Our History
Academy of the Pacific was founded as the Honolulu Junior Academy in 1961
by a committee of educational and
community leaders. Though many of its founders were Quakers, the Academy
of the Pacific has remained an
independent, non-sectarian school.
Classes began in two rooms of the Richards Street YWCA under principal Kate Kortschak. Four years later, classes were moved to the George Q. Cannon mansion in Nuuanu, and high school juniors and seniors were enrolled there for the first time.
In 1967, three young men received the first diplomas from the school. That year also brought about a strengthening in the school’s financial base and academic curriculum, under the board leadership of Patrick Sylva, Richard E. Bell and Ivalee Sinclair. Janet W. Wyatt was appointed principal upon Mrs. Kortschak’s retirement.
HJA moved to rented classrooms at the Community Church of Honolulu in 1971, and the search for a permanent campus continued. Dr. Dorothy B. Douthit succeeded Janet Wyatt as president and principal in 1975, and a new period of growth was welcomed under the board direction of David Baker and Charles Cooke IV. It continued under the chairmanship of Dr. John Henry Felix who, with Dr. Douthit, guided HJA’s athletic program, which was enhanced by joining the ILH.
In 1981, at a 20th anniversary celebration, Dr. Felix proudly announced
a new name for the school: Academy of the Pacific, reflecting its rightful
status as more than just a ‘junior’ academy. The next year, a
permanent campus became a reality as philanthropist and Academy supporter,
Victoria Lee, donated her Alewa Heights property to the school. Trustees
then agreed to purchase the adjoining estate of John Mason Young - the founder
of the engineering school
of the University of Hawaii. Young, along with other pioneering professors
at the University, developed the entire knoll of Pu’u-o-hoku, the “Hill
of the Stars”, in the early 1900’s. It was fitting that the property
be restored as
a place for education - a place where great minds would be formed.
In 1984, students filled the first classrooms on the new campus. By 1986, the campus included classrooms, and art room and weight room. Here, notable PAC-5 athletes, such as the championship boy’s volleyball team, could train and practice. In 1987, a volleyball court was built to encourage the Academy athletics.
As the Academy celebrated its 30th anniversary in 1991, the school applauded
alumna Tillie Silva (‘85), its first recipient of the prestigious Truman
Scholarship. Other alumni set standards in a variety of fields, from music
to
law, and from education to business.
The Mary Mills Damon Hall Student Activities Center, constructed in 1993,
provided a beautiful building where
the community could gather for concerts, performances, assemblies and assorted
school functions. The additions
of a weight room and an all-weather sports court have dramatically increased
the Academy’s athletic facilities.
Many dedicated individuals have helped the Academy of the Pacific to reach
its 40th anniversary milestone in 2002, and to achieve the success it enjoys
today. Because of the special people throughout our history, a proud tradition
of
educational excellence continues to flourish at our school.
