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New head of Seabury Hall looks to move the school in Olinda forward

Maureen Madden is the fourth head of school in five years

By Dakota Grossman 4 min read

OLINDA -- Maureen Madden is ready to "jump right in" to fill the role as Seabury Hall's new head of school, with plans to move the academic and athletic programs in a positive direction.

Although having merely a month to settle in on Maui and prepare for the fall semester, Madden has felt motivated and comfortable on campus.

"When you have really good people around you that come in with really good ideas, we want to infuse those ideas," Madden said Tuesday afternoon at the Cooper House building. "It really makes it kind of fun and exciting. . . . We definitely have a vision for Seabury Hall for the next five years and I'd like to see it through."

Besides Olinda being Madden's middle name, she chose the school on the hill for its rich history and traditions, as well as the tight-knit community atmosphere.

Madden spent the last nine years with the American School of Milan in Italy, but now brings her experience with leadership and teaching subjects like English and speech to Seabury Hall.

"I just knew it was time for change and I knew I wanted to be in a place that was a little bit smaller in terms of school and family population," she said. "After I was invited here and interviewed with the community, I was like, 'This is a good fit for me,' and I felt really confident and glad when I was offered the position because I thought it was a right fit for me and the school."

Seabury Hall has experienced major turnover in staff over the years. However, despite the changes in a headmistress, an interim headmaster and athletic director, Madden is only focused on moving forward rather than dwelling in the past.

"I'm acutely aware that I am the fourth head in the last five years, I get that. That's a big message coming in," she said. "The only challenge is that we want to move forward, but there's some people that don't want us to.

"I think that if everyone could recognize what we're trying to do, and that every decision we make is for the students, I mean, that is my number one rule," she added. "It has to benefit the kids and learning."

In addition to new members of the teaching staff, some local and some from the Mainland, Seabury Hall also started the school year with a new director of teaching and learning, Craig Ross; an upper school head principal, Stephen Rothkopf; athletic director, Scott Prather; and a school nurse, Jennifer Charyk.

All members are "absolutely essential in understanding how everything works," Madden said.

Madden's head of school contract is for a three-year term with the hope of staying for five. Salary was not disclosed.

"All of my planning, all of my conversations, all of the strategic work that we're doing is based on the school's strategic plan, it's a five-year plan, there's no one-year plan," she said. "Everything that we're doing has long-term impact and I'm the kind of person that when I start something, I want to finish it."

Some ideas include expanding the Advanced Placement (AP) options, incorporating more opportunities into the master school schedule, adding more targeted training for teachers, adding more activities to connect the student body, increasing community service project hours, improving the physical education and athletics programs, and offering early admissions.

Enrollment totaled 440 students -- around 140 middle school students and 300 high schoolers -- with an estimated 10 students per teacher ratio.

"I think our enrollment can be stronger," she said. "Seabury Hall has a lot of opportunities that I think people don't realize. . . . It's a good number, but I think we can pick up more students because I think the opportunities are here. We just have to get it out there."

While a $21,300 tuition cost is daunting to many families, Madden said that there are three tuition plan options, financial aid resources and scholarship opportunities.

Her goal is to spread the word and market what Seabury has to offer by engaging with the community, she said. Additionally, Madden wants to communicate more with parents and faculty by offering "Coffee and Conversations" for small group discussions, and creating "Olinda Mondays," which is a weekly letter written by the head of school that outlines facts and events.

"Everybody seems, to my perception, pretty positive about the year, about the opportunities, and about the vision that we have for the growth of the school," she said.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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