High School Principal, 1982-1988
Arnie Holtberg was the High School Principal from 1982 to 1988. After returning to the US, he served as the Headmaster of schools in Kentucky and Texas. After officially retiring, he established his own consultancy firm in 2015, providing leadership guidance and coaching to Heads of School throughout the US.Nancy
Nancy Kroonenberg, who was a French teacher at the High School from 1977 to 1996, remembers Arnie with fondness and great respect. “Arnie’s arrival at HKIS as High School Principal coincided with my becoming Modern Language Department Head. I immediately sensed something different about Arnie as ‘meetings’ of department heads were not meetings at all. We were a group of learners, critical friends, to whom Arnie brought the latest body of educational research about school reform. We read and discussed like a group of students, like the young people we wanted to influence. Being a body of learners ourselves, we could be more effective with our departmental colleagues and our students. We wanted to learn from Arnie and from each other, and he taught us to share and appreciate our personal and collective learnings.”
She continued, “Arnie embodies what we look for in students – the ‘well-rounded student.’ He is an academic, he is empathetic thanks to his theological/pastoral background, and he is athletic, having played Ivy League and Minor League baseball. Arnie is someone colleagues and students want to emulate. He towered above us not just in stature but also in his knowledge and talents. The period of 1982-88 in the High School was one of forward thinking, learning, and stretching ourselves – students and teachers – to be the best that we could be.”
Sarah Todd, a former HKIS High School social studies teacher, commented, “Arnie was my first principal and I learned so much from him. He created several character-building experiences for me. I continue to work with Arnie in independent Texas schools and consider myself fortunate indeed.”