Hawaii Baptist Academy

Hawaii Baptist Academy is a Christian primary and secondary co-educational college preparatory school and serves grades kindergarten to twelve on three campuses. The school is operated by the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention.

History

In 1944 the Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia pledged $125,000 toward a school in Hawaii.^[1] The Southern Baptist Convention Foreign Mission Board^[2] began the school in 1947, assigning Southern Baptist Convention missionaries Hugh P. and Mary McCormick to carry out the project.

The school opened in 1949 in surplus Army barracks on a parcel of land purchased at 1234 Heulu Street in Makiki with thirty-six seventh and eighth grade students.^[1] It graduated its first students in 1954. The school was transferred to the Hawaii Baptist Convention^[3] in 1960. Formerly located near Roosevelt High School in Makiki, it moved to its present location in Nuʻuanu Valley in Honolulu in 1975. In 1987, the elementary school was moved to a second campus one half of a mile away. Hawaii Baptist Academy is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is the largest Baptist school in the state.

Before relocating to the current Middle and High School campus in Nuʻuanu, HBA held court for some time at Makiki Christian Church.

In 1972, the governing body of the Southern Baptist churches authorized purchase of the Robertson Estate on the Pali Highway for $553,000. Dan Kong resigned his ministry at Olivet Baptist Church in order to become Vice President and Development Director^[3] of the school in 1973. In order to raise funding for the purchase, Kong and Hawaii Baptist Academy president Stan Sagert began a fund raising tour among potential mainland donars and institutions.^[4] By 1977, they had created the Mainland Advisory Council.^[5][6] Overall, mainland contributions have accounted for 70 Percent of campus building costs.

The Nuʻuanu Campus, now called the Stan Sagert Campus, welcomed its first students in 1975 with the class of 1976 being the first to graduate from the new campus. The elementary campus shared grounds with Central Baptist Church until it moved to the former Sacred Hearts Convent in Nuʻuanu. HBA also had a small elementary campus in Nānākuli (West Oʻahu), located at Nānākuli Baptist Church. This campus was relocated to property in Waiʻanae in the mid-1980s, where it remained until it was eventually closed in 1997.

Current

In 2006, HBA opened the Dan Kong Middle School Campus, adjacent to the current high school campus and named in honor of Dan Kong, former president of Hawaii Baptist Academy and pastor of various churches around the island, including First Baptist Church of Wahiawa, Olivet Baptist Church, and Central Baptist Church. He helped form organizations such as the Mainland Advisory Council, which consists of donors from the U.S. mainland.

The middle school campus consists of 14 classrooms, a computer lab, two specially equipped science classrooms, and a multi-purpose room for middle school students. The HBA Middle School Campus was designed by the firm of Walters, Kimura, Motoda and it has been noted to be a LEED gold facility since it was designed to be environmental friendly and sustainable.^[7]

Since 1997, HBA has operated under a modified school calendar, with two-week breaks in October, December, and March, and a two-month summer break in June and July. Beginning with the 2007–08 school year, a modified dress standard with school-endorsed shirts, skirts, and pants was instituted. In the 2008–09 school year, HBA celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Hawaii Baptist Academy's middle school robotics team placed fifth out of 104 middle school teams in the 2011 VEX Robotics World Championships in Orlando held April 14 to 16. Three of the top five teams in the Orlando championship came from China. In third place was a team from Arizona.^[8]

Alma Mater

They that wait upon the Lord

Shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

Teach us, Lord.

Teach us, Lord, to wait.

Isaiah 40:31

Presidents

• + Hugh P. McCormick
• Stanley A. Sagert (1970–1987)
• Ronald D. Boggs (1987–1988)
• Daniel H. C. Kong (1988–1993)
• Richard T. Bento (1993–Present)

+ Title of Superintendent was changed to President during Stanley A. Sagert's leadership.

External links

• Hawaii Baptist Academy Official Website

References