Scott Schroeder has wanted to be in education since he was being educated himself, starting with grade school. Whatever level of school he was in at the time, that’s the level he wanted to teach.

Unsurprisingly then, after college and graduate school, Schroeder found himself in university-level education, most recently as dean of the School of Business and Communication at Chaminade University.

The transition to his current post — Sacred Hearts Academy head of school as of July 1 — is not as big a leap as one might guess. Schroeder, now 60, first became involved in the all-girls’ pre-K-to-12 school as a parent.

He and his wife have a daughter, who attended through third grade. Now 14, she eventually transitioned to La Pietra, so there won’t be any of that my-dad-the-principal awkwardness (“Every school’s approach is a better fit for different kids, right?” he said with a smile).

But Schroeder believed in the mission of the school, which is virtually across the street from Chaminade. He joined the board, which he ultimately was chairing when longtime head of school, Betty White, retired.

Schroeder, born in Sacramento, earned his bachelor’s degree at Santa Clara University, his master’s of business administration from Arizona State University and his doctorate at the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. His specific field has a psychological bent, focusing on individuals’ personal power and social influence at work.

Now he’s turning his attention to the continued management of the school’s sustainability. Tuition, which covers about 85% of costs, ranges through the grades from $13,000 to $17,000 annually. Schroeder has witnessed the fiscal struggles at other schools but said Sacred Hearts has been fortunate to avoid deep enrollment dips.

And keeping the single-gender school environment will continue to be part of the formula, Schroeder said, adding that research continues to back that up.

“So I think our understanding of how to teach girls for best effect, the kinds of programs to provide and so forth, is only strengthening over time,” he said.

Question: You chaired the Sacred Hearts board. What prompted your decision to seek the head of school position?

Answer: My relationship with Sacred Hearts began when I was a Sacred Hearts parent and continued with my time on the board. Both of those experiences impressed on me the value of the education provided to students at the Academy, the incredible community present at the school (parents, faculty, staff and alumnae together), and the impact that Sacred Hearts graduates were having in their professions and community work.

The opportunity to shape the direction of the school so that it is able to continue the mission of the Sacred Hearts sisters and help to develop tomorrow’s women leaders was irresistible. And I believed that my background in education, business and organization development gave me the right combination of skills to help move the academy ahead and build on Betty White’s legacy.

Q: Did she have any parting advice for you?

A: We’ve been working together for years now, me being on the board. And then, moving forward, I think her biggest advice is, of course, to build relationships with people. And that was sort of the foundation of her work here in the community.

Q: After some years as Chaminade University, what adjustment to secondary education will you need to make, if any?

A: The biggest shift in moving from a university setting to a pre-K-to-12 environment is the opportunity to work with whole families in the development of their children. At the university level, I rarely had the opportunity to engage parents of college students, for example. At Sacred Hearts, that’s an everyday occurrence … and a very exciting part of my new role.

Q: More parochial schools have become co-ed. How would you assess the value of a single-gender education now? Is co-education a possibility for Sacred Hearts?

A: All-girls education is a more important and valuable contributor to the development and well-being of young women than ever before. The benefits of being in an all-girls school environment are well documented … stronger voice and self-expression, greater confidence and better academic skills and outcomes, for instance.

And when you add to that environment a program of study, ways of teaching, and extra-curricular activities that are centered on what we know positively impacts girls’ personal growth, we set them up not only for success through high school but also for success in college and throughout their lives as adults.

The Academy has understood the value of all-girls education across its 110 year history, and we are committed to advancing the power of all-girls schools, including our own, into the future.

Q: Does being the first male head of school add anything to what you bring to the job, or is it largely irrelevant?

A: Being the first male head of school helps to emphasize that furthering the well-being of girls and women is a joint venture. It requires the involvement and leadership of not only mothers, sisters and daughters but fathers, brothers and sons as well.

The Sacred Hearts congregation understood this well, having distinctively organized itself to include both women and men … nuns as well as priests and brothers.

Q: A number of smaller private schools here are struggling financially. What are your fiscal sustainability plans for the school?

A:Fortunately, the Academy and its board have managed the finances of the school well, and so we don’t face the same financial struggles that have beset some private schools.

At the same time, tuition typically covers only a portion of the cost of education. And given that part of our mission is to serve students and families that can’t afford private school education, providing sufficient financial aid is also important for us.

And so we need to sustain enrollment by demonstrating the value of an all-girls education based on the Sacred Hearts educational philosophy … and we need to recruit allies to our development efforts who are also committed to the next generation of women leaders in Hawaii.

Q: How do you think all the social changes have altered girls’ education in recent years, if at all?

A: We are in a time of both unprecedented opportunity and challenge for young women. On the one hand, for example, the number of women running for president in the 2020 election is unprecedented. And the U.S. has its first female-majority legislature in Nevada.

But the pressure on our students and graduates to be super-women continues — to get the best grades, get into the best colleges, and to then get the most sought-after jobs, all while participating in clubs and athletics … and eventually being wonderful spouses and mothers. And there are many other challenges as well.

What this means is that as we look to shape girls’ education looking forward, we have to be especially attentive not only to students’ academic outcomes but also to their well-being. And we need to help them develop perspectives and skills that will equip them to attend to their own well-being while in school and as adults as well.

Q: Many leaders have five-year plans in their work. What goal or initiative for the school is among the top on the list?

A:This year the Academy will be developing its strategic plan for the next five years, and so that work is in process.

My own work is dedicated to making the Academy a school of choice for families with daughters on Oahu, an employer of choice for educational professionals dedicated to all-girls education, and a community of choice for those committed to developing the next generation of Hawaii’s women leaders.

To accomplish that work, we are looking to infuse the Sacred Hearts identity and philosophy of education in everything we do and to offer an integrated approach to all-girls education that provides our students an unbeatable day-to-day experience, and sets them up for success and well-being in college and life.