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St. Louis chief
aims to strengthen
Catholic school
A Marianist, he says he will
By Mary Adamski
stress its religious nature and work
to boost its academic strength
Star-BulletinThe new president of St. Louis School said his first priority will be to underscore the Catholic and Marianist nature of the school.
"I will also work closely with the trustees, administration, faculty and staff to strengthen the academic excellence of St. Louis School, and make the community more aware of our academic strength," the Rev. Allen DeLong said.
DeLong, a member of the Marianist order, which founded the 154-year-old school in Kaimuki, returned to California yesterday after being introduced to the faculty and staff at a morning meeting. He will return in the first week of August to take the reins of the boys school that has about 800 students in grades six through 12.
"I also wish to support and encourage the extracurricular program so that St. Louis is the best in whatever we do," he said in a news release. It was an apparent reference to the football program for which St. Louis, with its state champion team that regularly achieves national ranking, is perhaps best known.
He said he wishes to strengthen the community spirit of the school and its Religious Studies Department and campus ministry.DeLong, 68, has been a teacher and school administrator since 1956. He has served for the past four years as vocation director of the Marianist Province of the Pacific headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
He arrives when faculty and administration are in the midst of an analysis of the school's programs in preparation for a visit next spring from an accreditation evaluation team from the Western Association for Schools and Colleges.
"The process began a year ago, we've already done a lot of the work," said Brother Edward Gomez, who has served as interim president. "It's a group effort. Faculty members have been through it every six years. You do a self-study and self-criticism."
Walter Kirimitsu, chairman of the school board of trustees, said, "I am confidant we have found someone who will thrive on the challenges ahead." The board named DeLong at a Monday night meeting.
The board fired the previous president, the Rev. Mario Pariante, in November, citing his failure to meet the board's standards of leadership and administrative skills.
The executive search committee was headed by Honolulu psychologist William Tsushima.
DeLong was one of four Marianists interviewed. He was born in California and graduated from St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. He earned master's degrees in educational administration from the University of San Francisco and in theology from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Most of his career was in California after his start as a math and physics teacher at St. Anthony's School on Maui. He taught at Riordan High in San Francisco, was the first principal of Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, and was president of Chaminade College Preparatory, a Marianist school in West Hills, near Los Angeles.
