Hackley students are curious and open to diverse learning experiences, while the dedicated and talented faculty and staff contribute to the vibrant community and to extraordinary educational opportunities on a beautiful campus. So why does Hackley need a strategic plan? Simply put, learning at Hackley should have no limits, and the world is constantly changing.
This year, we welcome the Class of 2036, and to ensure we provide the best education for them and all our students, we’re committed to leading important conversations about what it means to educate and be educated.
Hackley is an exceptional school with a strong and distinct school culture. Hackley places great value on character and relationships formed on the Hilltop.
The 2023-2024 school year marks the sixth year of our strategic plan, Redefining Excellence: Learning Beyond Boundaries. As you will read throughout this brochure, we have made significant progress toward our shared goals since we launched the plan in 2018.
While teaching and learning at Hackley have evolved since its founding in 1899, timeless skills like clear communication, deep thinking, mastering subjects and teamwork remain central. We embrace these hallmarks of a Hackley education while also acknowledging the ever-changing world today’s students face. In these interconnected, complex and fast-evolving times, students need an education that equips them with both traditional and new tools to thrive, adapt and make a positive impact in their community and beyond.
Six Upper School students, accompanied by history teacher Vladimir Klimenko and visual arts teacher Sarah Coble, explore the bayous of Louisiana in kayaks during the Southern Odyssey trip, part of Hackley’s global education initiative.
Redefine a Liberal Arts Education
` Orient the Hackley program toward enduring competencies in areas of character, scholarship and accomplishment.
` Create opportunities for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teaching and learning.
` Develop research centers within and across disciplinary boundaries, based on the multi-year model of Hackley’s Independent Science Research Program.
` Deepen Hackley’s focus on students’ local, national and international responsibilities.
` Examine and reframe assessment practices to best support desired learning competencies and experiences.
Promote the Hilltop as a Learning Hub
` Elevate forms of creative expression and the creative arts — visual arts, performing arts and computer science — to engage Hackley students and link them with the broader creative community.
` Create a series of culminating “Big Experiences” for Hackley students at important transition points.
` Create new opportunities for culturally immersive experiences both domestic and abroad.
` Develop a schoolwide service-learning program and create a sustainable model for Hudson Scholars.
` Utilize the Hackley Forest and surrounding natural ecosystems to their fullest educational capacities and foster environmental stewardship.
When we launched the plan in 2018, we defined these goals and strategies…
Build for the Future
` Affirm Hackley as a national leader in teaching excellence.
` Strengthen a culture of professional development and promote lifelong learning, creativity and collaboration.
` Develop networks and relationships beyond Hackley to enrich faculty professional growth and the student learning experience.
Nurture a Culture of Wellness
` Promote individual wellness throughout the Hackley community.
` Reimagine the rhythm and use of time within the school day and academic year to optimize student and faculty learning.
` Sustain the health of Hackley at the institutional level.
` Execute Redefining Excellence with boldness and transparency, and with a focus on the student learning experience.
Redefine a Liberal Arts Education
To orient the Hackley program toward enduring competencies in areas of “character, scholarship, and accomplishment,” the Academic Committee developed a plan to reintroduce the Portrait of a Graduate and the School Competencies into student and faculty discussions about teaching and learning. The plan centers the Portrait of a Graduate as a student-facing document and the School Competencies as part of faculty evaluations and new course development.
To deepen Hackley’s focus on students’ local, national and international responsibilities, we formed a Roundtable Committee of faculty and Upper School students and hosted three Roundtable sessions. Students led conversations on the topic of midterm elections during the first two sessions and posed questions for guest speaker Dr. James Graham Wilson on the legacy of the Cold War during the third session.
Our Middle School history faculty also developed and prepared a new History 8 course, “History of the Americas,” for launch in 2023-2024 aimed at aligning our history curriculum with the Hackley competencies and contextualizing the history of the United States and the New York region in the broader story of the Western Hemisphere.
Promote the Hilltop as a Learning Hub
To elevate forms of creative expression and the creative arts — visual arts, performing arts and computer science — by engaging Hackley students and linking them with the broader creative community, we:
` Hosted visual arts Creative Artist-in-Residence Thomas Doyle in fall 2022 as part of the Creative Residency Program.
` Organized a transformative arts and culture AP Studio Art trip with nine students and three chaperones from the Visual Arts Department to Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto, Japan during spring break.
As we reflect on the achievements woven throughout Year 5 of Redefining Excellence: Learning Beyond Boundaries, we celebrate our successes and learn from challenges, finding inspiration in the unwavering support of our students and families, faculty, staff and alumni. Together, we achieved the following:
` Enjoyed the second annual Visual Arts and Science Departments interdisciplinary day at Storm King Art Center with 25 adventurous Upper School students.
` Partnered with the St. Thomas Orchestra for an open rehearsal at the Zetkov Theater to introduce middle and high school-aged students to the instruments of the orchestra and the live music experience.
` Resumed work on the Lower School art sculpture (postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Final work will continue in fall 2023 with cross-division collaboration and preparation for casting in a foundry in Queens, New York.
To create a series of culminating “Big Experiences” for Hackley students at important transition points, we:
` Planned a fourth grade trip to Philadelphia where students explored how the founding of our laws and government helps drive positive change and how laws and policies are established from national to local and state levels.
` Developed a seventh grade science Big Experience trip, in collaboration with AFER (Advanced Forest Ecology Research) students, to Sterling State Park where students implemented data-gathering methods, determined the necessary factors to preserve a healthy environment, and analyzed if Hackley’s forest is healthy and biodiverse.
` Developed plans for a series of tenth grade Big Experience day trips to explore government in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
To expand present travel opportunities to create culturally immersive experiences domestically and abroad, we:
` Opened applications for the new Global Context Course, “America’s National Parks.” The “Southern Odyssey” Global Context Course completed its three-year cycle in 2023.
` Resumed global education journeys and created opportunities for Round Square International Conference student delegates to strengthen relationships with international peers and revisit pre-pandemic connections.
` Piloted “Traveler Teach-Ins” wherein Casten traveling students share their experiences with their peers across divisions.
To develop a schoolwide service-learning program and create a sustainable model for Hudson Scholars, we:
` Piloted a small-group faculty program in which to reflect on the Hudson Scholars experience and share feedback on ways to enhance Hudson Scholars and engage the broader Hackley community.
` Initiated conversations with local organizations — Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns, TASH farmers market, Feeding Westchester, local town executive’s offices (Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow), Warner Library, and Taconic Outdoor Education Center — about partnerships to support our Scholars.
` Resumed Hudson Scholars in-person tutoring and developed a report on the mentor and faculty experience and impact of the program.
` Held programming for Hudson Scholars mentors, which all Hackley faculty also were invited to attend, around educational inequality and access with Anthony Jack, author of The Privileged Poor
Build for the Future
To affirm Hackley as a national leader in teaching excellence and strengthen a culture of professional development, we:
` Explored opportunities for Hackley Teaching Fellows to closely engage with the Hudson Scholars Program.
` Supported a cohort of faculty in completing the brain science-based Neuroteach Global Online Program through our efforts to strengthen a culture of professional development and promote lifelong learning, creativity and collaboration.
To develop networks and relationships beyond Hackley to enrich faculty professional growth and the student-learning experience, we:
` Became a partner school with the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning and co-developed a professional development day in which all K-12 faculty spent a day learning about the latest in research-informed teaching strategies.
` Connected with a local university to discuss research and hiring and to explore the possibility of future collaboration.
As an extension of their history curriculum highlighting leadership and citizenship, and as part of their Big Experience, fourth graders took a trip to Philadelphia in October 2022.
Beyond the classroom,
Nurture a Culture of Wellness
To promote individual wellness throughout the Hackley community, we:
` Hosted the JCK Foundation for a series of health discussions with Hackley families, eighth grade students, K-12 faculty and athletics coaches.
` Trained all faculty, coaches and employees with high student interaction in QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), a one-hour, evidence-based, emergency mental health intervention training. This training provides the tools to identify, interrupt and direct a person experiencing a crisis to the proper care. Additionally, training was offered to Hackley families and eleventh and twelfth grade students.
` Developed an Upper School Sexual Misconduct Policy and trained all Upper School faculty members and coaches on said policy.
` Administered the High Achieving Schools Survey (HASS), shared HASS findings with Upper School families and Middle and Upper School faculty, and identified areas of focus.
To reimagine the rhythm and use of time within the school day and academic year to optimize student and faculty learning, we reconfigured and modified the 20232024 school schedule with feedback from faculty, students and families via surveys, discussions and parent coffees.
Hackley students participate in extracurricular clubs, committing themselves to areas of interest they find deeply meaningful, expanding their sense of self and challenging themselves to grow in character.
Redefine a Liberal Arts Education
To further orient the Hackley program toward enduring habits of “character, scholarship, and accomplishment,” we will:
` Examine possible points of intersection between the Mastery Transcript model and Hackley’s School Competencies to understand whether a culminating document can represent achievement measured against areas within each competency.
` Revise the History 9 curriculum to be a modern, globally oriented course to strengthen and align foundational knowledge for subsequent history courses, better integrate with the Hackley K-12 competencies, and create content-based opportunities for future revisions to the 20th Century World History course.
As we create opportunities for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teaching and learning, we will explore ways to create interdisciplinary units through Big Experience initiatives by continuing to support the Lower and Middle School Big Experience interdisciplinary curriculum trips and by exploring Upper School Big Experience opportunities, such as a ninth grade overnight trip. The Interdisciplinary Studies Department launched during the 2021-2022 academic year to provide a departmental home for exciting courses that span two or more disciplines.
As we look ahead to Year 6 of Redefining Excellence, we are excited to set new goals and continue our journey of learning and growth. Building upon the successes and lessons of the past year, we are inspired by the unwavering support of our community and aspire to achieve the following in the coming year.
To deepen Hackley’s focus on students’ local, national and international responsibilities, we will:
` Host at least one Middle School Roundtable session.
` Hold at least one humanities interdepartmental professional development session on studentcentered learning and civil discourse.
To examine and reframe assessment practices to best support desired learning competencies and experiences, we will create opportunities for faculty discussions around faculty and student feedback that will contribute to the ongoing examination of assessment models and practices, as well as the development of a measurement tool for competencies.
Promote the Hilltop as a Learning Hub
In support of elevating forms of creative expression and the creative arts, we will:
` Complete a Lower School public art project.
` Invite Hackley’s third creative resident to campus to work with students as part of our Creative Residency Program.
` Plan for a possible overnight visual arts and performing arts trip.
` Plan for our third science and visual arts field trip to Storm King Art Center.
` Partake in an AP Studio Art trip to Ireland.
` Foster further collaboration between the Computer Science, Visual Arts and Performing Arts department chairs and the Director of Operations and Campus Planning during the construction phase of the Center for the Creative Arts and Technology.
` Gauge student interest in developing an Art Show app in collaboration with the Computer Science department.
To create a series of culminating “Big Experiences” for students at important transition points, we will:
` Implement the expansion of the Big Experience to the Upper School, including communication to faculty, students and families.
` Explore the financial and logistical possibility of implementing two trips for the Middle School Big Experience, one in the fall and one in the spring.
` Build up the Middle School Big Experience environmental citizenship curricular connections or expand Middle School Big Experiences to include additional subject areas.
` Financially and logistically support the Lower School Big Experience theme of “citizenship.”
To further broaden student travel and culturally immersive experiences, we will:
` Expand in-class “Traveler Teach-Ins” wherein Casten traveling students share their experiences with their peers across divisions.
` Strengthen relationships with international peer schools via Round Square and by having each Casten Trip with a peer school connection foster at least one student-to-student followup touchpoint.
` Continue to support the Global Context Course and build community awareness and partnerships with other departments.
` Empower students on the Global Affairs Student Committee to use club times to generate programming and reach out to peer partner schools.
As we further develop the schoolwide service-learning program and create a sustainable model for Hudson Scholars, we will:
` Continue to develop and strengthen a sustainable leadership structure with a focus on additional leadership support.
` Strengthen our partnership with the Tarrytown school district to find ways to support Scholars.
` Further refine and formalize the role of the Teaching Fellows.
` Pilot new initiatives to support our high school-aged Scholars and support our Hudson Scholars families.
To maximize the educational capabilities of the Hackley Forest and surrounding natural ecosystems, we will:
` Continue the work that the Pollinator Club began during the previous academic year, including honeyspinning in February in the Upper School with plans to also introduce it to the Lower School. The Pollinator Club will continue to educate the community through the “Pollinator of the Month” bulletin board and posters around the School.
` Continue to host campouts for all grade levels through HEAL (Hackley Earth Action League).
` Offer a new Global Contexts minor course: America’s National Parks.
` Continue to examine the possibilities for AFER (Advanced Forest Ecology Research) students to collaborate with seventh grade science students.
` Work with biology students and the Upper School art program to build sculptures for the Hackley Orchard and the library, and also install in the orchard the senior projects which include a large art mural and tree signs.
` Introduce hive work to Upper School biology classes. The pilot program will run in partnership with Hudson Scholars.
` Work with the Middle School advisory program to incorporate orchard time.
` Work with Seniors for bulb planting and rock markers in the orchard.
YEAR 6 GOALS: 2023-2024
Build for the Future
To strengthen our culture of professional development and collaboration, we will:
` Develop a model for long-term professional growth and development tracking in the years between evaluation years.
` Launch a second cohort of onlinelearning science professional development.
` Develop networks and relationships beyond Hackley to enrich faculty professional growth and the student learning experience.
` Continue to explore Hackley participation in Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning professional development experiences.
` Continue outreach to local universities and graduate schools of education to develop partnerships.
` Develop a model for a Hackley thinktank on K-12 education, leveraging both existing and new partnerships to convene initial conversations at a Spring 2024 roundtable.
Nurture a Culture of Wellness
To reimagine the rhythm and use of time within the school day and academic year, we will:
` Optimize student and faculty learning by collecting feedback on the adjusted schedule, with a particular focus on crossover teachers and the differing Middle School/Upper School schedules.
` Collect feedback on the effects of decoupling the common Community Time period on the divisions and whether the Lower and Middle School pairing yields the expected collaboration.
As we continue to execute Redefining Excellence with boldness and transparency, we will share updates on the growth of our students and our School through our dedicated microsite www.redefiningexcellence.org.
Redefining Excellence: Learning Beyond Boundaries
is Hackley’s contribution to the national conversation on the changing nature and future of education. Our plan contains four major strategic priorities: Redefine a Liberal Arts Education: articulate and broaden the curriculum in terms of competencies and experiences to meet the needs of tomorrow’s learners and citizens.
Promote the Hilltop as a Learning Hub: increase learning opportunities for students beyond the boundaries of disciplines, classroom and campus, and serve as an educational leader and incubator to push the boundaries of existing programs.
Build for the Future: promote lifelong professional learning within Hackley’s faculty and assume a leadership role in cultivating the next generation of independent school educators.
Nurture a Culture of Wellness: establish wellness — both at the student and institutional levels — as cornerstones of a healthy learning environment and school community.