November 10, 2011
Contributed by Thomas Yoshida
Earl will follow the path that Dr. Chun and the Kapālama 'ohana have set in assuring educational excellence on a strong foundation of our Hawaiian ancestry, culture and language. He would be the first to say he will learn from the best, subordinating the fact that he was selected because of his strong sense of values and purpose and his proven success in building 21st century educational excellence and character in the students he has served and in the communities in which he has served.
When asked how he felt when he learned that he had been selected, Earl took a deep breath and shared, "Overwhelmed and deeply humbled. I have always known that whatever I chose to do with my adult life was to have purpose. This is something deeper than just taking responsibility for a school. It's taking responsibility for continuing the good work of Dr. Chun and the others who came before him, and for advancing the values and vision of Princess Pauahi on behalf of our children. This is stewardship of something sacred, and I can think of no higher purpose in life."
Earl is a local boy – born and raised here and graduated (1980) from 'Iolani School – and he is currently Superintendent of Schools of the Montgomery school district of New Jersey, which serves 5,300 preK-12 students a year. He will begin his official duties as Kapālama's Po'o Kula on July 1, 2012.
Selection Process Honored
Earl was selected from a field of over 150 individuals nominated and recruited from throughout Hawai'i and the nation. He was among six semi-finalists interviewed, and three finalists who visited the campus in October and were interviewed by six review committees comprised of Kapālama faculty, students, alumni, parents, administrators and community members. These committees provided feedback on each candidate against criteria that included:
I made the final decision to appoint Mr. Kim after reviewing the feedback from the different stakeholder committees and consulting with the trustees.
In my meetings and conversations with Earl, and through my review of his experience and references, I find a man who brings impressive experience and achievement in leading and managing large educational systems to excellence. Equally telling are the comments that came from our interviewing committees on his abilities and character. Those comments describe a 'passion for developing each student's excellence; a passion for building each teacher's excellence; collaborative; empowering; evidence and results orientation; a humble learner with high integrity and spirituality.'
Keiki o ka 'āina
Earl is the youngest of three children who remembers moving around a lot as a youngster on O'ahu, living for a while in Kāne'ohe before his family moved to Pālolo so his parents could be closer to work and he and his siblings could be closer to school.
"Home was a hard place to be, at times, so I ended up spending a lot of time at school," Earl shared. "Some mornings I would get dropped off at five o'clock and be there until after eight at night. But I felt safe there. I just remember so many people looking after me and caring about how I was doing, and that's the environment I want at every school I am a part of – a safe, caring, nurturing place for children."
After graduating from 'Iolani, Earl attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He graduated in 1984 with a BA in History, and then entered the U.S Marine Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was discharged honorably in 1988 and accepted a teaching position (Math) at Trenton Central High School in Trenton, NJ.
He earned a Masters in Public Affairs, Domestic Policy Analysis from Princeton University in 1993, and served as Assistant Principal and Principal at two New Jersey high schools between 1993 and 2003. He was named District Superintendent of Schools for Verona Township in 2003 and then for the Montgomery school district in 2006.
"I left the islands at 17 and began to collect my thoughts about what my purpose in life was to be," Earl told me, reflecting on his life's journey that has brought him to this place. "I travelled the United States, Western Pacific, Europe and Asia to gain perspective on our place in the world. I had the good fortune of studying at great universities with wonderful teachers and fellow sojourners. I am eager now to apply my learning in the service of the people and the islands that I call home. I can think of no nobler pursuit, no better use for my education and experience. Our keiki deserve no less."
Earl and his wife, Kit, who is also an educator and who has taught in Hawai'i, have two children, ages 14 and 18, and I am looking forward to introducing them and welcoming them all to our 'ohana in the months ahead.
Dee Jay
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
