Our Schools • Holy Family Catholic Academy
Detailed records help school earn award

By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer

Holy Family Catholic Academy Principal Tony Boquer is not an educator by trade, but a businessman. The former general manager at KWHE-TV Channel 14 in Honolulu, Boquer was named principal almost six years ago, and his business experience has resulted in unexpected dividends at the school.

Casa Grant, left, Katherine Hoarn, center, and Ashley Loeschke, seventh-graders at Holy Family Catholic Academy, work in the school's Macintosh computer lab. The school also has a lab equipped with IBM computers. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Mary Beth Beale, chairwoman for the school's Blue Ribbon Committee, said five years of record-keeping on specific educational data is needed to apply for the Blue Ribbon designation, and Boquer had carefully collected his reports.

"We had all the school board notes, the parent/teacher guild notes and the notes he sent to teachers," said Beale, who led a group of five teachers in a year-long effort to put together the massive Blue Ribbon application. "Everything was in beautiful condition. It was all in binders and plastic protector sheets. We had more than 100 binders of documents and different paperwork and information to prove our report."

The 18-year-old Blue Ribbon program spotlights schools from around the country that have excelled in school leadership, teaching, curriculum, student achievement and parental involvement. Two Hawai'i schools — Noelani Elementary School in Manoa is the other (watch for its profile next week) — were among 264 schools nationwide to receive the honor this year.

Boquer said the award is a result of a strong team effort and a philosophy in which no child is set up to fail, despite the school's tough curriculum. Boquer said the award is an homage to the leadership of the Rev. Maurice McNeely, the school's administrator since 1987 who is retiring at the end of June.

Fifth-graders play a game of "Octopus" on the school's athletic court. School officials hope to someday have an auditorium and covered court area for the students. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Holy Family Catholic Academy earned a bit of recognition last year when teacher and athletic director Angela Perez Baraquio was named Miss America 2001.

Holy Family offers preschool to eighth-grade classes and operates under the auspices of the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. The school is accredited by the Western Association for Schools and Colleges.

• What are you most proud of? Our working philosophy that students, parents and faculty all join together to support the school and education, Boquer said.

• Best-kept secret: "Our location. Local people don't know where we are, but in military circles we are known worldwide."

• Everybody at our school knows: Jesus, the reason for our academy, Boquer said. And Miss America 2001, Angela Perez Baraquio.

• Our biggest challenge: Space. The school is on a limited amount of federal property with nowhere to expand but up.

• What we need: An auditorium and covered court area. The school uses the adjoining church for assemblies, but if the church is being used, the students must meet in the open court area. If it is raining, sporting events or assemblies have to be canceled.

• Projects: Linking the entire school with a closed-circuit television system. The project will cost $25,000 and should be in place by August.

• Special events: The school will accept the Blue Ribbon designation at a ceremony in the fall in Washington, D.C.

	At a glance
•	Where: 830 Main St., between the Fire Department's training center and Honolulu International Airport.
•	Phone: 423-9611.
•	Web address: www.hfca-hawaii.org.
•	Principal: Tony Boquer, now in his sixth year at the school.
•	School nickname: Wildcats.
•	School colors: Blue and white.
•	Enrollment: 550 students.
•	Terra Nova national standards: First through eighth grades composite test scores in reading, math and language were in the top quartile (75 percent and above) during 2000-2001.
•	History: The school was founded in 1956 by the Rev. Joseph Sherry of the Society of Mary. The order had been appointed by Bishop James Sweeney, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, to administer to the parish, which was formerly a chapel associated with Pearl Harbor Naval Base. Sherry staffed the school until 1986.
•	Special programs or classes: Performing arts curriculum offers Hawaiian music through the fourth grade and students can then choose an elective class in music or other fine arts. "It is a first taste of choosing your own classes like in high school," Boquer said.
•	Computers: The school has two computer labs, one for IBM PCs and one for Macintosh. "With 75 percent of our families from the military, we want to make sure that regardless of what type of computer they use, they can handle any technological challenge."
•	Tuition: $3,900 a year.