PacificBusinessNews-article

Jul 19, 2013

Improving public education in Hawaii a passion for Kaneohe Ranch CEO Mitch D'Olier

by Duane Shimogawa

Right off the bat, you know that Mitch D’Olier is a leader, especially when he turns the table and starts interviewing you.
That's what happened several times during my recent one-on-one interview with the 67-year-old president and CEO of Kaneohe Ranch Co. LLC and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with D'Olier for a little more than an hour in his office at Castle Junction, tucked away amidst the green shrubbery as you come over the Koolau Mountains into Kailua. Read my story about D'Olier in Friday's print edition of Pacific Business News.
At one point, D'Olier turned the interview around to talk about me going back to school to get a master’s in business administration, which is what his son Justin recently earned through an online format.
His youngest son, Jordan, is a Waianae High School math teacher and D'Olier himself is the Hawaii regional chair of Teach For America.
You see, D’Olier is big on public education. It’s one of his main priorities as the head of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.
And even though all three of his sons graduated from Punahou School, one of the most prestigious private schools in the nation, D’Olier is a product of public schools, via Morgan Park High School in Chicago.
One of his proudest achievements thus far in improving public education in Hawaii is the help the foundation has provided to the state Department of Education during its ongoing Race to the Top program.
Just two years ago, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation committed to provide $10 million in funding to the education department during a four-year period in support of the Race to the Top program.
D’Olier is quick to point out the stellar work of State Schools Superintendent Kathy Matayoshi and her right hand man, Steve Schatz.
In a recent Education Week blog, Hawaii was given high marks for its progress in the Race to the Top initiative, noting that since winning the $75 million grant three years ago, it’s unlikely that the state will need any “no-cost extensions.”
This after being put on “high risk” status in December 2011 for not making adequate progress in most of its program work, Education Week said.
But now, thanks to entities like the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and individuals like D’Olier, the tide is turning.
Even so, D'Olier pointed out that while there’s still much hard work that remains ahead, he’s glad to see some positive national recognition of the work.