OUR SCHOOLS • SACRED HEARTS SCHOOL
Lahaina campus counting on community
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
LAHAINA, Maui — Sacred Hearts School is counting on longstanding support from the West Maui community — and a lot of prayer — to weather the anticipated fallout from a hefty tuition increase.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser
Like other Catholic schools, Sacred Hearts is under a diocese directive to reduce its reliance on parish subsidies. For the Lahaina school, which has one of the lowest tuitions among Catholic schools in the state, that meant raising tuition by as much as 40 percent, or $1,050, starting in the 2004-05 school year. Catholic parishioners now pay $2,650 in annual tuition; nonparishioners pay $2,900.
Members of Sacred Hearts School's Sunshine Club warm up with a run on an old cane-haul road before reaching the Lahaina Aquatic Center for an afternoon swim. Every Friday, Sacred Hearts' middle school students participate in activities off campus. The school has an enrollment of 228 students.
Sacred Hearts principal Susan L. Hendricks acknowledges that the tuition boost is not a small amount, and said she anticipates a resulting 10 percent to 20 percent drop in enrollment.
"It was a bold increase, but we have to be accountable for our operating costs," she said.
The school, located next to Maria Lanakila Church in the heart of Lahaina town's historic area, has a lot of good will in the community to fall back on. Until recently, Sacred Hearts was the only private school in West Maui, and it is still the only Catholic school.
"We rely on the generosity of the community," Hendricks said.
Nothing illustrates this nondenominational support better than the school's annual fund-raising bazaar, set this year for March 5 and 6. Parents, staff, residents, businesses and entertainers donate their time, money and services to put on the bazaar, now in its 32nd year.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser
"We're a fixture," said Hendricks of the event, which netted $100,000 last year.
Sacred Hearts first-grader Zac Carlton works on his spelling at the school's computer lab. The school's lab has 18 computers, and there are two computers in each classroom.
She is confident that Sacred Hearts will recover any enrollment losses it may suffer in the next year or two, because families like the school's close-knit atmosphere, structured setting, "loving" discipline and well-rounded academic program.
Although only half the students are Catholic, prayer is an important part of the day. All students are required to take religion classes. Hendricks said the classes focus on the teachings of Jesus, and even non-Catholics can connect to the message of "a higher power or divine spirit."
Students in grades 5 to 8 meet outdoors each morning for prayer, and teachers hold a daily prayer group. "It sets the tone for starting the day. It's uplifting and it reminds us to be grateful for where we are, where we live, the gifts that we have and the gifts of others," Hendricks said.
• What are you most proud of? "The students. ... The high schools that receive our students consistently remark to me that SHS graduates are very well-mannered and have an interest in their learning," Hendricks said. She also is proud of the school's "dedicated staff and families that support Christian values. Our school community provides excellence in education and nurtures a life of prayer, faith and service in the Catholic tradition."
• Best-kept secret: Cafeteria cooks Auntie Puanani Felicilda and Auntie Sue Kidnay. "They cook with love and the food is 'ono!" Felicilda, her children and grandchildren all attended Sacred Hearts.
• Everybody at our school knows: Office secretary Paula Pope. "We lovingly call her the 'Walking Rolodex.' We can't even keep track of how many hats she wears."
• Our biggest challenge: "To continue to offer and be accountable for a quality education. Each year we are asked to do more with the same amount of time and with the same amount of resources."
• What we need: The library was recently upgraded, but Hendricks would like a larger space for more books and to provide a quiet study area.
• Special events: Field Day and Spirit Day are held during Catholic Schools Week in January, with relay races, cheering competitions and other fun contests; the annual fund-raising bazaar.
Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
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• Where: 239 Dickenson St., Lahaina • Phone: (808) 661-4720 • Principal: Susan L. Hendricks, first-year interim principal who was a social studies teacher at the school for nearly five years. • School nickname: none • School colors: Blue and white • Web address: www.sacredheartsschool.org • History: Built in 1870 by Father Bouillon of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The Franciscan nuns took over administration of the school in 1928. New buildings were blessed in 1951, but the school was destroyed by fire in 1971. Classes were held at Lahaina Hongwanji Mission and Lahaina United Methodist Church until a rebuilt campus was dedicated a year later. The Franciscan nuns left in 2001, leaving lay staff to run the school. The preschool opened three years ago in the remodeled convent. • Enrollment: 228 students in preschool through grade eight; capacity is 285. • Computers: Computer lab with 18 computers; two computers in each classroom, one of which is being replaced with a new computer; three computers in the library, one in the teachers lounge; the school has its own server and DSL, and the classrooms are networked.
At a glance
