What happens when a retired police officer becomes principal of a small Christian school?

"We have a very safe school," jokes Bob Prasser, former assistant chief of police and current administrator at Sunset Beach Christian School on O'ahu's North Shore.

Prasser, who retired in December after a 31-year career at the Honolulu Police Department, didn't expect to stay in Hawai'i after retiring. "I always felt that I would go on some kind of ministry when I left the department ... maybe China, or help plant a church," he said.

Instead, he got a call from the school — where his wife and later his children were students — asking him to teach science.

Now he's in charge. "I would have been really happy just (teaching) because I really enjoy working with the kids," he said. "But it seemed like there was a greater need here to organize the school and kind of reconstructing for the future."

Prasser has big plans. Starting next school year, he hopes to expand the private 64-student K-8 school by launching a high school curriculum. It would start with the ninth grade, with another grade following yearly until the school reaches its goal of K-12 enrollment.

Finding money to fund the expansion, which includes hiring more teachers and the possible construction of a new classroom building, will depend on private donations.

Sunset Beach Christian's small campus on Kamehameha Highway, just down the road from popular Pupukea snorkeling spot Shark's Cove, includes three classroom and office buildings, a chapel and several multi-purpose buildings. A grassy field and basketball court that students enjoy during recess are hidden from the bustle of the highway, giving the campus a safe, peaceful feel. No outside noise disturbs the classes in session, which are housed in two long, single-story buildings beyond the field on a low hill.

Since its founding in 1953, Sunset Beach Christian has operated on money donated by Christian congregations, many of them on the Mainland. Many of the parents, and some of the grandparents, of children now enrolled are alumni.

Prasser said local families will budget for the tuition because "they want the Christian environment, they want strong academics, small class size and individual attention."

Parents are key to the school's success, he said, volunteering for the annual Lei Day, Beach Day and Sports Day events. Community members Don and Corrine Germaine even offer the use of their catamarans and Hawai'i Shark Tours business to supplement the students' science curriculum.

Each year, the seventh- and eighth-graders have the opportunity to meet sharks face to face — protected by a diving cage barrier, of course. Beforehand, special lectures and instruction teach the students about marine ecology, shark biology and safety.

This year, the school plans to expand marine science outings to include whale watching in January and scuba diving/snorkeling in spring.

Each week, a different class is asked to lead the school's weekly chapel session, which gives students the opportunity to practice performance and public-speaking skills through dramas, skits and plays.

Bible study courses and active application in secular curriculum are taught with a goal to help students form their own conclusions about the way the world works. "I want them to think for themselves, to be able to work through arguments and fashion those arguments," Prasser said.