FORT SMITH — “It’s hard to explain to a kid that I’m a doctor but not the kind of doctor that does Band-Aids and prescriptions,” Dr. Karen Hollenbeck, St. Boniface School principal, said.
Her doctorate in educational administration, awarded by University of Arkansas in May, is the latest of many degrees for Hollenbeck.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in psychology at University of Arkansas in 1992, she decided on a career in education, completing her bachelor’s degree in education at Arkansas Tech University in 1993. While teaching third grade at Christ the King School in Fort Smith, she earned her master’s degree in counseling at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla. While working as a guidance counselor at Sutton Elementary in Fort Smith, she earned her specialist in administration certificate at University of Arkansas. She then worked as an assistant principal at Tilles Elementary School before coming to St. Boniface in 2002.
She is the only Catholic school principal in the state to hold a doctorate.
Her desire to earn her doctorate stemmed from her love of research and academic work. Not surprisingly, she chose to write her thesis on “Factors Affecting Non-Public School Choice by Parents in Arkansas.” She sent out questionnaires to parents in all elementary schools accredited by the Arkansas Non-Public School Accrediting Association asking them whether they had attended non-public schools, their income level, religion and other demographic questions. She then asked them to look at the most reported reasons for choosing non-public schools and rate their importance.
By correlating parental priorities with demographic information, she was able to determine why parents chose non-public schools, and whether those priorities were different for parents choosing Catholic, other religious or secular private schools.
Catholic parents were most likely to say that they chose Catholic schools primarily for religious reasons, and secondarily for academic reputation.
“Catholic parents are much more likely to say that they chose their school for family tradition, too, which I think says a lot about the history of Catholic schools in Arkansas. I know my kids (Claire, 7, and twins Matthew and Grace Ann, 5) are the fourth generation in my family to attend St. Boniface,” Hollenbeck said.
While parents who did not express a religious preference listed academic reputation as the most important factor, many indicated they chose religious schools because they wanted their children to have some kind of training in religion and moral values. The answers given by parents in Arkansas corresponded with those given by parents in other states in which similar surveys were conducted.
Hollenbeck said that it would have been impossible to earn her degrees while working full-time and raising three children without a supportive husband and parents.
Husband Bill Hollenbeck, captain of the Criminal Investigation Division in the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, brings the children to school in the morning, volunteers there whenever possible and coaches a t-ball team.
Hollenbeck’s parents, Jane and Charlie Bieker, “are up here a lot,” she said. “My dad is volunteering in the cafeteria a couple of days this week while one of our regulars goes on vacation. My secretary is leaving and so my mom has been up here answering phones. They are not your average volunteers.”
Fort Smith principal analyzes school choice for doctoral thesis
