OUR SCHOOLS • MARYKNOLL SCHOOL
Curriculum encourages deep thinking

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Maryknoll School took a leap of faith 10 years ago and has never looked back.

Christopher Coats, Maryknoll graphic arts instructor, assists 14-year-old freshman Yuri Miura. Under Maryknoll's trimester system, high school students take three classes a day for about two hours each. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

It became the only Hawai'i member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a school reform movement that tackles one of the major criticisms of American education: that the school curriculum covers a lot of content, but is shallow.

"The idea is basically, 'Let's reduce the curriculum to what is essential and go deep,' " said school President Michael Baker. "We wanted to reach kids in another way. It puts students in the center of the class. What the kids can do is as important as what they know."

To make the idea work, Maryknoll went to a trimester system. High school students take three classes each day for nearly two hours each.

English and social studies are combined into one class, as are math and science. The third class is an elective. Each teacher had only about 80 students per trimester, which administrators say is necessary because of the preparation time it takes to run a college-length class. Projects and research are emphasized.

And when students, for example, take a foreign language, it's done as a modified immersion program. To learn Japanese, they learn Japanese history, read Japanese literature, eat lunch in Japanese restaurants and take trips to Waikiki to practice the language on tourists. All advanced language students do a study-abroad program for 12 weeks, which includes nine weeks in class and a three-week homestay.

Betsey Gunderson, principal of the high school, says Maryknoll gives students the skills to think deeply and synthesize information. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Maryknoll students are also expected to create a body of work in high school, and graduate not based on credits, but on the completion of that work and a presentation of research.

Every senior works on a senior project, which have included topics such as, "The treaty with Majuro and how it impacts the education system," "Polynesian tattoos" and "Eating disorders and the Hawai'i Ballet."

Research findings are presented to the faculty, parents, other students and the public.

School officials say the concept prepares students for college because they learn to delve deeply into subjects.

"It really is progressive," said high school Principal Betsey Gunderson. "We can't teach kids all there is to know anymore, but we can give them those research skills. It's not like they cram for an exam and then forget everything right away. Our kids learn to think deeply and synthesize information."

The school, which Baker said is the only coed Catholic school on O'ahu, will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year.

This summer the campus underwent a $6 million renovation in 45 days. The project brought air conditioning to the buildings and solved some problems with structural stress.

Eventually, the school plans to add a third floor onto the high school.

• What are you most proud of? Maryknoll is most proud of the role community service plays on campus. Students in all grades give back to the community through projects and activities. The school's motto, Noblesse Oblige, means "to whom much is given, much is expected." Maryknoll requires its graduates to do at least 100 hours of service before they get a diploma. It's an expectation that was always there, but was formalized in 1963. Most earn those hours in the first year of high school, Baker said.

• Best-kept secret? "We do a lot on very little," Baker said. "We have no room. We have no space." Yet Maryknoll is bigger than expected. There are 1,400 students and a range of courses. Maryknoll offers everything from advanced placement classes to those on Asian calligraphy, 20th-century American women writers of color, statistics and biotechnology.

• Everyone at school knows: Athletic Director Pattie Heatherly, who has worked at Maryknoll for 30 years as a physical education teacher and a coach. Heatherly has worked with thousands of students over the years and is a Maryknoll graduate. She also helped form the Catholic School League.

• What we need: A gym. After decades of holding P.E. classes, sports practices and games outdoors on asphalt, Maryknoll officials say it is time for a gymnasium. Plans are in the works for the Maryknoll School Community Center, which will be able to host athletic games and alumni events. It would also create the first space in which the entire student body can gather.

• Special events: Maryknoll Schools will celebrate its 75th anniversary Sept. 6. The annual lu'au is Nov. 3. A 75th anniversary Christmas tree-lighting event will be held in December and the annual Monsignor Charles A. Kekumano Scholarship dinner is scheduled for April 13. Alumni Week in July will include a golf tournament, cocktail parties and a banquet.