Principal of Kihei Elementary School to Run South Maui High School | News, Sports, Jobs

After 21 years in elementary school, Maxwell is excited to open the doors of 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 the same caring and engaging educational experience is very exciting,” she told the Maui News last week.

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

His goal then and now was still “Ensuring our students get the best educational experience possible and making sure students feel cared for and respected is the foundation of the school. “

During a virtual community meeting of the state’s Department of Education on Tuesday evening, she announced that for the 2022-2023 academic year, the Kihei High School campus will be able to accommodate approximately 300 students from the southern community of Maui, but will eventually reach around 1,600 children.

The first year may only be open to freshmen, but it’s not finalized yet, she said.

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

“It’s exciting to think that our community high school is a model of energy efficiency and innovation” Maxwell said at the meeting.

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

Through “Student voice” Maxwell said prospective students will spend this year participating in focus groups to share their opinions and ideas on campus instructional design.

They will be “Help create the look of their educational programming” as well as developing the school name, 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 giving future students of the school the opportunity to play a central role in the instructional design” she said on Friday. “The young people in our community are building their legacy and I want to give them the opportunity to create something that will allow them to achieve their highest aspirations for the future.

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

But only about 55% of students believe school is actually preparing them to achieve these goals, she added.

“This is where we come in with the Student Voice project” she had said on Tuesday. “We’re going to involve the students in focus groups so that we can deepen those discussions and find out things like the best way to learn?” What is more engaging for them? How do we help them achieve those dreams and aspirations? “

Once the school has reached the development and decision-making phase, student focus groups will meet with various stakeholders to implement their ideas.

There will also be monthly community meetings for South Maui families to keep abreast of the school’s progress. A calendar will be published at a later date.

Phase 3 of the project will include buildings to support elective classes, changing rooms for PE students, a multipurpose outdoor field and a playground. Depending on funding and programming discussions, the DOE project coordinator, Mitch Tamayori, estimated Tuesday that this phase would be completed by the end of 2022, at the earliest; a previous protest delayed construction.

Future phases which involve the construction of a gymnasium, athletics and football field, basketball courts, tennis courts, softball field, baseball field, d ‘A soccer field, an open playing field and additional classroom buildings will depend on the availability of funding, Tamayori said.

The design of the two-lane roundabout at the entrance to the Piilani Expressway at the school is nearing completion and construction is expected to be completed 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 mauka street from the Piilani highway.

Throughout construction, the DOT will issue press releases to educate the community about the traffic, Shishido said.

In addition to an increase in traffic once the school is operational, some residents have expressed concerns about students traveling to and from campus crossing the freeway near the Kulanihakoi Street intersection. and the Piilani highway.

Although a drop-off pedestrian crossing – such as an overpass or underpass – is desired by many families and was a condition of the State Land Use Commission for the school, the Department of Education is asking the commission to modify the condition to allow the opening of the school. without this.

The LUC will discuss the matter at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Written testimonials can be emailed to [email protected].

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

* Dakota Grossman can be contacted at [email protected].