OUR SCHOOLS • WAIMEA HIGH
Close ties, athletics Kaua'i school's pride

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

WAIMEA, Kaua'i — Waimea High serves the quiet West Side of Kaua'i, from the hillside community of Kalaheo through the old plantation towns of Hanapepe, Kaumakani, Pakala, Waimea and Kekaha, and in some ways it reflects plantation traditions.

Waimea High School celebrates its links between students, faculty and community. The silver sculpture at left by 1971 graduate Rowland Morita is entitled "Waimea 'Ohana." Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser

"There is an 'ohana feeling that's kind of unique for a high school. There is a sense of family on campus," he said.

Indeed, the title of the sculpture that sits in the school lawn, where graduations, senior banquets and recognition events are held, is "Waimea 'Ohana." The brushed-metal sculpture is by 1971 graduate Rowland Y. Morita, who said its design is meant to convey the trinity of students, staff and community.

Kids here are linked to land and sea. Their school sits at the base of Waimea Canyon, and from their hillside campus, they can look over the Waimea Library to the sea. If you stay on campus until sunset, you can see the sun slide into the ocean. For that reason, many of the special events are held at sunset.

Waimea has a powerful athletic legacy, with teams in several sports that regularly dominate the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation. Arakaki said his goal has been to bring scholarships up to the level of the school's sporting success.

If there is one thing in which Waimea differs from many other schools in the Islands, it's that it is not overcrowded. The closing of plantations on the West Side has reduced demand for the school's services, and Arakaki said the student body has slipped from 980 when he arrived less than six years ago to 843 today.

• What are you most proud of? "In 2001, we were named a Frito-Lay Blue Ribbon School," one of two schools so honored statewide. The award is for outstanding public schools, based on a range of criteria.

• Best-kept secret: "We have a tremendous ROTC program. Since we started in 1994, it has gone from 40 students to 208," meaning nearly a quarter of the student body is in the Reserve Officer Training Corps. The school regularly ranks high statewide in inspections, riflery and other fields.

• Everybody at our school knows: Patrick Pereira, who has served as special education teacher, special motivation class teacher, high-risk counselor and head football coach. He is now vice principal. "He's a big man, intimidating-looking, but he's a gentle bear," said Arakaki.

• Our biggest challenge: Taking academic achievement to the next level while dealing with the challenges of the Felix Decree and No Child Left Behind. "We do have challenges in literacy and math. We're a small school and change takes time."

• What we need: "Our facilities are getting old, although we have an excellent maintenance staff, and they look good. We need electrical upgrades. If we turn on all the computers in our keyboarding/typing class, the circuits will blow."

• Special events: Many of the school's special events are held at sunset on the lawn fronting the school office, and they have been held there for a long time. Alumni can come back and remember their own events as they look out from the tree-lined lawn across Waimea to the western horizon.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.