Headmaster search update

To Our ‘Iolani ‘Ohana,

As you are probably aware, Dr. Val Iwashita has announced his intention to step down as our Headmaster at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.  The retirement of a Headmaster can be an anxious time in the life of a school, especially for a community that has enjoyed such strong and sustained success during his tenure.  This period of transition, however, can also be an opportunity for institutional renewal, growth, and discovery.

In this spirit, I want to update you on the Board of Governors' response to this challenge and provide an overview of our plans and schedule for the months ahead.

As chair of the Search Committee for ‘Iolani’s new Head of School, I am joined by a dedicated group of Board members who bring a creative mix of perspectives and experience to the search process.  After a series of interviews with various search firms, we hired Wickenden Associates, Inc. in late August to assist with the search for our new Head of School. Wickenden – a prominent and well-respected name in the educational field – has served over 300 independent schools over the past 25 years, including Punahou and Kamehameha locally, and will conduct an aggressive nationwide search for 'Iolani’s next Head of School.  Their database of contacts includes over 9,000 individuals in leadership positions in independent schools across the nation.  Wickenden also welcomes nominations and applications from the `Iolani community in an effort to ensure we consider the widest range of qualified candidates.

We have recently completed the initial information gathering phase of our process.  Wickenden visited our campus in mid-September and interviewed our stakeholders, from students, to faculty and staff, alumni, parents, and the Board.  They also conducted an on-line survey to gather input from our community before proceeding with the search.  They asked for our opinions on 'Iolani’s strengths, challenges, and the qualities and experiences we wanted to see in our Head of School.  From the more than 900 survey responses we received to date, it was clear that our community truly cares about our future!

Based on the interviews and survey responses to date, Wickenden helped us develop `Iolani’s Opportunity Statement.  This statement provides an in-depth profile of our school and describes the opportunities and challenges facing our next Head of School.  We invite you to view our Opportunity Statement at www.wickenden.com.  Wickenden is now accepting applications, which are due at the end of November.  Please encourage any strong potential candidates you know to visit the Wickenden website for more information.

The Search Committee anticipates a very busy winter/spring schedule.  We will be working closely with Wickenden to review resumes and screen candidates before establishing a list of finalists who will visit our campus in February 2012.  At that time, the final candidates will meet the various stakeholders of our community.  Our hope is that the Board of Governors will be able to announce our new Head of School in March 2012.

We continue to welcome your feedback and value your input as we move forward in this process.  We also know that some of you may not have received the initial email inviting your participation in the survey.  As such, we will keep the survey open at www.wickenden.com through the end of November.  While the search is progressing, additional responses will be reviewed and will continue to aid our efforts.

Going forward, to keep you abreast of developments in this exciting new chapter for ‘Iolani, we will be communicating the status of the search process through a link on our ‘Iolani website at www.iolani.org. Please be sure to visit the website and find out how we are doing!

Our sincere thanks to all of you for caring so deeply for our school.  Our committee truly appreciates all who have supported our efforts and we look forward to our future journey together as ONE TEAM! ‘Iolani No Ka Oi!

Sincerely,

Lisa Sakamoto
Chair of the Search Committee

cc:     Jenai Wall, Board Chair
          Search Committee Members:
          Mel Kaneshige, ‘66
          Dr. Mark Mugiishi, ‘77
          Admiral Thomas Fargo