The new headmaster of the Kamehameha Schools’ Kapalama Campus says he wants to continue the work of his predecessor — longtime Kapalama President and Headmaster Michael J. Chun — in moving from "being a school for Native Hawaiians to being a Native Hawaiian school."
"We’re not there yet," said Earl T. Kim, 49, former superintendent of the Montgomery, N.J., school district. "But it is an effort by an institution to understand its role in the larger Hawaiian community and its obligations to its students."
Kim also says one of his major goals is to improve the preparation of his graduates to ensure they don’t just go to college, but also graduate with a degree. While the college-going rate of Kapalama graduates is high — about 96 percent — there are concerns that some don’t make it to graduation.
Kim’s first day on the job was July 2. On Friday he delivered his first convocation to the Kapalama student body, urging togetherness and mutual respect.
Gerry Johansen, interim executive director of Kamehameha Schools alumni relations and Ke Ali‘i Pauahi Foundation, said Kim has impressed the community with his openness and educational knowledge. He has also been quickly learning Hawaiian culture and language, she said.
Kim delivered the welcome to his convocation in impeccable Hawaiian, Johansen said.
"I just sense, as our new headmaster he brings a wealth of educational value and a spirit of aloha," she said.
Kim takes the helm at Kapalama amid a $118 million renovation project aimed at updating classroom buildings, administrative space and athletic facilities.
Chun, his predecessor, led the Kapalama campus for 24 years before retiring this summer. He was beloved by many Kamehameha alumni, weathering some difficult years at school, including a turbulent period in the 1990s when former trustee Lokelani Lindsey tried to strip him of power. That led to an uprising on campus and the eventual removal of all five of the organization’s trustees.
Also during his tenure, Kamehameha Schools saw several legal challenges because of its admissions policy, which favors students of Hawaiian ancestry.
About 3,200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade attend the 600-acre Kapalama Campus, the oldest and largest of Kamehameha’s three campuses.
Nearly two months into his new position, Kim said he believes he has found the job he’ll have until he retires. He also said he feels an incredible responsibility and "heavy burden" to carry out Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s will, which established Kamehameha Schools.
"Once I accepted this position, I kind of saw it as the last employment I would have," he said. "This is where I was sent. I hope that some of the experiences I’ve had can help to achieve the goals and the visions that both Dr. Chun and Princess Pauahi had."
Kim said that part of being a Hawaiian school is incorporating Hawaiian knowledge and approaches into lessons, so he’ll work to ensure that if, for example, there is a "particular Hawaiian way of taking multiple perspectives toward viewing a subject before coming to a conclusion," then that approach will be part of the curriculum.
He also said college completion rates, a nationwide concern, will be a focus of his administration.
Only about half of University of Hawaii students seeking a bachelor’s degree graduate within six years. Among Native Hawaiian students, about 43 percent do.
Kamehameha does not have statistics on how many of its students complete college, but Kim said he expects those numbers will be available soon. He said boosting college preparation could mean addressing everything from scholastic concerns to financial and emotional issues.
"Our goal is to get all of our students ready for four-year college work and then to see them complete," Kim said.
Kim grew up in the islands, attending public schools before entering ‘Iolani School in the fifth grade. After graduating from ‘Iolani, he headed to Cornell University and received his degree in 1984. He then served a stint in the Marine Corps before seeking alternative teaching licensure in New Jersey.
Kim taught at Trenton Central High School, then spent several decades serving as a school administrator before being named Montgomery’s superintendent in 2006. During his tenure at the largely affluent school district, which has about 5,300 students, he garnered accolades for taking a measured approach to problems and backing up his opinions with research and data.
He left the district in part because of disagreements about how public schools should be managed and funded. In early 2011 Kim angered some when he came out against a proposal that would have sent more money to wealthy schools at the expense of schools in low-income communities.
Some accused him of not standing up for his own students.
Before leaving New Jersey to take over the headmaster position at Kapalama, Kim told The Princeton Packet newspaper, "I didn’t see myself working well in that environment. When the opportunity came up to not only serve a school population that wanted me there, but a school community that had a mission to really educate all students and had autonomy, it was impossible to say no."
