Message from Father EJ Resinto and Board Chair Peter Fong
February 26, 2020
Dear Maryknoll Community,
Dear Maryknoll Community,
It is with grateful hearts that we thank Perry Martin for his outstanding work and many years of service to our Maryknoll Community, as we join him in announcing his transition as president of another Catholic school on the mainland. Perry will remain president at Maryknoll School through June 30, 2020.
In 2008, when Perry was named Maryknoll’s president, then Board Chair Al Wong told the Honolulu Advertiser, “We are so fortunate to have someone of Perry Martin’s caliber joining the Maryknoll School family. Perry’s strong administrative skills, demonstrated fundraising and financial management abilities, and passion and personal philosophy for Catholic education make him a valuable asset to the students, faculty, staff, and parents of Maryknoll School.” Twelve years after his appointment, we couldn’t agree more.
From day one, Perry hit the ground running, working side by side with employees to embrace a growth mindset that provided our faculty, teachers, and students with the tools and insight to see themselves as innovative leaders, able to solve problems or overcome challenges.
Perry’s achievements over his 12-year tenure are many, and most notably include:
- Completing the Maryknoll Community Center and Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium
- Creating a school-wide STEM program with a notable math and science focus that undoubtedly has contributed to increased Advanced Placement (AP) scores, National Merit Scholars and four-year college acceptance for our students
- Developing a robust international teacher/student exchange program
- Establishing Hawaii’s first school-day, Chinese Immersion program in a K-12 school
- Growing the school endowment and investments by over 80% and establishing the Foundation for Maryknoll School to help ensure the continued financial access to a Maryknoll education.
- Establishing a highly competitive athletic Division I program, with recent back-to-back boys basketball state championships in 2019 and 2020.
Under Perry’s tenure, Maryknoll School also developed a five-year strategic plan for 2020-2025, recently completing our first-year comprehensive update. We remain committed to fulfilling the goals of this plan and will work closely with Perry over the next four months to ensure a smooth transition.
In the meantime, our Board of Directors will develop a search committee and will enlist a highly qualified consulting firm to assist us with a nationwide search. As we go through this process, we intend to do so in a deliberate manner and as such, if a president is not appointed by the time Perry leaves at the end of the school year, Ms. Shana Tong, ‘83, Vice President of Academic Affairs will serve as our interim president. This will allow us to exercise our due diligence to ensure we find an exceptional leader for our school, while relying on Shana’s years of service and experience to guide Maryknoll in the meantime. We will keep you updated on our search progress through periodic emails and updates to our Maryknoll School website.
Over the next few months, we will host several mahalo events for Perry to provide our students, parents, faculty, and alumni, and friends with the opportunity to share their appreciation and well wishes with him. Details on these events will be forthcoming.
On behalf of the Maryknoll School Board of Directors, Sacred Heart Parish and our entire faculty, staff, and administration, we thank you for your support as we undertake this important responsibility together of searching for and appointing the next leader of our Maryknoll School ‘ohana.
Sincerely and In Christ,
| Father EJ Resinto, Pastor Sacred Heart Church & Maryknoll School | Peter Fong, Chair Maryknoll School Board of Directors |
