Le Jardin high school to open in 2002

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau

KAILUA — Le Jardin Windward O'ahu Academy has accelerated its timetable to turn itself into the first nonsectarian private high school on this side of the island, cutting 10 years from its previously stated goal.

The academy will hold a ground-breaking ceremony at 8 a.m. tomorrow for its $2.8 million high school construction project, which will include four classroom buildings, an auditorium and expanded athletic facilities.

The high school campus is expected to open in the fall of 2002, enrolling 50 ninth-graders.

Headmaster Adrian Allan said administrators felt that to expand effectively, it was necessary to offer a total education package. The school also wants to retain students on its campus that overlooks Kawai Nui Marsh and sits in the shadow of Mount Olomana.

Right now, "we're a feeder school to Punahou, Iolani and Mid-Pac" Allan said. "We have the kind of quality students and programs in place already that feed these schools. We don't want to give them all away."

Construction will add about 13,000 square feet of space to the campus at the former Kailua Drive-In. In 1999 the school completed an $8.5 million project, building 55,000 square feet of classrooms for children from preschool to the eighth grade, as well as an administration building, a basketball court, a pool, locker rooms and a multipurpose building.

Preparatory work has begun where Le Jardin Windward O'ahu Academy will build its high school 10 years ahead of schedule. A ground-breaking ceremony is set for tomorrow. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Castle Foundation also promised $1 million in matching funds for the high school segment. The Charles Wang Foundation, Muriel and Kent R. Lighter, AT&T and others will match $500,000. The school must raise $500,000.

State Sen. Bob Hogue said the school was fortunate to have the support of the Castle Foundation and because of it, Windward families will have a new educational choice for children of high school age.

"For a long time, as a Windward parent, I've hoped for a prestigious private high school on this side of the island," said Hogue, adding that one of his daughters graduated from Iolani this year, another is at Punahou and a third daughter is attending St. Anthony's in Kailua. "Le Jardin is a terrific school."

French native Henriette Neal and Nona Springle founded the school, emphasizing French-language instruction, in 1961 as a preschool at St. John Lutheran Church in Kailua. In eight years the school added a grade level almost annually. By 1981 Le Jardin operated classes for preschool to the eighth grade out of three contiguous churches on Kailua Road, where it remained until it moved to its present site.

Allan said the school will remain small, with a maximum enrollment of about 1,000, even though its campus is about the same size as Iolani's. Le Jardin has 438 students and expects to add 50 students annually for the next five years.

"We want to be a school that captures the ethos of the Windward side," he said. "There's a slight different sense of family, 'ohana, because it's smaller."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.

Correction: A map showing the Le Jardin Windward O'ahu Academy was incorrect in a previous version of this story. The school is at the corner of Kapa'a Quarry Road and Kalanianaole Highway.