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Kihei Elementary principal to head South Maui high school

School expected to open to first students in August 2022

HALLE MAXWELL – Kihei High School principal

Leaving Kihei Elementary School to help lead South Maui’s new high school as principal is “bittersweet” for Halle Maxwell.

After 21 years at the elementary school, Maxwell is excited to open the doors to Kihei High School’s first student body in August 2022.

“I love Kihei Elementary so much, however, the dream of creating a high school that continues to provide that same caring and engaging educational experience is very exciting,” she told The Maui News last week.

As the elementary school principal for the past decade, Maxwell said that “all of the students, parents, teachers and staff members, past and present, will always have a special place in my heart.”

Her goal then and now was always “making sure our students get the best educational experience possible and assuring that students feel cared for and respected is the foundation of the school.”

During a virtual state Department of Education community meeting on Tuesday evening, she announced that, for the 2022-23 academic year, the Kihei High School campus will be able to accommodate about 300 students from the South Maui community, but will eventually grow to about 1,600 kids.

The first year may only be open to freshmen, but this is not yet finalized, she said.

Additionally, Kihei High School will be the first net-zero energy school ever in the state, meaning it will produce as much or more energy than it uses. Energy-efficient projects will be developed as the school continues to grow.

“It’s exciting to think of our community high school as being a model for energy efficiency and innovation,” Maxwell said during the meeting.

The 70-acre campus is being built in phases and is currently in Phase 2, which includes the administration and classroom buildings, library and cafeteria, locker rooms, basketball court and temporary playfield.

Through “Student Voice,” Maxwell said that future students will spend this year engaged in focus groups to share their opinions and ideas on the educational design of the campus.

They will be “helping to create the way their educational programming looks” as well as developing the name of the school, mascot and colors — the name “Kihei High School” is used as a placeholder during construction.

“One of the most exciting aspects of opening Kihei High School is providing the opportunity for the future students of the school to play a pivotal role in the educational design,” she said on Friday. “Our community’s young people are building their legacy and I want to provide them the opportunity to create something that will enable them to achieve their highest aspirations for the future.”

In a survey with sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Lokelani Intermediate, about 98 percent of students feel that their parents “take their education very seriously” and 70 percent said they “have big goals for their future,” Maxwell said.

But only about 55 percent of students feel that school is actually preparing them to meet those goals, she added.

“So that’s where we come in with the Student Voice project,” she had said Tuesday. “We’ll be engaging students in focus groups so that we can dig deeper into those discussions and find out things like how best do they learn? What is more engaging for them? How do we help them meet those dreams and aspirations?”

Once the school reaches the developmental and decision-making phase, the student focus groups will be meeting with various stakeholders to implement their ideas.

There will also be monthly community meetings for South Maui families to stay up-to-date on the school’s progress. A schedule will be released at a later date.

Phase 3 of the project will include buildings to support elective classes, locker rooms for P.E. students, a multiuse outdoor court and playfield. Depending on funding and discussions over scheduling, DOE Project Coordinator Mitch Tamayori on Tuesday estimated that this phase would be completed by the end of 2022, at the earliest; a previous protest delayed construction.

Future phases that involve constructing a gymnasium, track and football field, basketball courts, tennis courts, softball field, baseball field, soccer field, open playfield and additional classroom buildings will be dependent on the availability of funding, Tamayori said.

Design of the two-lane roundabout at the Piilani Highway entrance to the school is nearing completion and construction is slated to be done by July 2022, said Robin Shishido of the state Department of Transportation.

Primary access to the new school will be provided via an extension of Kulanihakoi Street mauka of Piilani Highway.

Throughout the construction, the DOT will be posting news releases to update the community on traffic, Shishido said.

In addition to an increase in traffic once the school is up and running, some residents have voiced concerns about students walking to and from campus by crossing the highway in the vicinity of the Kulanihakoi Street/Piilani Highway intersection.

Although a grade-separated pedestrian crossing — such as an overpass or underpass — is desired by several families and was a state Land Use Commission condition for the school, the Department of Education is asking the commission to amend the condition to allow the school to open without it.

The LUC will discuss the issue at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Written testimony can be emailed to dbedt.luc.web@ hawaii.gov.

In the meantime, Shishido said that flashing crosswalk signs have been installed to allow pedestrians to notify drivers of their crossing on the highway, as well as a relief zone at the median. And, for those who cannot walk to school or be dropped off, Maxwell said that students who reside 1.5 miles or more from the school can qualify for regular bus service.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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