the U.S. Department of Education, where he said more than 4,000 employees – including those focused on crisis response – will carry on the work of the department after he leaves office.

"What I want to make sure is when I leave here, I leave with: These are the things that are working and these are the things we need to focus more on."

Cardona, a former elementary school teacher and principal, visited classrooms and joined students during recess, where several students asked him for his autograph and treated him to an impromptu singing of 'Hawai‘i Pono Ī." 

At Lahainaluna, Cardona met with the high school's student government officers to hear about their experiences and future hopes before touring the historic campus. When asked to describe their community in one word, the students responded with: love, family, timeless and aloha.

Cardona offered his own word: beauty. "Despite the pain, there's so much beauty. There's beauty in the people, the relationships, the way you express it. That fire does not define you," he said, adding that the leadership skills they were forced to acquire following the fires will help them excel farther than if it never happened.

Before leaving, Cardona reflected on the spirit of the community he witnessed in his short visit.

"I'm just so impressed with how everyone came together and how there's an allegiance to the community here – something that, I think, is powerful and inspiring."