and marbles for physics, and read novels as plays. Three years ago, the program begin administering iPads to all the students, and now many of the
math classes are app-based, leveraging games that
with activity-based education and are noted for their consistently high energy levels.
have an attached learning benefit. In a lot of cases,
Said Matt Ortiz ’08, who after graduating from
time, and generally participants are reading above
geometry and pre-calculus, “When HAP started
students are being introduced to algebra for the first
both HAP and Jesuit, returned to teach honors
their grade level.
I didn’t know what to expect, but very quickly I
The HAP program lasts four weeks, and is
that Jesuit was a tremendous fit for me. I liked the
potentially a three-year program as students can first enroll prior to the start of sixth grade. About
25% do all three years, and well above 50% come back for at least a second year.
“While HAP is not centered around testing and assessment, the class sessions primed my
academic curiosity in new ways,” offered HAP
grad, Jesuit grad, and the School’s current digital communications specialist, Vernon Mullen ’05.
“The high school teachers eased us into thinking critically about literature, art, and interpersonal
skills like time management and note-taking. HAP
certainly made my transition from middle school to Jesuit significantly easier.”
One of HAP’s greatest strengths is that the
program is administered by current members of
the Jesuit Dallas faculty. Full-time Jesuit teachers and alumni instruct all HAP activities, and are assisted by current Jesuit students trained in
specific course areas. The teachers are engaged in every activity period, and even eat lunch with the
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students. Most of the staff has a lot of experience
realized personally, socially, and academically
diversity of students I was around; the different background and experiences of each person
opened up so many thoughts and questions, and I was making great friends around me that could give me such unique perspectives. The teachers engaged me in a way I wasn’t used to as well.
They saw where I was and challenged me to be
better. They were so full of life and made me laugh and treated me more like an adult then I had ever previously experienced.”
Without the benefit of any formal assessment, HAP
measures its success with a hand-written summary of each student’s experience as well as an attitude
survey. Students are asked to provide answers to a series of questions on the first day of the program, and then are asked to answer the same questions at the conclusion. An example, which again is
telling in its response, is When I think about high
school, Jesuit, a) will never be an option for me, b)
has never been an option for me, but I’m open to it, c) is somewhat of an option for me, d) is an option