Kamehameha Schools Kapālama High School has the largest class sizes of any private school in the country. Class sizes of 450 students provide KSK with a wonderful opportunity to serve a diverse population of students every year coming from all parts of Oʻahu, along with boarding students from every other Hawaiian island and beyond.
While serving 1,800 high school students, Poʻo Kumu (Principal) Julian Ako wanted to be sure to cultivate close releationships between students and administrators. This brought on the idea of increasing the number of vice principals from two to four – one for each grade level.
“This structure was actually part of the planning from our last Strategic Plan, in 2007,” Ako said. “A big part of this was to create smaller learning communities and to make sure all the students get individual attention.
“Two groups always get a high level of attention, the high achievers and the ones in trouble. But that huge middle group can sometimes stay under the radar. This structure will help to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
In 2012, Vice Principal Randiann Porras-Tang joined vice principals Hailama Farden and Renee Martin and has followed the class of 2016 since their freshman year.
This past summer, vice principals Scott Parker and Erin Regua joined the high school as Martin retired becoming the vice principals for the classes of 2015 and 2018, respectively, while Farden oversees the class of 2017.
“The plan is to have the same vice principal stay with their class for all four years,” Ako added. “They are all challenging themselves to know each of their students by name. People respond to people who know them by name. The hope is that when a class goes through four years with the same vice principal, there should be a personal connection that all the haumāna (students) feel.”
Along with the two new vice principals, Kapua Akiu-Wilcox stepped into the assistant principal position, replacing Amy Kimura, who retired.
“We have a great group that has come in and hit the ground running,” Ako said. “We’re blessed to have this team to work with.”
A big part of this was to create smaller learning communities and to make sure all the students get individual attention. Two groups always get a high level of attention, the high achievers and the ones in trouble. But that huge middle group can sometimes stay under the radar. This structure will help to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Julian Ako, KS Kapālama High School Principal
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