HCH photo/Anna Weaver

St. Louis School’s new principal Patricia Hamamoto addresses media.

Groundbreaking St. Louis principal ‘excited at possibilities’

By Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

Patricia Hamamoto started off her first day as principal of St. Louis School on Feb. 22 with the early arrival — shortly after 6 a.m. — that’s typical of a hard-working administrator. Not so typical was the news conference at 11 a.m.

But her new job has made headlines. Hamamoto is the recently retired high-profile superintendent of the Hawaii State Department of Education. Her decision to venture into the world of Catholic schools for the first time since she graduated from Maryknoll High School came as a surprise to many.

“I’m really happy to be here and I’m excited about the possibilities and the opportunities that are going to make us be the very best,” Hamamoto said with a grin and a laugh during the Feb. 22 meeting with the media in the St. Louis School library.

She joked, “I didn’t bring bells on my shoes today because there’s a lot of stairs [on campus].”

But she did explain, with a first-day enthusiasm, her reasons for switching from public to private school administration and what she will do as the first female principal at St. Louis, the all-boys fifth to 12th grade Marianist school in Kaimuki.

“I’ve not been an administrator in a private school, much less a Catholic school, and it’s an experience that I would like to have,” Hamamoto said.

“Having gone through a Catholic school all my life … now it’s 180 degrees and you’re on the other side,” she said.

“So how can I give back and contribute to the Catholic schools that helped me become the kind of person that I am?”

While not Catholic herself, Hamamoto attended Sacred Hearts Convent School in Nuuanu (now merged with Sacred Hearts Academy) and graduated from Maryknoll. She is not an active member of any particular church, but did say, “I truly believe without questioning — unconditionally — that there is a reason why [I’m here]. And I do put my faith and trust in God that he wants me here.”

Walter Kirimitsu, St. Louis’ president, called Hamamoto “the state’s most dedicated, distinguished and proven educational leader.”

“I think she’ll fit right in addressing the characteristics of a Marianist education and trying to implement the qualities of a St. Louis man,” he told the Hawaii Catholic Herald.

“Using her prior experience and adjusting it to a Catholic, Marianist tradition, she’ll be there,” he said of her fitting in at Hawaii’s oldest Catholic school.

Also, having gone to Catholic schools helps her know “what they’re about,” he said.

Kirimitsu also believes that having a woman principal is an added bonus because of the Marianist tradition of honoring Mary.

“It’s perfectly fitting to have a woman leader,” he said.

Of moving into private school administration, Hamamoto said, “It’s different, but many of the experiences that I’ve had easily move and allow me to transition over.”

St. Louis parent Elise Johnson, whose son Spencer is in the seventh grade, said when she first heard of Hamamoto’s announcement, “it was such great news, I thought it could possibly be a joke.”

Johnson had been on the initial principal search committee and said the school was looking for someone with a Catholic background, who had run a high school and knew Hawaii.

“I think we got everything and more,” she said. “I’m amazed she’s willing to take us on.”

Hamamoto was the DOE superintendent from 2001 until Dec. 31 of last year. St. Louis announced her appointment as principal on Feb. 12.

The school’s previous principal, Jack Rizzo, resigned in November and Kirimitsu had been acting principal since then.

Kirimitsu first approached Hamamoto about being on St. Louis’ board of directors. Ernest Fukeda, the board chairman, said it was a “pretty good mistake” that she ended up principal instead.

Hamamoto said that in the approximately 100 days remaining in the school year she plans to “be asking a whole lot of questions” and be making plans for the 2010-2011 year that fit with the Marianist and “St. Louis man” vision.

And beyond that, she said, she’ll be examining “how do we complement, how do we weave ourselves into the fabric of Hawaii Catholic Schools?”