A Century Of Empowering Young Women
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Sacred Hearts Academy’s annual Scholarship Fund Gala helps the school continue to produce smart, self-confident leaders
In the century since Sacred Hearts Academy was first established on the hills of Kaimuki, the world has changed greatly for young ladies. Women have won their suffrage, equal rights have become the law of the land, and educational privileges are extended to all regardless of their sex.
So, in modern times, has an all-girls school become an anachronism?
“In lots of classrooms, boys can be very high maintenance, demanding a lot of attention, and they can be very domineering,” says Sacred Hearts principal Betty White. “Girls, as reflective learners, sit back and allow it to happen. Also, girls will go through a period where they don’t want to be smart, they don’t want to be the leaders, they want to be the cheerleaders.
“Here they have to be the leaders, they have to step out because there is no one else to do it. They get the confidence that they can do it themselves. Our girls here like being smart; they don’t have to dumb themselves down. It’s very accepted that everyone has to achieve.”
Providing this protection for girls is very important, especially in the sixth through ninth grades, says White. It allows them to develop their self-confidence.
“We want to develop her character that will last long after she leaves us, and we do it in a unique environment, an all-girls environment,” says White.
The results are hard to argue with, as 100 percent of graduates went on to some form of higher education in 2008. Their alumni roll boasts such distinguished graduates as former Lt. Gov. Jean King, Lora Cachola of Bishop Estate and the Honorable Linda Luke.
The school was formed when the founding Sisters of Sacred Hearts saw a need for an institution of higher learning for the young women of the Islands. The sisters picked out a rugged little cacti-covered patch in Kaimuki and transformed it into a fully sustainable school with crops and livestock.
The sisters ran the school until 1986, when their mission began to change and they felt a calling to help those in the South Pacific. This coincided with a marked drop in the sisterhood population as fewer and fewer young women were called to serve the church in the 1980s. The sisters handed over the day-to-day operations to lay people, and the academy retained a couple of nuns to oversee its spiritual focus.
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“The biggest challenge of changing over the school was financial because, when the sisters were here, they were doing everything: collecting money for tuition, the yard work, the maintenance and the cleaning,” says White of the sisters who only received a stipend of $300 a month. “Now we had to go outside to get that help and pay the market value, so it was difficult to maintain enrollment while raising tuitions in order to pay all these new salaries.”
Yet the school survived, and the buildings’ exteriors maintain the same look as when they were originally constructed in 1909 - with Spanish stucco walls and distinctive red tile roofs - but the inside has been transformed over the past century.
“We have a Web 2.0 approach to teaching,” says White, stressing the academy’s focus on technology and science. “We have to make sure our teachers are trained for 21st century teaching. The whole area needs to be more project-based, with the teacher serving more as a facilitator than a guru at the front of the class.”
Even more impressive than its academic side are the steps Sacred Hearts takes to build the character of the young ladies. The school was recognized in 2007 as a National School of Character - an honor only awarded to 10 schools nationally - for its efforts to better the Islands by having students spend more than 60,000 hours a year in community service.
“It’s not just doing the service, but the hours have to be focused,” says White, who requires everyone in grades 7 to 12 to serve a minimum of 25 hours. “For example, they could spend the time in a nursing home, then they have to discuss what the difficulties are in caring for folks in a nursing home, and make presentations and reflections about the experience.”
This way all the students can benefit from the learning each girl acquires. They don’t just serve on Oahu, though, taking trips to China, Vietnam and the Neighbor Islands. Some help locals replant vegetation on Kahoolawe, others help the sick of Kalaupapa, and the younger grades even make dog biscuits for the under-privileged pups down at the humane society.
In order to continue to serve, the future female leaders of Sacred Hearts Academy are holding their 14th annual Scholarship Fund Gala from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. Of the 1,100 students currently enrolled at the academy, a quarter of them are aided by some type of scholarship and all the proceeds of the gala go toward that end.
A Chinese dinner will be served, and the entertainment is coming courtesy of Neva Rego, Sacred Hearts alumna and one of the preeminent vocal coaches in the Islands. She is inviting friends such as Jordan Segundo and Les Ceballos to entertain what they hope is a crowd of more than 1,000.
Funds are raised not just through ticket sales but also with a silent auction featuring Neighbor Island trips and golf outings. On average, the gala has raised more than $100,000 a year.
The debate will go on about the efficacy of separating the sexes for education purposes, but for Sister Katherine Miller, it is all about giving the parents choices.
“We don’t think it is the only option for girls, but it’s an option for parents,” says Miller, who serves as campus minister. “We boast ourselves as being a good college-preparatory school; we give them a good spiritual foundation and moral foundation. There are a lot of coed schools, very good schools, and this is an option for parents who want this kind of option.”
Tickets for the Scholarship Fund Gala are available by calling the academy at 734-5058.
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