Students on the west side of Cleveland now have the opportunity to attend Hawken School with its announcement this week of a merger with Birchwood School, along with plans for an Early Childhood Center in Gordon Square.
For the past year, the private coeducational, college preparatory school, which has campuses in Lyndhurst and Gates Mills, has been looking to expand its reach.
The school recently completed a $26.5 million project this fall with its 110,000-square-foot upper school Stirn Hall in Gates Mills.
Scott Looney, head of school at Hawken, says he is eager to implement the school’s mission beyond its current constituents. “We are thrilled that this two phase process to move west will give more students access to a Hawken education.”
The first phase, the merger between Birchwood School — now formally named Birchwood School of Hawken — goes immediately into effect as Birchwood students will automatically be accepted to Hawken’s Upper School, just as Lyndhurst students.
Chuck and Helene Debelak founded Birchwood School in 1984, and they continue to run the preschool through eighth-grade coeducational independent school on Cleveland’s near west side.
“This merger will strengthen our financial future and secure Birchwood’s mission and succession plan,” says Charles Debelak, Birchwood’s Head of School. “Hawken is an ideal partner to grow the Birchwood School that our families and community value. Both schools are leaders in education, and joining forces will allow us to amplify our expertise and deepen our impact.”
Hawken School also has plans to open an Early Childhood Center located at 5400 Detroit Ave. in Gordon Square. According to the school’s release, “this phase of Hawken’s expansion is designed to create more opportunities for students from that area to gain early access to the Hawken community and to enter our Birchwood and Lyndhurst Lower Schools.”
While the project is still in the planning phase, it’s estimated to cost $3 million to complete, which will be likely by summer 2018.
“Bringing both Birchwood and Gordon Square into the Hawken family helps us achieve some of our most important long term goals including supporting our business model, positioning us to withstand demographic changes and shifts in market demand, and introducing Hawken to new communities,” Looney says.