Admission Magazine Winter/Spring 2013

The Admission Magazine of Hathaway Brown School

Winter/Spring 2013

Photo by Jason Miller

3,2,1 LEGO! On Saturday, December 1, HB hosted 20 FIRST LEGO League teams in a regional competition open to students ages 9-14. Teams, comprised of three to 10 students, had prepared for the competition since the beginning of school. Hearty congratulations go out to the HB Blazerbots, who received the Champion's Award and advanced to the District Tournament.

HB

Our Mission

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Hathaway Brown is a dynamic and compassionate community dedicated to excellence in the education of girls.

For us, educational excellence includes, but reaches well beyond, superb preparation for college. The true mission of the school, as reflected in our motto, "Non Scholae Sed Vitae Discimus," is preparation for life. We strive to foster in the minds of our students an abiding passion for learning and in their hearts a constant devotion to strong character and public service. At this moment in history, there is great need for women of vision and courage who are empowered for leadership in a multicultural and globalized society. We seek to answer that need by inspiring our students to achieve their utmost potential, and to rise boldly to the challenges of our times.

While transforming the lives of the girls in our care is our primary calling, Hathaway Brown embraces broader aspirations as well: to help shape a future of unbounded possibility for women; to stand among the country's leading schools in educational innovation; and to be such a force for the common good beyond our campus that we are respected as a civic treasure.

contents Admission:

Contact Us pg. 5 Tuition & Financial Aid pg. 16 HB at a Glance pg. 16 Important Dates pg. 34

News from North Park

pg. 6

Learning Through Discovery Idea Exchange

pg. 20

Education Innovation Summits 2010-2012

Rooted in the Earth; Reaching for the Sun

pg. 21

Healthy people, healthy communities, healthy ecosystems

Why I Serve Maya Ahuja ’13 gives back

Got Grit?

In the Winter 2013 issue of Independent School magazine, renowned psychologist Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair discusses the importance of emphasizing social and emotional skills and character traits in schools. HB serves as the centerpiece for Dr. Steiner-Adair's article, which may be found online at bit.ly/XQEc6b.

pg. 10

HB’s deliberate approach to Early Childhood and Primary School education

pg. 28

HB Highlights:

HB for Life pg. 18 IDEO pg. 33 Young Writers & Artists Festival pg. 30

Photo by Vanessa Butler

Learn more at www.hb.edu or call 216.320.8767 to schedule a personal tour.

HB

Lived Experience

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Fourteen years ago, I entered Hathaway Brown School, and I never have looked back.

I wish I could say I joined the community as a student, but I already had graduated from college before I first walked these halls. I joined HB as a member of the admission team because I could tell from the first moment I met the students and saw their teachers in action that HB is a place of great joy, energy, creativity, and passion. I knew I had to be part of it.

I always have had high expectations for this school, and I’m proud to say that I’ve not been let down. In fact, I’m constantly amazed at how the people and programs exceed even the loftiest expectations. A lot has changed since I began my career at HB, but even more has stayed the same.

Hathaway Brown is an amazing place to work and an even better place to raise a child. I am proud to say I am now the mother of an HB student. My son, James, is enrolled in the Early Childhood program, and I am thrilled to be able to live vicariously through this important journey in his life.

I invite you to have the same eye-opening experience I had 14 years ago. Come to our campus. Walk the halls. Meet our extraordinary students. Absorb the culture. I promise that you won’t be disappointed. In fact, you might just find yourself inspired.

Not long ago, a parent asked me what was the true “value-added” of an HB education.

She has a daughter who will no doubt engage fully in any school she attends, and she’ll surely find ways to make the most of any experience. But HB is not just any place. So my answer was simple: If you want the school that offers the most, if you expect more for your child, if you want the best, HB is the right choice. The opportunities here are boundless, and the mentoring is superb. It is a school with no limitations. We know each and every one of our students, and we care for them as if they were our own. I’m not sure there’s anything more valuable than that.

I have enjoyed every bit of my time as an HB administrator and Upper School mentor, but nothing means more to me than being an HB parent. I know that my husband and I have given James a gift that no one ever can take away. I encourage you to do the same for your family.

Please enjoy this Learn for Life magazine. The stories and testimonials on these pages are designed to shine a light on the people and experiences you’ll find in this extraordinary institution. But this publication simply cannot capture the feeling you have when you’re here.

So give us a call. We’d love to show you around.

contact us Sarah Johnston

Director of Admission & Financial Aid 216.320.8104 sjohnston@hb.edu

Tina Cirincione

Admission Coordinator 216.320.8767 tcirincione@hb.edu

Shelley Johns

Admission Database Manager 216.320.8098 sjohns@hb.edu

early childhood/primary school Kristin Kuhn

Director of Early Childhood & Primary School Admission 216.320.8093 kkuhn@hb.edu

middle school Frannie Foltz

Director of Middle School Admission 216.320.8091 ffoltz@hb.edu

upper school Colleen Sommerfeld

Director of Upper School Admission 216.320.8103 csommerfeld@hb.edu

Hathaway Brown is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the Ohio Association of Independent Schools, the Cleveland Council of Independent Schools, and is a founding member of the World Education Alliance.

Impressive Showing In the prestigious 2012 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the only Ohio Finalist was HB senior Gurbani Kaur. And of the nine Semifinalists in the state, five were HB seniors: Jenn Blumer, Aly Bryan, Lena Ransohoff, Sham Shelkay, and Ingrid Zippe.

What an amazing affirmation of the power of superior science education for girls.

“ Turn distractibility, impulsivity and hyperactivity on their heads, and you get curiosity, creativity and energy.”

Quotable: Edward Hallowell, M.D., Ed.D. Leading expert on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, during the Learning for Life Speakers’ Series at HB, September 29, 2012

HB

Photo by Ripcho Studio

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No Hanging Chads

Go Blazers!

HB Middle School students had a great lesson in civics and the democratic process in November, when they held a special Electoral College-style vote for President of the United States. The girls were randomly assigned to represent U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and they cast their votes using their iPads. The results were instantly tallied and displayed on the big screen at the front of The Ahuja Auditorium. At the end of five rounds of voting, President Barack Obama emerged as the winner, with 328 Electoral College votes to Governor Mitt Romney's 210.

Obama took the popular vote as well, 118-111.

Fall Season Review: Cross Country

Fourth in the OHSAA Division II District * Qualified as a team for OHSAA Division II Regional Meet for the first time since 2008

Field Hockey

Finished with a record of 15-4-1 * Won the Northeast Ohio Field Hockey League * OHSAA District Champions

Golf Ranked second in OHSAA Division II Sectional Tournament * OHSAA Division II District Runner Up * Fifth in the OHSAA State Tournament * Ashley Yarbrough ’13 finished third in the state overall; named First Team Division II All-Ohio Soccer Impressive 13-5-2 record * Ended the season as OHSAA Division II District Champion Tennis

Won the OTCA Division II District Championship * Finished fourth in the OTCA State Team Tournament * Junior Ariana Iranpour ’14 qualified for the State Singles Tournament

Volleyball

Continually improved throughout the season * Finished with a record of 16-6

Winter Season Preview: Basketball Seeking its fifth consecutive OHSAA Division II State Championship Swimming & Diving

Aiming for a Top Five finish in the OHSAA Division II State Meet

Indoor Track & Field Participating in several events in preparation for the outdoor Track & Field season

The Mighty Pen

Hathaway Brown is home to the only Ohio team ever to qualify for the International Public Policy Forum’s Sweet 16 in written debate. Teams from 34 states and 29 countries wrote preliminary round essays on the resolution “Resolved: Adaptation should be the most urgent response to climate change.” Throughout the entire Midwest, HB was one of three schools to achieve the Sweet 16 standing. Seniors Jenn Blumer, Aly Bryan, and Brenna Scully – authors of HB’s response – advanced to the elimination round bracket, vying for an all-expenses paid trip to NYU to compete live at the IPPF Finals in April.

National Attention Kudos to Erika Jobson '12, whose winning piece from last year's Scholastic Art and Writing competition has been published in The Best Teen Writing 2012 anthology. The Cornell University freshman is one of a select group of 450 writers in the U.S. to receive this honor. In addition to being published, her award-winning essay is one of only 63 works of art displayed in a yearlong exhibition at the U.S. Department of Education offices in Washington, D.C.

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Hathaway Brown

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Castilleja, Palo Alto, Calif.

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National Cathedral School, Washington D.C.

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Chapin School, New York, NY

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Winsor School, Boston, Mass.

HB has more National Merit Semifinalists than any other girls' independent day school in the U.S.

In Good Company Eleven Hathaway Brown seniors have been chosen as National Merit Semifinalists for their high scores on the preliminary SAT. Only one percent of high school seniors across the country are part of this prestigious list. Additionally, eight members of the Class of 2013 received Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise, based on their PSAT scores.

HB’s National Merit Semifinalists: Alyssa Bryan, Alice Catanzaro, Joyce Guo, Zoe Harvan, Gurbani Kaur, Mary Alice Koon, Tatini MalSarkar, Lena Ransohoff, Rachel Slack, Grace Yi, Ingrid Zippe HB’s National Merit Commended Students: Caroline Bashour, Serena Chang, Emily Gaudiani, Olivia Julian, Alyssa Levy, Gianna Mitchell, Ilana Siegal, and Emma Stewart-Bates.

HB’s National Achievement Semifinalist: Danielle Jones

Family Affair This past October, HB senior Lena Ransohoff presented her neuroscience research on Traumatic Brain Injury and its relation to Alzheimer’s Disease at the 41st Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in New Orleans in a poster presentation. She conducts her research at the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in the lab of Dr. Bruce Lamb and was named a Siemens Competition Semifinalist for her work. Presenting his research in a Symposium at the same Society for Neuroscience meeting was Lena’s father, Dr. Richard Ransohoff, who also conducts neuroscience research at the Cleveland Clinic, on multiple sclerosis.

Photos by Kevin Reeves

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Good Morning, Baltimore HB’s November staging of Hairspray was a spectacular success, with sold-out performances every day during the show’s three-day run. You can’t stop the beat!

Story

by Lynne

Photography

Thompson

by Jason

Miller

HB

Learning

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Hathaway Brown’s deliberate approach to Early Childhood and Primary School education

Discovery

Tearful meltdowns are all too common at nursery and elementary schools. But this one, heard through the closed door of an administrator’s office at Hathaway Brown, was different. The child wasn’t crying for Mommy after suffering a playground injury or wailing about a transgression committed by another student. No, this preschooler’s tantrum was about something downright surprising.

skills – are more willing to accept challenges and less afraid of failing to meet them. “We want children to perceive that failing is simply part of the learning process, to be energized rather than intimidated by a brick wall,” Brown says. Understanding of broad concepts is built by urging continuous collection, analysis and classification of data, in turn producing the abilities to hypothesize and problem-solve. And a sense of community sparks collaboration, cultural awareness, empathy, flexibility and communication.

“I don’t want to go home!” he declared loudly between sobs.

The Discovery Learning model that is foundational to HB's program focuses on the development of competence, cognition, and community. These “3 Cs” are nurtured by two co-teachers in each classroom, as well as a team of "special" teachers who engage the children in extended music, library, physical education, and foreign language learning. The classroom spaces are artfully and intentionally designed to encourage informal exploration as well as direct instruction, and Learning Centers have highlighted activities that encourage particular areas of development.

That reaction, particularly at the end of a long day, is one of the highest compliments a young student can pay to an educational institution. And it isn’t unusual in Hathaway Brown’s Early Childhood and Primary School programs. A visit to the Shaker Heights campus reveals that enrollees are far too engrossed in learning to wonder when they’ll be going home. The programs combine best practices to create themebased curricula in which students help drive their education instead of merely experience it.

“We really encourage the children to become very active learners rather than passive learners, just absorbing the information that we give them,” says Jane Brown, Director of the Early Childhood program. “We’re involving them in the process.”

The love of learning begins in HB’s Early Childhood program, a co-ed half- or full-day offering based on its Discovery Learning model. The term refers to the concept of achieving the autonomy needed to become an independent, actively inquiring thinker by developing competence, cognition and community.

Brown explains that children confident of their abilities – children encouraged to take risks appropriate to their ages and

Brown points out a dramatic-play area in a room occupied by 3-year-old preschoolers as an example. The U-shaped configuration of pint-sized wooden kitchen appliances and cabinetry has been turned into The Merry Market, a grocery named, organized and labeled by the children – Aisle 2 is lined with boxes and bags that once contained pretzels and bread, Aisle 3 with empty cartons of milk, eggs and ice cream, and so forth. There’s even a checkout counter where students “pay” for their purchases, all priced by their classmates. Next month, it will be converted into a bake shop.

“There’s research that substantiates that vocabulary increases because children are engaging with each other – new vocabulary

words are introduced all the time as this center changes,” she says. “So it’s a social place to be, but also very literacy-based.”

by Harris and Pietrafese), the founders decided their hamlet needed a trashcan.

Next to the kitchen is a patch of carpet set off by shelving units filled with wooden blocks. Building with these simple playroom staples provides a foundation for understanding geometric principles. Similarly, sorting, classifying and creating patterns with those blocks develop a grasp of algebraic concepts.

“After we cleaned up, we then discussed how we can care for our community,” Harris says.

“It’s very play-based, which again reflects best practices,” Brown says. “Rather than sitting children down and introducing mathematical concepts in the abstract, they engage in and explore mathematical concepts, then extend the meaning of those concepts.”

Down the hall, Julie Harris and Mary-Scott Pietrafese show off the community their class of 4-year-old pre-kindergartners constructed. The project is a culminating example of the Storyline method incorporated in HB teaching plans from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. The approach, developed in Glasgow, Scotland, and used around the world, provides a means for interdisciplinary learning through a topical narrative the instructor chooses and develops to achieve specific curricular goals. However, students play a key part in developing that narrative by answering questions posed before each lesson. They articulate what they already know and, more importantly, discover what they need to find out. Director of Early Childhood and Primary School Admission Kristin Kuhn notes that students begin to use the word “research” in pre-kindergarten. The knowledge they bring back to class from sessions on their iPads helps shape the story.

“The kids are learning to think for themselves and speak for themselves,” Kuhn says. “It’s not that typical rote learning where they’re just repeating what a teacher told them.”

Harris and Pietrafese began their community Storyline by asking students, “What do you think a community is?” They then posed the question, “What is in a community?” After narrowing down their answers in a series of votes, the children built a wonderfully detailed neighborhood using everything from shoeboxes for buildings to rolls of felt for carpet-store stock. Like the preschool-class grocery, Brown notes that the project “introduced written language in a way that was purposeful and meaningful for the kids – they wanted to write ‘Ruby’s Toy Store.’” It also necessitated some investigation into which handmade creatures to put in their Big Tank Aquarium as well as a little problem-solving. When a Russian nesting doll rolls off the classroom fireplace mantle and litters the community with candy wrappers after visiting the PolkaDot Dinosaur candy store (part of another Storyline created

The word “care” is frequently found in the vocabulary of HB’s Early Childhood program. “We don’t necessarily have jobs in our classrooms,” Harris says. “Instead, we say, ‘How do we care for the calendar? How do we care for the tabletops? How do we care for each other?’” That language, along with daily routines and rituals such as sending “wish-you-wells” to sick classmates, is an outgrowth of Conscious Discipline, a comprehensive selfregulation program that integrates social-emotional learning and discipline. The method, developed by Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline author Becky Bailey, Ph.D., transforms daily conflicts into opportunities to teach life skills.

While preschoolers and pre-kindergartners can pick and choose the learning centers they want to explore, teachers ensure achievement of benchmarks in line with state standards by gently suggesting a child move from, say, the writing table where he or she has spent the last half-hour putting letters on paper to a science table displaying various evergreen cuttings.

Kuhn says learning at those centers is often inspired by curiosity – for example, “How do I write ‘I love Mommy?’”

“While the children are engaged in the learning centers, the teachers will be working with small groups,” Brown says.

She points to Pietrafese, who is in the hall conducting a math lesson based on the nesting-doll who has become part of the Storyline. One by one, the children practice writing their estimate of the hops it would take the doll to make it from the classroom door to a spot in the hall where they found a letter detailing her visit to their community. (Ideally, the estimate is based on the glittery “hop prints” the teachers made with the doll’s base on the community’s construction-paper ground.)

Next, the students actually hop from that spot in the hall to the classroom door, counting each hop as they go. A graphing exercise of their hops follows.

Specialty classes in physical education, music, dance, library sciences and theater round out the Early Childhood curriculum.

Pre-kindergartners also take Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

“We really try to make it a whole multicultural experience rather than simply a language,” Brown says of Spanish and Chinese instruction, which includes introductions to the countries’ food, art, music, customs and costumes.

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Did You Know?

There are two full-time teachers in each preschool and kindergarten classroom at Hathaway Brown, 90 percent of whom hold Master’s degrees. HB’s inclusive environment, outstanding faculty, and unique programs draw families from 77 communities across Northeast Ohio to the beautiful 16-acre Shaker Heights campus.

Students in all grades use the aquatics center, invention lab, visual and performing arts spaces, and working television studio.

The Story of Storyline To catch a glimpse of the innovative Storyline approach in action in HB's classrooms, check out our video posted at www.hb.edu/storyline.

Did You Know?

Many of our highest performing students started their HB careers in our Early Childhood and Primary School programs.

Of HB's 20 current National Merit honorees, 70 percent (14) entered the school in seventh grade or earlier. And 18 of our Class of 2013 Siemens Competition and National Merit award winners became HB students before eighth grade.

Those who dismiss foreign-language classes for 4-year-olds – perhaps Early Childhood programs as a whole – as superfluous can’t disprove the research that supports their importance to a child’s development. According to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, 700 new neural connections are created every second during the first few years of life. These neural connections “are formed through the interaction of genes and a baby’s environment and experiences, especially ‘serve and return’ interaction with adults,” building the brain architecture necessary for all subsequent learning and behavior. The center’s website goes on to cite a 1995 study on differences in young American children’s daily experiences that showed barriers to educational achievement appear at 18 months of age.

“By age 3, children with college-educated parents or primary caregivers had vocabularies 2 to 3 times larger than those whose parents had not completed high school,” the site states. “By the time these children reach school, they are already behind their peers unless they are engaged in a language-rich environment early in life.”

...

Like its renowned Middle and Upper schools, Hathaway Brown’s Primary School is devoted to educating girls. Director of Admission Kuhn explains that girls and boys begin to develop differently as they near the end of their fourth year of life.

“The girls are ready to grasp those literacy skills,” she says.

“They’re ready to grasp reading earlier. They’re ready to grasp writing earlier. They’re ready to grasp speaking in front of a class earlier.”

Educators and parents have long worried that many girls shy away from competitive behavior and risk taking in a mixed educational environment. In 2009, researchers in the United Kingdom confirmed this suspicion, finding that girls from single-sex schools were just as likely as boys and more likely than girls from co-ed schools to explore subjects and activities outside their comfort zones.

But one of the most significant changes in the K-4 division is the introduction of Guided Reading in the reading centers.

Kathy Zopatti, Director of HB’s Primary School, describes the phonics-based method as one that meets students individually where they are developmentally and helps them to expand and refine their skills over time. Kindergarteners start reading in small groups. In first grade, reading becomes a part of literacy workshop which allows girls to work on those things most important to their own literacy development. Some skill development lessons call for facilitated group sessions, which the girls really enjoy.

“They’re very fluid,” Zopatti says of the reading groups’ member composition. “They change constantly.”

One reading center a week is devoted to journaling, even in kindergarten classes. The first entries, usually about birthday celebrations and other special occasions, may be only a few alphabet letters long. But during the kindergarten year, they develop into complete noun-verb sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation.

“It is amazing, where they start at the beginning of kindergarten and where they are at the end of the year,” Zopatti says.

In some cases, books are the starting point for a Storyline unit.

One kindergarten class recently completed a “pioneer” Storyline based on reading Papa and the Pioneer Quilt. Subsequent activities included making candlesticks in the woodshop and compiling “quilt books” featuring cloth scraps students collected, just like one of the characters in the book. Fourth-graders created a Storyline on Ohio history that began by studying a traditional textbook and culminated in a ribbon-cutting for a museum they built, complete with its own logo and interactive tabletop exhibits on everything from successive eras of native peoples to the state’s historic Schoenbrunn Village.

“This is where they’ve programmed one of their little PicoCrickets,” Zopatti says as she examines an area of a Paleo Indian exhibit where a tiny computer has been installed.

In recent years, HB fourth graders have collaborated on

international Storyline projects with students at Alvboda Friskola in Stutskar, Sweden. The two groups read Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren and discussed the text through blogs, videoconferences and other creative interactions.

HB teacher Mary Boutton even traveled to Sweden to meet with these international partners in person and to deliver one half of a mural created by the girls at HB. The Alvboda Friskola students had created the other half. And Swedish teachers Michael and Maria Haglof made the trek to Shaker Heights to teach and learn from the HB girls as well. In 2011, HB became the first and only Midwest/East Coast Storyline training site for educators.

Another important facet of the Primary School is its emphasis on character education. In every classroom and posted on large billboards in the hallways, you’ll find references to the “3 Rs”: Respect, Responsibility, and Resilience. The curriculum is underscored by the belief that teachers should encourage students to encourage others, to maximize their own potential, and to continually try their hands at new things. The nurturing community helps girls to develop confidence and independence so that they may find – and use – their voices at school and beyond.

The ultimate takeaway from Hathaway Brown’s Early Childhood and Primary School programs is a love of learning that’s palpable in every subject. On a recent afternoon, two second-graders are visibly excited by a visitor’s request for an explanation of addition tic-tac-toe, one of four in-class exercises they and their classmates have just been assigned. The more outgoing of the two takes over but includes her flustered friend in the impromptu presentation by asking her to hold up their tic-tac-toe board and a red piece of construction paper covered with numbers, the various combinations of which may match figures on the board. The girl’s compassion and diplomacy are remarkable for her age.

“It’s reflective of the skill set that these children are going to need as they move into life,” Brown says.

Hathaway Brown’s Early Childhood and Primary School programs establish in each child a proven framework for real, meaningful learning. History demonstrates that this allimportant foundation makes an incredible difference in the long term, both in the classroom and in the world at large.

The school’s community, curriculum, and deliberate approach to education allow students to succeed in middle school, high school, college and beyond.

On top of that, they love it here – which is pretty strong validation, too.

HB

In HB's kindergarten, students begin maintaining a more structured day. The two teachers per classroom make sure each girl spends a prescribed amount of time in the Learning Centers, where activities become more advanced. The stacks of blocks, for example, become a stash of colorful wooden pieces that students nail to corkboards per diagram directions to create everything from alphabet letters to fish, insects and people. Sessions in facilities such as the school’s Invention Lab are added to the roster of specialty classes.

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Hathaway Brown is the oldest college-preparatory girls’ school in Ohio, originally established as the Brooks School for Ladies, an adjunct to the prestigious Brooks Military Academy in downtown Cleveland. It was founded by five intrepid young women who implored the headmaster at Brooks to allow them to take afternoon classes. The school’s name was changed to Hathaway Brown 10 years later & and it moved to Shaker Heights in 1927.

tuition financial aid We look for talented students of strong character regardless of a family's ability to pay tuition. For commonly asked questions and detailed information, visit www.hb.edu/admission.

Head of School Bill Christ named one of America's Top 20 School Heads HB's 13th Head of School H. William Christ arrived on campus in 1987 as an energized and energizing leader - a man determined that the venerable institution would be a vanguard of education.

More than 25 years later, his passion has not wavered. Mr. Christ has been designated one of 20 Outstanding Independent School Heads in the U.S. by Columbia University's Klingenstein Center for Educational Leadership, and he was the only Ohio school head to make the list. During his tenure at HB, the student body and the number of full-time faculty has nearly doubled. Always ready to offer words of encouragement and appreciation, Mr. Christ is genuinely interested in getting to know the alumnae, students, parents, teachers, and friends of HB. This careful and caring approach has not gone unnoticed. In a recent speech, renowned psychologist and scholar Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair remarked, "One of the most innovative schools in this country that is educating girls in a way that we all should be learning from is run by Bill Christ."

Students are admitted to Hathaway Brown and awarded financial aid on the basis of personal and academic performance and promise, and are included in all school activities and programs, without discrimination on grounds of race, color, religion, or national or ethnic origin.

For 2013–14, HB has committed $4 million to the need-based financial aid program. Students in grades K-12 are eligible to apply for these funds and approximately 30% receive financial assistance.

Hathaway Brown School does not offer athletic scholarships. All awards are based on a familiy's demonstrated need as determined by School and Student Services, a subsidiary of the National Association of Independent Schools.

Infant & Toddler Center (6 weeks - 36 months) ranges from $3,000 to $14,000 Early Childhood (ages 2 1/2 – 5) ranges from $4,000 to $11,000 Primary School (grades K – 4) ranges from $18,000 to $22,000 Middle School (grades 5 – 8) ranges from $22,000 to $25,000 Upper School (grades 9 – 12) ranges from $25,000 to $27,000

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Acre Campus

Partnerships with Greater Cleveland organizations

Faculty Members

8:1

33%

1:1

Technology Program

students of color

Student-Teacher Ratio Established:

1876

30% HB students are awarded Financial Aid

830 Students

$39.9M Endowment (market value 6.30.12)

100% of graduates attend four-year colleges

HB

123

100+

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Thirty-two percent of all current Upper School students began their HB careers in our Early Childhood or Primary Schools, including our “Lifers” – 13 of the 81 members of the senior Class of 2013 who entered the school in EC. On a recent winter afternoon, they shared stories and insights about the community where they have learned and grown together since they were 3 years old.

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I have constantly been surrounded by teachers who are passionate about their jobs, and classmates who are passionate about learning.

- Michelle Chapman

2

My parents couldn't have picked a better environment for me to grow up in.

- Alden Cowap

3

HB has made me feel like I have the biggest family in the world.

- Mckenzie Retino

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6

7

8

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10

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HB girls are super involved - with sports, research, traveling, and so much more.

We are definitely able to balance strong academics and still be passionate about our other interests. - Courtney Black Compassion is the one maxim that has transcended all of the grade levels and divisions, whether it is for a fellow HB sister or the broader Cleveland community and beyond. - Jenn Blumer Since my first day at HB in EC7, I've always felt welcome and a part of something greater than myself. - Katie Everett Leaving HB will be difficult, but I know that I will be able to take on any challenge that comes my way. - Caitlyn Frohring The academics and opportunities provided for the students are only one aspect of HB. It would not be the same without the people. - Alyssa Furth When I have a goal, large or small, I know I have a massive amount of supporters helping me to achieve it, and at the same time, they’re encouraging me to learn how to achieve it on my own.

- Gianna Mitchell To see preschoolers roaming the halls, guided by the steady hands of a teacher I learned from 12 years ago is a touching experience. From the wobbly toddlers to the tallest seniors, we are all just finding our legs, it seems. But good guidance and steady hands are hallmarks of this school.

- Lena Ransohoff Hathaway Brown has shaped me to become the individual I am today. Without HB, I would not thrive under pressure, nor would I have developed my hard-work ethic or resilience. - Elizabeth Warner HB has a support web of teachers and mentors that serves as an unfailing resource for an avid student. I have real friendships with my teachers. That’s something I'm not sure is possible at too many other schools.

- Ingrid Zippe

Photo by Jason Miller

HB

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I have walked these halls every day since I was 3 years old. I have seen the number of opportunities to pursue science and studies abroad continually multiply. This school never fails to keep the most enriching experiences within reach.

- Caroline Bashour

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ideaexchange

HB’s Education Innovation summits provide an unparalleled professional development platform

In partnership with the Edward E. Ford Foundation, Hathaway Brown presented the third annual Education Innovation Summit: Everybody's Children: Independent Schools, Educational Reform, and the Future of Teaching, on October 4-5, 2012. We explored these important topics through a variety of lectures, presentations, and workshops. Open to teachers and administrators from independent, public, private, parochial, and charter schools across the country, HB's Education Innovation Summit 2012 aimed to raise and answer questions about how to improve education across the spectrum for the good of all America's children.

The event was headlined by Thomas L. Friedman, a Pulitzer Prizewinning columnist for The New York Times and celebrated author, who served as keynote presenter. Paul Tough, author of the critically acclaimed new book How Children Succeed was a featured speaker as well. The program roster was rounded out with scores of other journalists, scholars, innovators, and policy makers. One special highlight was a panel discussion about the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s recently enacted Transformation Plan.

In the last three years, 1,200 attendees have taken part in HB’s signature Education Innovation summits. These faculty members and administrators came from 170 different public, independent, charter, and parochial schools in 35 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. Among those schools, 24 percent have participated in two or even all three of our summits. We've also welcomed 150 insightful presenters who offered their knowledge and expertise to attendees. And we've been honored to share these educational experiences with scores of HB parents, alumnae, and community leaders.

To learn more about the 2012 Education Innovation Summit at Hathaway Brown and to view footage from each of the program sessions, please visit www.hb.edu/summit12.

Photo by Jason Miller

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Story by Torrey McMillan ’90 • Illustrations by Brian Andrew Jasinski

When I tell people that I run the Center for Sustainability at Hathaway Brown School, I typically get one of two responses ...

“HB has a whole Center for Sustainability?!

That’s amazing.” or “Center for what?

What does that mean?”

The answer to that second question can take me 30 seconds or 30 minutes, depending on the level of interest and the time the interrogator has.

The 30-second version is simple. I start by posing a few questions of my own: “What do we want to have around in our world now and in the future? That is, what is it that we want to sustain, build or rebuild?”

At a pretty fundamental level, most of us can agree that we want healthy people, healthy communities, and healthy ecosystems. My work in sustainability revolves around building a world where having these three things is not only possible, but it’s highly probable.

Giving a more detailed description of sustainability and my work at HB can be a little bit messier. But I’m a person who helps 10-year-olds sort through food scraps to create the most effective compost piles. Messy is my forte.

Let’s start with the (really) big picture. Some people have equated trying to define sustainability with trying to define other ideas that are hard to nail down; words like justice, freedom, and equality. When it comes to concepts such as these, definitions rarely satisfy us. In some ways, it’s easier to point to those situations when these things are absent or broken than it is to say, “that is justice,” or “here we see freedom.” When present, these states of being are likely to be expressed in different ways, dependent on place and context.

Sustainability is like that. It is, I think, far easier to point at something and say, “that is not sustainable ... that system or process or thing will not help us to have healthy people, communities and ecosystems now and in the future,” than it is to look at something and say with conviction, “this is sustainable.” This difficulty arises partly because we live in a world of complex, interconnected systems. Humans are limited in our ability to understand the upstream causes and downstream consequences of so much of what we do.

To further complicate matters, the physical and cultural environment of Northeast Ohio will necessitate very different solutions to the challenges of building sustainable systems than we would find were we living in the desert of Arizona or in the bustle of Beijing.

So, striving for sustainability is hard work that forces us to test out solutions, discover what works and what does not, remain humble in the face of our trials and errors, and always to continue to learn. But isn’t that our motto here at HB? We learn not for school but for life. In very real ways, the quest for sustainability is, in fact, the quest for ongoing, healthy, meaningful life on earth.

Which brings me to HB’s Center for Sustainability.

A core group of faculty, staff, administrators, and students spent some time last fall articulating a plan for who we will be and what we will do to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability. Here’s the Vision Statement we came up with: We are a school and community with a hopeful vision of a thriving planet – a planet with whole and healthy people, communities, and natural systems. We pursue this vision with joy, intense creativity, humility and courage in the face of challenge and change. A force of good in the world, we strive to live out this vision not just in school, but in life.

This all sounds very good and inspiring, but it’s very pie-in-the sky. You still probably don’t really have a sense of what the Center for Sustainability is exactly, and you might be interested in some concrete examples of what the institution is actually doing to make the vision a reality.

You don’t have to look too hard to see many of the ways that our community has come together to rally around this important cause. Right behind the tennis courts along South Park Boulevard, a community garden grows. Under the leadership of Megan Callanan ’14 and Caroline Doll ’14, the garden has yielded vegetable harvests that have been donated to the Heights Food Pantry. In our own HB kitchen, Director of Dining Services Ruth Wylie and her staff serve healthy, nutritious, locally sourced foods. The Upper School environmental club, The Lorax, oversees a school-wide recycling program, and the Plant Operations team is continually streamlining the facilities to make the buildings more energy efficient. There are many other programs and projects in the works as well. Please take a moment to visit www.hb.edu/sustainability to learn more.

Some people have equated trying to define sustainability with trying to define other ideas that are hard to nail down; words like justice, freedom, and equality.

The road ahead of us promises to be a long and winding, but the journey will be rich with learning. This work is our imperative. So let’s embrace the challenge in true HB fashion, finding opportunity where others see threats, and applying all the talent and creativity of our collective community to create a world where social, economic and environmental systems thrive in synchronicity with one another. The ultimate goal is for all of us to be able to say of HB: “Yes, this is a place that supports healthy people, healthy communities and a healthy environment. I can see it in everything they do.”

I have no doubt that our team is well-suited for this task. Our school family is one that’s grounded, yet ambitious. I like to say that Anne Hathaway Brown, in her infinite wisdom, even picked our school colors with sustainability in mind.

We are brown, rooted in the earth. We are gold, reaching for the sun.

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Taj Mahal, India, January 2012

A School for the World

HB believes that an international perspective must be at the very core of 21st century education, and our Center for Global Citizenship gives students and faculty a passport for transformative learning in every longitude and latitude.

Our program in global education is recognized as the premier program of its kind in the Midwest and one of the very best in the United States.

HB is the only Ohio school and the only girls’ school granted membership in the Global Benchmark Group comprised of the top 20 internationally oriented schools in the U.S. Joe Vogel, Director of the HB Center for Global Citizenship is chairman of the Global Benchmark Group.

HB’s Center for Global Citizenship, our schoolwide hub of international learning, involves nearly every Upper School student and even extends into the Early Childhood program.

More than 90 percent of the Class of 2013 will have traveled abroad on an HB trip prior to graduation.

87 percent of the Class of 2013 will write a thesis to complete Global Scholars diploma standards.

Each year, HB runs 9-13 international trips involving 90-110 students.

In the 2012-2013 school year, students and faculty will journey to The Netherlands, Spain, Germany & Austria, The Bahamas, China, Cambodia, Peru, Hong Kong, Australia, and Italy.

Financial aid is available for qualified Upper School students to travel abroad.

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Fit & Fun HB partnered in January with the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals/Rainbow Babies and Children, and the Ahuja Medical Center to host Healthy Bodies, an educational health and wellness fest for fourth- through eighth-graders and their parents. Designed

by Middle School Admission Director Frannie Foltz, the program was created to help girls build healthy habits to last a lifetime.

Photo by Jason Miller

Words of Wisdom Upper School students share their thoughts about HB academics: HB teachers are fantastic.

They work with you one-on-one, are free to meet whenever your free times are and are very accessible. Their energy and love for the subject shows during the class and diffuses to the students, making us interested too. - Sue Roy, Class of 2015

The good thing about HB is that you can pick many of the classes you take. Classes can be a lot more interesting when you choose them for yourself. - Caroline Doll, Class of 2014

From the lab experiments in science classes to the art projects in Latin, there’s never a dull moment. - Brady Furlich, Class of 2015 The classes are made for us to be challenged but it

is easy to be successful in each one with the right work ethic.

- Owen Healey, Class of 2016

Many of my classes are discussion-based, which allows for lots of participation and insight, as well as a better understanding of the material.

- Madeleine Schroedel, Class of 2015

Hard work really pays off at HB, and teachers are incredibly helpful and supportive. Most of the teachers at HB have degrees in the field they are teaching, which makes them extremely passionate about their subject. We get hands-on experience in every subject and the passion our teachers have is extremely contagious.

- Danielle Frankel, Class of 2013

Classes are interesting, and the teachers are passionate about what they teach.

- Bridget Babcox, Class of 2015

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Digital Download HB’s iPhone and iPad application gives parents access to personal announcements, sports information, calendars, news, media galleries, and more. Community members are able to stay logged in to view directories and private individualized bulletins.

The tabbed display of athletics information and school calendars makes it easy to navigate between the different sections. The app is free in the iTunes App Store. Just search for “Hathaway Brown.”

Photo by Jason Miller

Photos by Jason Miller

HB

Delivered to the HB student body at the school’s annual Thanksgiving Assembly, November 20, 2012

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“… the best way to eradicate childhood poverty is through education.” ne of the most rewarding O extracurricular activities I have been

involved with has been working with inner-city children at an after-school program at East End Neighborhood House. Many of these children come from broken homes where education is not a priority. Working with these children has shown me the juxtaposition between my life – going to a school like Hathaway Brown – and theirs. I realize this unfairness occurs by the accident of birth. As a volunteer, I tutor fourth through eighth graders with homework they're having trouble with.

During my freshman year, I started going to East End once a week, but a few months into it, I felt like I could do more and increased it to twice a week. I can mark my accomplishments by seeing the improvements that some of the children have made. Over the past four years, I have seen kids raise their grades from C’s to A’s, and the most rewarding part is that I've seen their desire to do better in school.

For instance, I started working with Jaleeta in the fall of 2009, when I was a freshman and she had just started fifth grade. At that time, she had difficulty concentrating in the classroom, so when it came time to start her homework, it was almost impossible. Every Monday and Wednesday, I'd sit down with Jaleeta and review what she'd learned in class before helping her with her homework. As time went on, Jaleeta seemed to understand the lessons better, and because of this, she rarely needed my help. Although I started to spend less time with Jaleeta, I was so proud of both her ability to focus in class and the countless hours she spent out

of the classroom reviewing her material. She hated the feeling of being behind in her class, and she was determined to work her way to the top.

I hadn't been to East End in over half a year, as I was at a semester-away program from January to June of this year. On my first trip back in September, one of the first people to greet me was Jaleeta. As I sat with her, she told me about eighth grade and how she had recently received all A's on her report card. As well, she told me how much she loves learning. I was shocked, because the Jaleeta I remembered was not an “A” student and wasn't all that interested in school. I reminded her that she had done all of this by herself. Next year, she will attend John Hay High School, one of the top performing schools in Cleveland. She now has the foundation to succeed wherever she goes. She has figured out that education is her path to a better life.

I had always heard that the best way to eradicate childhood poverty is through education. By going to East End on a regular basis over the past four years and getting to know the students individually, I feel like I have played a part in influencing their attitudes towards school. Personally, I have gained as much from this experience as I have given. As Thanksgiving approaches, I am grateful for all of my opportunities, especially the time I spend with the children at East End. This experience has shaped me and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Madeleine Schroedel '15

Michele Zhou '14

empty stage

harmonic dissonance

An empty stage holds promise, it holds possibility, it thrives on the presence of life. I walked to the center of the stage. I was full of life.

My imagination began to fill the emptiness, images of me singing on the stage.

There I stood. Vacant bright lights shone on my face, illuminating the pastel green, blue, and pink colored steps behind me, the checkerboard floor beneath me. I could hear the low rumbling of the air conditioning, which became the applause of the empty seats of the auditorium. I inhaled deeply, and my nose burned from the musty air.

My eyes were drawn to the faint light shed by the lanterns lining the walls. It glinted off the carefully carved names of those who graced this stage before me. I thought to myself, maybe one day my name will be on those plaques.

In the distance, I heard the sound of laughter.

Was it mocking me? It echoed in the hollow room. Suddenly, I heard the shuffling of squeaky boots on the checkerboard floor. I whirled around. A young girl in bright turquoise pants paced from one black curtain to the other.

She glanced up with penetrating eyes.

I was no longer alone.

Crisp leaves in autumn raiment pepper the stream’s banks, rustling like cards in the hands of a careful spirit.

I see my own feet, sunk into the damp earth, stifling the leaves beneath.

The shuffle, disrupted.

The deal, broken.

Delicate wind, soft but insistent, breathes over the landscape, enveloping and caressing the stream’s features like a loving mother.

I feel my own skin, wrapped in wool, prickling with the chill, shivering despite warmth.

Exposed despite cover.

The land, in its sound permanence, exceeds me.

With transience realized, I feel ephemeral.

The land, in its limitless existence, encompasses me.

We, for once, do not belong.

The spell was broken.

Creativity Comes Alive

HB

Illustration by Jessie Adkins ’13

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HB's Osborne Writing Center hosted the terrifically successful Young Writers and Artists Festival this past fall. Northeast Ohio middle and high school students were invited to participate in workshops in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, graphic novel, and digital photography. More than 100 young women had the opportunity to pursue their creative passions and develop their crafts, working with a cadre of talented and accomplished professional writers and artists from across the region.

Illustration by Bella Oriella ’12

Please join us for this annual benefit, sponsored by HB’s senior class. This year, funds are being raised for Girls with Sole, an organization that promotes fitness and wellness to empower girls who have experienced abuse. For details or to register, contact Denise Keary, dkeary@hb.edu.

Annual 5K & Carnival Sunday, April 21

Race 9:00 a.m.

Family activities to follow.

Pancake breakfast and fun for all!

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IDEO is a tradition that started at Hathaway Brown in 1939 under the leadership of Anne Cutter Coburn, who was then headmistress. Each year before they leave for Winter Break, Upper School students process through the halls and sing the inspiring hymn “Ideo” as they make their way to the gym. It is a symbolic gift to the head of school.

As the years have progressed, other customs have been added to the celebration.

Since 1988, HB’s Head of School Bill Christ has composed a poem dedicated to the senior class, in which he mentions all of the girls by name. The Hathaway Brown Alumnae Association also gifts the seniors with a special brunch before the procession. And before the assembly is dismissed, the seniors share a special rendition of the song “Bless This House” to show their appreciation for all the kindnesses they have received at HB. IDEO enjoys a rich legacy at HB. Alumnae of all ages remember the festivities fondly, and many return to campus each year to take part.

Members of the senior class show off the roses they received before the IDEO procession.

Photos by Julia VanWagenen ’06

admission calendar january Infant & Toddler, Early Childhood, and Kindergarten Open House For prospective families Saturday, January 26, 2013 10:00­– 11:30 a.m.

Courtland Boulevard Entrance Middle School Lunch & Learn For parents of prospective 5-8 graders Tuesday, January 29, 2013 11:15 a.m.­– 12:45 p.m.

Reception Room

february Kindergarten Screenings For prospective kindergartners Friday, February 1, 2013 9:00 a.m.­– 2:00 p.m.

Kindergarten classrooms CCIS Grades 4–12 Early Decision Round Reply Date Friday, February 1, 2013 ISEE Testing Grades 5-12 Saturday, February 2, 2013 8:00 a.m.­– 12:00 p.m.

Reception Room Middle School Reverse Egg Drop For accepted 5-8 graders Wednesday, February 6, 2013 3:30­– 5:00 p.m.

Atrium & Dining Hall Early Childhood Screenings For prospective students Saturday, February 9, 2013 9:00 a.m.­– 1:30 p.m.

EC Classrooms Kindergarten Curriculum Night For current & prospective parents of rising kindergartners Wednesday, February 13, 2013 7:00 p.m.

Kindergarten Classrooms

Early Childhood Screenings For siblings of current students and Infant & Toddler Center students Thursday, February 14, 2013 11:00 a.m.­– 1:00 p.m.

EC Classrooms Early Childhood – Grade 8 Application Deadline For prospective EC­–8 graders Thursday, February 14, 2013 Kindergarten Visitation Day For prospective families Wednesday, February 20, 2013 8:30 a.m.

Reception Room

march CCIS Early Childhood – Grade 8 Admission and FA Decision Date Rolling Admission grades 9-12 Friday, March 1, 2013 Primary Acceptance Day For accepted Primary School families grades 1–4 Tuesday, March 5, 2013 9:30 a.m.

Reception Room Kindergarten Acceptance Day For rising & accepted families Thursday, March 7, 2013 8:30 a.m.

Reception Room Early Childhood Acceptance Day For accepted EC parents Friday, March 8, 2013 9:30 a.m.

Reception Room CCIS Early Childhood – Grade 8 Admission Reply Date Wednesday, March 13, 2013

may Middle School New Family Orientation For new families grades 5-8 Thursday, May 2, 2013 8:15 a.m.­– 12:00 p.m.

Reception Room, WCC, Auditorium, Dining Hall Eighth Grade Musical Reception For new families grades 5-8 Sunday, May 5, 2013 2:00­– 2:30 p.m.

Reception Room

june Parent Kindergarten Orientation Night For all rising Kindergarten parents Tuesday, June 4, 2013 7:00 p.m.

Prime Music Room Primary New Family Ice Cream Social For all new and host families, K-4 Wednesday, June 5, 2013 6:00­– 7:00 p.m.

Playground Patio Middle School New Family Picnic For all new and host families, 5-8 Monday, June 10, 2013 5:30­– 7:00 p.m.

Squire Valleevue Farm Upper School New Family Picnic For all new and host families, 9-12 Tuesday, June 11, 2013 5:00­– 7:00 p.m.

Reception Room

Make a Splash HB

The beautiful Carol and John Butler Aquatic Center, dedicated in 2005, was designed by renowned architect Graham Gund. Home to the Blazer swimming and diving teams, the 267,000-gallon pool has eight lanes, a diving well, and a three-foot deep instructional area. Students of all ages make use of the facility. HB is one of the only 35 girls' schools in the country to have its own on-site aquatics center.

Photo by Ripcho Studio

19600 North Park Boulevard

Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122

Photo by Jesse Kramer

The best way to get to know Hathaway Brown is to come see us. Call 216.320.8767 today to schedule a personal tour. We’d love to show you around.

Extensive additional information about HB, including overviews of all our signature customized academic programs, may be found at www.hb.edu. Navigate to the Admission tab for details about interviews, student visits, applications, screenings, and financial aid. Be sure also to “like” Hathaway Brown School on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @HathawayBrown.

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