Furlough Fridays are a little more complicated for Lahainaluna High — the only public school in the state with dormitories — and its 85 students who live on campus.

While the majority of boarders at Lahainaluna are from Maui and go home on furlough weekends, about 34 of the school's boarders hail from other islands or as far as Micronesia and Las Vegas.

That's where island hospitality helps out. Several Maui families have opened their doors to Lahainaluna boarders when the dormitories shut down along with the rest of the state's public school system on furlough days.

"We volunteered because we know it's really hard. With the kids from the outer islands, it doesn't make any sense to spend all that money to go home for a day," said Roxanne Sinenci, a Kíhei mom with two sons, Rylie and Reece, who also stay in a dorm.

On the Oct. 30 furlough day, Sinenci's two sons each brought home a fellow dorm student — one from the Big Island and one from Las Vegas. They spent the furlough weekend hiking Haleakalä, swimming Big Beach in Mäkena and trick-or-treating on Halloween.

"Our household has always been open to any kids who wanted to come," Sinenci said.

As the state's oldest school, founded in 1831, Lahainaluna is steeped in tradition, of which its boarding program is a part. Most students who board can trace back generations of relatives who also took part in the program, which tries to foster independence through a rigorous agenda of chores and studying.

The experience is similar to being on a college campus, said principal Michael Nakano, with some differences.

"The first two years are spent establishing 'ohana and a family relationship," he said. "Junior and senior year is all about developing leadership skills."

Boys and girls live in separate dorm halls with various amenities, including TV lounges, a computer room and laundry facilities. The experience is different from college because students are expected to adhere to a weekday schedule that starts in the early morning with chores.

The boarders help maintain the school yard and work in the cafeteria and the office. They get agricultural experience through the school's pig farm and cultivation of various plants and crops.

The boarders also are required to work for nearly two hours after school and study for two hours in the evening.

Janice Pagdilao, a Lahaina mother with two kids at the school, has also offered to open her home to a boarder from the Big Island.

"He doesn't have any family here," Pagdilao said.

She volunteer ed to help because his family was considering pulling him out of the school because of the travel distance.

"He doesn't want to go back to the Big Island. He doesn't want to get into trouble. If it's helping him, I said we'd do weekends."