FOUNDING PRINCIPLES

At our 15th anniversary celebration, our founding members reflected on their experience of founding Island Pacific Academy and shared their thoughts with some of our Grade 4 students, bringing together IPA’s past and present.

DR. DANIEL WHITE

Co-Founder & First Headmaster

"In my vision for IPA, I wanted graduates who would be known for the quality of their character, that you could trust their word, that they were kind, and that they were generous – they were always thinking about other people.

I wanted graduates who would be known in the community. 'Oh, he or she is an IPA graduate, because they are so kind, so generous, with such good character.'

Then I wanted young people to grow up pursuing whatever passion they found. You go to school to learn about different areas, and somewhere in all of that learning, for most kids a passion emerges, something you really like. And I wanted our school to be a place where you could find that passion and follow it forward. That’s the vision I had."

'What makes me really happy to come back to the school as a co-founder is to see that those values that we wanted to start the school on – human kindness, generosity of spirit, being helpful to others – that those things are still really important here, because we felt like those were things we wanted students to understand are really important in life. The school culture still gives off that feeling and that makes me really happy.

What makes me confident is that there are lots of really energetic, bright students here that are committed to their school. You have a wonderful headmaster and very able and caring teachers who want their students to succeed.

Mr. Teramae and the Board of Trustees are really committed to this school, so I know that's why the school is going to be a real success into the future."

JUDY WHITE

Co-Founder & First Director of Advancement

IPA'S co-founders were interviewed by Kyler Koga '28, Winleth Dukes '28, and Oliver Nicol '28 for the Founding Principles video series commemorating IPA's 15th year.

LARRY CASTER

Co-Founder & Developer

"When they started developing Kapolei, they knew they needed a good school to support all the people that were going to move here. It probably took five to six years to find the right people to begin talking about the school. There were architects, engineers, and Dan and Judy, who helped to put together how the school was going to function – the curriculum, the teachers.

We built it in phases. We started with the Elementary building. It took us three years before we started getting the school under construction and it took about a year to build. Then we started planning for the next building, and that took another couple of years to build.

RUTH ANN BABAS

Elementary Music Teacher

"When I first met Dr. Dan, the passion that I saw in him was key. He said music was something he had within him – when I first walked through the door, we had such a connection with music. He said 'Do you want to be a music teacher here?' I had been teaching music at different places, but what I needed was a home, and that was what he was offering me.

In my job, which is development, there's usually a lot of competition. But what I found in developing IPA was that everyone wanted to help, and that made it a lot easier to go through the process."

One thing he said to me was 'I want a singing school.' If you want a singing school, that's what I was going to give you. He wanted to make sure that whatever we brought to our kids here would be shared out into the community and people would know that's who we are - not just academics, but that full, well-rounded child that has everything you need to succeed.

I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Dr. Dan who gave me that gift, and it has been a gift ever since. So it was the best decision, back in 2004."

KERRI VINCENT

Elementary Office Manager

"Dan White called one day and I went in for an interview with him and Judy. I talked with them, and I just enjoyed them so much. I think they epitomize the humble pride that Dan wants kids at our school to reflect. They are just down to earth people.

Everything was new, everyone was just so excited. All the parents were very gracious and people were just happy to be a part of the school. We've come a long way, and through all the ups and downs the spirit of the school is still great.

I'm very blessed to be a part of this school. I really love it – I love the people I work with, I love the kids. I believe in what the school was founded on, and it's an honor to be part of building it. I really am honored to be part of the process of helping us to become a premier school in the nation."