Hawken School announced last month plans for a new high school in University Circle. The school purchased five additional properties on Magnolia Drive and will launch the Mastery School of Hawken in August 2020.
“Research confirms that students learn best — and are healthiest — when they are active participants partnering with faculty on work that matters,” says Head of School D. Scott Looney. “The Mastery School of Hawken will enable students to immerse themselves fully in this transformative approach to learning and inspire them to become citizens of consequence in the world they will inhabit.”
While students at Hawken’s Gates Mills campus will continue to receive letter grades, Mastery School students will earn Mastery Credits, which measure the skills and knowledge demonstrated. A digital, mastery-based transcript that is currently being developed will present earned Mastery Credits to colleges.
The structure of the new Mastery School of Hawken will be modular and conjoined with existing programming at Hawken’s Gates Mills campus so that some Hawken students may choose to spend their high school careers in University Circle, while others may choose to join for a semester or two. Mastery School of Hawken students will have the opportunity to access extracurricular offerings at Gates Mills, including athletics and performing arts.
Looney says, “Like the programming that we continue to develop on our Gates Mills campus, the Mastery School of Hawken will prepare students for the demands of college and the complexities of the real world by cultivating problem-solving skills; deep, enduring, and useful knowledge; intellectual curiosity; a collaborative work ethic; confident communication skills; agency and resilience; and respect for one another.”
An information session at the Mastery School’s new location in University Circle will take place on Sunday, April 28, at 1 p.m. For more information, visit hawken.edu.
