Two years after one of the worst wildfires in American history devastated thecity of Lahaina,teachers at King Kamehameha III Elementary School are working to provide stability for their youngest students who lost their historic school in the disaster. TheAugust 2023 wildfirethat swept across the old whaling city killed more than 100 people and destroyed countless homes. Among the losses was the century-old King Kamehameha III Elementary School, leaving hundreds of children without their familiar learning environment. Now operating from a temporary campus on the doorstep of the Maui Nature Reserve, the school represents the fourth different location students have called home since the fires. FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the temporary facility in less than 90 days. For educators like Janeen Tempo, who has taught at the school for more than a decade, and educational assistant Darice Garcia, both Maui natives, helping students process trauma became as important as traditional lessons. "In the early days, I would hear the kids make comments. 'Oh, my house is gone or my cousin died,'" Garcia said. The sharedexperience of losscreated unexpected bonds between teachers and students. Tempo found herself relating to children who had lost their homes. "I have had students, oh, you know, my house burned down. I go, I'm sorry. Mine too," Tempo said. "And just I think for them, knowing that somebody's in the same situation just kind of alleviates some of their fear." Despite the trauma they faced, educators said they were struck by their students' resilience. "There are times where the kids actually helped me out more than I helped them out," Tempo said. "I felt like they were more resilient than I was sometimes because they would come to school and they'd be eager to learn. And I sometimes be going, 'Oh my gosh... but they're all happy. So I gotta put on that good face and I have to be brave also with them." The temporary school features outdoor learning spaces where kindergarteners tend gardens and pick cherry tomatoes, creating new routines amid the disruption. Garcia emphasized the importance of providing consistent care for children whose lives were upended. "Just being here, you know, being that open arms for them, that love, the compassion," Garcia said. "There's just there's been so much of their routine broken up, you know. So to know that they can come to a place that there's people who care about them... and we truly, truly care." Powell signals potential interest rate cuts path Trump reacts to FBI raiding John Bolton's home, office Food crisis group declares Gaza City famine, expects spread
