Center for civic engagement by Hathaway Brown School

Story by Kathleen Osborne * Photography by Jason Miller

Hathaway Brown student service initiative brings together people who aren’t really so far apart Tamara is a bubbly 12-year-old who goes out of her way to say hello.

The Archbishop Lyke School seventh grader spends all of her weekday afternoons at East End Neighborhood House, a massive structure built in the late 1800s as a summer property for railroad and real estate magnates Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen. Now an invaluable community resource, East End sits at the corner of Buckeye and Woodhill roads, kitty-corner from the blue glow of the giant illuminated steel and fiberglass 1940s-style microphone that marks the entrance to the mod new Rapid Transit station in one of Cleveland’s toughest zip codes.

On a dreary early December afternoon, a small group of Hathaway Brown Upper School students arrives at East End to offer a special Peer Education program in the sprawling downstairs dining hall. Tamara runs up to the girls to tell them one by one that she’s glad they’re here. She remembers all of their names. “I’m thinking about going to HB myself,” she says.

HB 9

ast End Neighborhood House is only a 10-minute drive from the stately Classic Building, home to the Upper School and the centerpiece of Hathaway Brown’s Shaker Heights campus since 1927. After the final bell on December 4, HB’s 2012-2013 Peer Educators – eight enthusiastic seniors – leave their classrooms and head to the corner of Buckeye and Woodhill. They board a school bus and travel alongside the Van Sweringen brothers’ famous Green Line tracks that have carried generations of businesspeople from stops that span treelined Shaker Boulevard and into the bustle of downtown Cleveland. The ride to East End is not long, but the scenery on the way is amazingly diverse. Outside their windows, the girls can see an array of elegant brick Victorian homes, sophisticated storefronts, bland office towers, historic hospitals and churches, rundown apartments, and rambling vacant buildings. When the bus stops, they bundle up against the cold and run inside, dodging raindrops that have become mixed with snowflakes. They carry armloads of heavy cardboard crates, packed full of nonperishable fruits, vegetables, and other staples – 738 canned goods in all – collected by HB’s Blue Legacy group at Thanksgiving. The children they’re about to meet will be taking some of this food home in their book bags. “Come on over and have a seat,” HB 12th grader Stephanie Poland calls out after she and her classmates have staked claim to a group of tables in the busy East End dining hall. “Let’s get to know each other.” About a dozen elementary school-aged children stop what they’re doing and gather around the high schoolers. Two pre-teen girls and a very small boy continue to sit off by themselves, deep in concentration, busily scratching their pencils across the pages of math and spelling workbooks. In one section of the room, three men play an intense game of chess. Even the most casual visitor can quickly understand why this is called a “neighborhood house.” The place exudes comfort, and everyone here seems at ease. Established in 1907 as a haven where immigrant women in the east end of Cleveland could learn to sew, today East End finds itself “at the center of the circle of life.” Offering a full slate of services for people of all ages, the organization proclaims its mission is to assist the community in solving its own problems, and to work with donors and volunteers to support individuals through life’s passages, “from birth to eldership.” Partnerships with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Metropolitan Housing Authority, and area churches and hospitals have allowed East End to provide vital programming after federal funding began to dry up in the 1970s. Private donors and philanthropic organizations including the Cleveland and George Gund foundations underwrite expenses as well.

As they take turns introducing themselves and rattling off what they enjoy most about wintertime, it doesn’t take long for the East End kids to warm up to the HB girls. “My name is Gail. I like to sit down with my family and watch Christmas movies,” says a 9-year-old girl with a quiet smile. “My favorite is ’Elf.’” “I like to roll around in snow!” blurts out 6-year-old Dominique. All of the children at East End are clad in white polo shirts and blue jumpers or khaki pants and cardigans – uniforms required by eight different public, parochial, and charter schools in this section of the city. Gail attends the Cleveland Arts and Social Sciences Academy; Dominique is in kindergarten at Woodland Academy. It’s only 3:45, but the members of the After-School Program already have eaten dinner. They’ve served themselves from a hot buffet stocked with Sloppy Joes on wheat buns, spaghetti, carrots, potato puffs, and milk. “For years, we had been offering kids healthy snacks,” explains Program Manager Tamika Herndon. “But we found that many of them didn’t have anything else to eat at home at night. So we decided to pilot a program that allows us to provide full, balanced dinners. The kids are no longer going home hungry, and we know that we have done our job.” Healthy eating is on the agenda for HB’s Peer Educators as well. After all of the introductions, seniors Maya Ahuja and Melanie Heyside begin the academic portion of the four-part program they’ve been planning for the last few months. They are describing the nutritional value and some of the health benefits of eating dried cranberries at snack time, rather than reaching for highly processed foods and fattening sugary treats. “You might have eaten cranberry sauce a few weeks ago at Thanksgiving,” Melanie says. “This is just that same fruit in another form. You can find cranberries at most grocery stores and you can eat them plain, or use them to make muffins or pancakes or cookies.” Some of the other Peer Educators shake dried cranberries out of bags and into Styrofoam bowls. They encourage the children to try a few. The Peer Education trips to East End always are centered around healthy seasonal ingredients. In October, they focused on pumpkins. Last year, they highlighted apples, oranges, and oatmeal. “I’ve had these before!” exclaims 5-year-old Zania, a kindergartner from Cleveland School of the Arts who is sampling a handful of cranberries. “They’re kind of like raisins,” says 9-year-old Mizaiah, a third-grader from Phoenix Village Academy. Six-year-old Dominique pops one in her mouth, scrunches up her nose, and asks where she can find the nearest garbage can. HB’s Peer Education group was formed in 2011 through a unique partnership between Director of the Center for Civic Engagement Stephanie Hiedemann and Director of Physical Education Denise

Keary. The idea for an outreach wellness program had been percolating for a few years, and the Innovation Derby launched at HB in the wake of the 2010 Education Innovation Summit became the springboard. Hiedemann and Keary’s proposal was accepted, and they were given the time and other resources they needed to create the framework for the program that’s now in full swing at East End. At the start of the school year, girls in grades 10-12 are invited to apply to become Peer Educators. They fill out a questionnaire, obtain faculty references, and are personally interviewed by Hiedemann and Keary. Those who make the cut must commit to visiting East End at least five times, and they must bring a fair amount of maturity, seriousness, and joy to the role. “People count on them,” Keary says. After the children have tasted the cranberries, everyone moves to the East End kitchen to try out an easy new recipe. Peer Educators Zoe Harvan, Jenn Blumer, and Vanessa Smith instruct the children to circle around a large center island where they’ve spread out several wide disposable baking sheets. They pass out small pre-popped bags of low-fat microwave popcorn and ask everyone to work together to

evenly distribute the popcorn across the trays. One bag turns out to be only half popped. Hard kernels loudly ping onto the thin metal pan in rapid succession. A few girls laugh and confer about how to efficiently pick out the seeds. With Jenn’s help, they commandeer an empty baking sheet and pile them up. “Problem. Action. Solution,” declares Mizaiah. “In my time at HB, I’ve been able to join forces with a lot of community service organizations,” says Hiedemann, who has been Director of the school’s Center for Civic Engagement since 2006. “I’ve traveled to El Salvador and Nicaragua and visited sites that promote human rights. I’ve learned about domestic violence prevention and helped support initiatives that champion women’s rights. I’ve learned why it’s important to shop at places that promote fair trade. I’ve seen and done a lot of things. But the biggest ’a-ha’ moment for me happened when I first realized that kids everywhere – no matter who they are, no matter where they come from – all want to be successful.” The next task the HB Peer Education team guides the children through is layering dried cranberries on top of the popcorn. When all the fluffy white kernels are barely visible under the plump, wrinkly

“… kids everywhere – no matter who they are, no matter where they come from – all want to be successful.”

red fruits, Mary Alice Koon ushers the little ones out of the kitchen and back into the dining hall. Zoe, Jenn, and Vanessa get to work lightly drizzling freshly melted chocolate on top of the other ingredients before moving everything into the refrigerator to set. They figure this part of the project will be a little too messy and complicated for small hands.

of families in the Buckeye, Woodland Hills, Fairfax, and Garden Valley sections of Cleveland live below the federal poverty level. The average income for a three-person household is $17,410. For adults, there’s a 49 percent unemployment rate. Fifty-four percent of grandparents are raising their grandchildren. Just seven percent of these kids begin their education in nursery school or preschool; and only 33 percent graduate from high school.

Every year, 20 or so families make use of the After-School Program at East End Neighborhood House, according to Program Manager Herndon. Most of those families enroll in the Before-School Program as well. For a fee of less than $100, the children receive transportation to and from school, hot meals, and homework assistance, and they can take part in a host of enrichment activities, including long-distance summer

field trips to places such as Washington, D.C. Each school morning, parents drop their children off at East End beginning at 6:30 a.m. After school, a bus picks them up and brings them back to the center. After they’ve had dinner and finished their homework, most of the kids do not head home until 6 p.m. Herndon has worked at East End for a little more than a decade. In that time, she’s seen a lot of changes in the neighborhood. “This

is a transient community,” she says. “People move in and out a lot. And we’ve continually had to restructure our programs to meet their needs.” The demographic statistics for the area surrounding the Van Sweringens’ one-time summer home are incredibly sobering. Ninety percent of families live below the federal poverty level. The average income for a three-person household in the Buckeye, Woodland Hills, Fairfax, and Garden Valley sections of Cleveland is $17,410. For adults, there’s a 49 percent unemployment rate. Fifty-four percent of grandparents are raising their grandchildren. Just seven percent of these kids begin their education in nursery school or preschool; and only 33 percent graduate from high school.

Last February, HB received the prestigious Paul Hill Jr. Community Service Award, named in honor of the man who served as President and CEO of East End Neighborhood House for more than 30 years. The award was given specifically in recognition of the Peer Education Program and its promotion of health and wellness for children in East End’s After-School Program. The commemorative plaque announces that the HB students have demonstrated that they are people who are “willing to make a difference” and who have committed to partnering with East End on behalf of its mission and services to the community. “What I like best about the Peer Education Program is the fact that it really is driven by peers – students who might come from different walks of life, but who all bring something meaningful to the equation,” says HB’s Keary. “Every time we leave East End, I have a smile on my face. I can see that all of the kids have become friends with people they might otherwise not have known. It’s always a highfive moment.” The final item on the December Peer Education agenda is to make a small craft. HB senior Ellen Coticchia passes out giant squares of white paper and several pairs of safety scissors. She explains how to fold the paper and directs the children to cut notches at various angles to make pretty snowflakes. Most of the kids say they’ve done this kind of project before at school so they know all sorts of tricks to make their designs look interesting and artistic.

It’s time for the Peer Educators to collect their supplies and catch the bus back to HB, too. They promise that they’ll be back after the holidays. Gail gives everyone a hug. Tamara tells the group of HB seniors that she can hardly wait to see them again. Herndon deeply appreciates the time the HB Peer Educators spend working with her students at East End throughout the year. “They’ve been a great addition to our program, encouraging kids to develop healthy eating habits, participate in healthy activities, expand their horizons, and try new things,” she says. “Anything small or big you can do to help others see things in a new way can make a real change in someone’s life.” Hiedemann and Keary acknowledge that it may not seem like much for the students to spend occasional afternoons learning, creating, and playing together. But the two have witnessed firsthand how these Peer Education experiences have allowed HB and East End participants to forge truly powerful and genuine connections with each other. “It’s important for the HB girls to see that there are others who are less fortunate than they are, but this partnership really goes both ways,” East End’s Herndon explains. “When they are with the Peer Educators, our kids are discovering that other things can exist for them. If they work hard, study, and apply themselves, maybe one day they too can be students at a school like Hathaway Brown.”

To learn more about this and other initiatives overseen by HB’s Center for Civic Engagement, please visit www.hb.edu/civic.

While the cranberry-popcorn-chocolate snack mix cools, Melanie and Mary Alice Koon decide that it’s time to give the children a little exercise. Because it’s too cold and wet to be outside, they ask everyone to sit cross-legged in a circle to play Pop, Pop, Popcorn – a creative spin they’ve developed on the old grade-school standby of Duck, Duck, Goose. Laughter and good-natured teasing fill the air as the group strategizes ways to knock competitors out of their seats and “into the pond,” the spot in the middle of the circle where they’re banished if they’re tagged before making it back to their seats. Mary Alice continually finds herself being sent into the pond. Each time it happens, Dominique follows her to give her a hug.

The clock has jumped to 5 p.m. and the children are getting tired. Some gather their things for the bus ride home. But before they leave, the Peer Educators who have been working in the kitchen for the last 35 minutes emerge with small plastic bags filled with the cranberrypopcorn-chocolate snack mix and they begin to pass them out. These treats are intended to be an evening snack, but hardly anyone can resist the urge to eat their portions right away. The reviews are universally positive, and the HB students accommodate several requests for additional take-home bags. Even little Dominique says she likes cranberries when they’re prepared this way. She proclaims that she’s going to tell all her kindergarten classmates that the dried fruit tastes great when you mix it with popcorn. “Plus I really like chocolate,” she says.

giving history

n 1908, a Hathaway Brown student wrote: “We should give, not because giving is an obligation of every generous person, not as a proof of our unselfishness, but through real love of humanity. All our gifts will then be the expression of our love, and we shall indeed feel the real blessedness of giving.” Concern for the community has long been a hallmark of an HB education. The school’s Order of Willing Service (OWS) was officially launched at HB in 1901. The program called upon young women to engage in “unselfish and willing service” at school and in the larger community. The club was also established to “obtain a practical knowledge of local benevolent institutions, to develop a spirit of charity, and to help others help themselves.” The Brownie Club, which started meeting in 1896 to sew and discuss ways to raise money for worthy causes, may have served as the model for the OWS. In the early 1900s, the OWS supported the Consumers’ League of Ohio, which orchestrated consumer boycotts to dramatize the need for protective legislation for women. In 1905, the HB student organization became a member of the League. A passage in the 1909 Specularia noted the relationship between Cleveland’s prosperity and its nonnative labor force, applauding public libraries and public schools for their efforts in helping to assimilate these new neighbors. “In each of these fields of labor we should take a broad-minded interest; and we should stand ready and willing to help them in every possible way; not only with financial support, but also with sympathy, and the giving of our own personalities to their problems and difficulties.” In 1910, HB launched a series of intramural athletic games. One particularly anticipated game pitted the juniors against the seniors in basketball. School administrators charged

admission, with all the proceeds — $50 — earmarked for the Order of Willing Service. During World War I, HB students continued to focus on fund raising, voting to support 10 French orphans. It was an ambitious commitment that they worked hard to keep by knitting for the Red Cross and setting aside their spending money to invest in government war bonds. Owners of lostand-found items were assessed 10 cents to retrieve them, and seniors agreed to auction off the Senior Room to the highest bidder. It also was suggested that loud talking or tardiness might be fined, with those funds going to the OWS. In 1929, Latin teacher and associate principal Grace Waymouth proposed a Carnival as the school’s main fundraising activity. The girls set up a fishpond, a doll exhibit, and variety shows. Carnival continued to be a bright spot during the hard times of the 1930s. In 1932, in addition to voting to donate monies to the Associated Charities, the Order decided to set aside some Carnival funds for scholarships to be given to students whose families needed help with tuition. The OWS continued unabated on its mission across the ensuing decades, until it was dismantled in the 1970s, when students longed for a program that included more handson activities. Numerous service and philanthropic clubs and curricular activities sprang up in the wake of the OWS, and the Center for Service Learning (now called the Center for Civic Engagement) was established with the birth of the Middle School GROW Foundation in 2000. These historical excerpts have been taken from the book Tradition and Transformation: A History of Educating Girls at Hathaway Brown School, 1876-2006, written by Virginia P. Dawson and Mark D. Bowles, with a foreword by Head of School William Christ.

Never Too Little to Make a Big Difference Primary School students in kindergarten through fourth grade like to do their part to help the broader community throughout the year. In the fall, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the Democracy in Action Choice class raised funds for relief efforts. The girls learned that people help each other in a democracy when there is a crisis. The eight third- and fourth-graders in the class launched a coin collection called “Nickels for New York and New Jersey,” and they got permission to host a $1 Dress-Down Day with their fellow students. When all was said and done, they raised $366.86 on their own, which was donated to the American Red Cross. At Thanksgiving, they brought in canned goods for the school-wide Legacy Day drive, which netted 2,002 non-perishable food items for the East End Neighborhood House, The Cleveland Foodbank, West Side Catholic Center, and Transitional Housing, Inc. In December, Prime kids collected 50 coats, along with hats, gloves, and other winter clothing for students at Cleveland’s Willow Elementary School. And they’re planning several volunteer Family Nights to serve meals at the Cleveland Foodbank in the spring.

common Photo by Vanessa Butler

bonds

Through the Institute for 21st Century Education and the Center for Civic Engagement, Hathaway Brown faculty and students have joined forces with members of nearly 100 Northeast Ohio agencies

the Seed

The only youth philanthropy organization to be highlighted at the 2012 Ohio Grantmakers Forum conference was a team from Hathaway Brown. GROW Foundation president Lina Ghosh ’17 and Mary Alice Koon ’13 spoke during a November 14 session called “From Poverty to Prosperity.” The girls gained their expertise through their association with a unique student-run organization that has branches in the Middle and Upper schools at HB. GROW – Girls Reaching Others Worldwide – raises funds to bestow as grants to selected organizations in Northeast Ohio and around the globe. The foundation is led by faculty advisors Laura Zappas, Carrie Reilly, and Stephanie Hiedemann. The GROW team also was selected as one of 10 organizations statewide to present a short speech expressing their passion for philanthropy during Ohio Grantmakers Forum’s final luncheon celebration. Since 2000, GROW has raised more than $45,000 and awarded $35,000 to worthy causes. Students learn about the investment side of philanthropy, conduct fundraising activities throughout the school year, and solicit and analyze proposals. The foundation is a central part of HB’s service learning program. The GROW Foundation is supported by the Sally Tremaine North 1937 Memorial Endowment Fund. A member of the Mary E. Raymond Legacy Society, North was a civic activist who volunteered her time and resources for many nonprofit organizations, including St. Luke’s Hospital in Cleveland, where she served for more than 60 years.

those listed below. 2100 Lakeside Men’s Emergency Shelter * Achievement Centers for Children * All Faiths Pantry * CEOGC Head Start * Cleveland Animal Protective League * Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation * Cleveland Foodbank * Cleveland Metropolitan School District * Domestic Violence Center of Greater Cleveland * East End Neighborhood House * Esperanza Threads * Facing History and Ourselves * Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center * Fill This House * The Gathering Place * Hamlet Village * Hattie Larlham Center for Disabilities * Hospice of the Western Reserve * Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland * Interfaith Hospitality Network * International Partners in Mission * InterReligious Task Force on Central America * Judson at University Circle * Labre Project at Saint Ignatius High School * LifeBanc * MedWorks * Monarch Center for Autism * Montefiore * New Avenues to Independence * NewBridge * Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital * Rainey Institute * Reach Out and Read * Rescue Village * Revive Fair Trade * St. Luke’s Foundation * StandUp for Kids – Cleveland * Sunbeam School * Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio * Ten Thousand Villages * Transitional Housing, Inc. * Youth Challenge * YWCA of Greater Cleveland

Planting

and organizations, including 15

by Maya Ahuja ’13 Delivered to the HB student body at the school’s annual Thanksgiving Assembly, November 20, 2012

ne of the most rewarding 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.

Photo by Jason Miller

HB 17

numbers count * M ichael

This year, working with the Center for Civic Engagement and spurred on by a report showing that life expectancy in some parts of Cleveland is only half what it is in nearby suburbs, Hathaway Brown 11th graders will be looking at health indicators across Greater Cleveland to try to tease out the impacts of various factors on the overall well-being of a community. This effort will use data from the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEO CANDO) platform, compiled by the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and the Poverty Center at Case Western Reserve University. The goal of NEO CANDO is to help support people and organizations to make data-based, information-based decisions. In 2011-2012, in collaboration with HB’s Center for Sustainability, Statistics and Precalculus students collected data to determine the impact of transportation

B uescher *

of students to and from HB in order to determine the school’s carbon footprint. This involved work that can’t be learned from a textbook; students discussed the nuances of question wording and what to do with incomplete data or poorly formatted information. And in 2010-2011, the Algebra II classes looked at a variety of variables related to school performance on state report cards. Every student collected data for two school districts, and combined it into a single spreadsheet. Individual students each chose one explanatory variable and one response variable, graphed the data, calculated a regression line, and made predictions. Finally, the classes as a whole compared graphs and calculations to see what variables had the most impact on school performance. Visit www.hb.edu/magazine to view graphs demonstrating the students’

findings of the impact of various variables on the percentage of students scoring “Advanced” on their Ohio Graduation Tests. A casual inspection shows that as median family income in a community rises, there is an increase in the number of students reaching this level. There is a slightly weaker relationship with the percentage of enrolled students who are economically disadvantaged, suggesting that the economic impact is more a reflection of the larger community than only those students currently enrolled. The percentage of teachers with Masters’ degrees, on the other hand, has a somewhat weaker relationship. Of course, policy decisions can impact the education level of the teachers in a school district; they can’t do much about income levels in the larger community, at least in the short term. The girls also found that as the percentage of single parents in a community increases, the graduation rate decreases. They did not

discover a cause-and-effect relationship; however, it is more likely that these are intertwined with other factors such as poverty and the education levels of earlier generations. The students’ overall conclusion was that the strongest impact on OGT results was the test-taker’s school attendance. Simply showing up for school made a real difference. Of course, recent revelations about doctored attendance records in several Northeast Ohio districts mean that the underlying data may be flawed. But that’s another life lesson about statistics!

Hathaway Brown’s Director of the Center for Global Citizenship Joe Vogel has been appointed Executive Director of the Global Education Benchmark Group, a consortium of independent school educators in the United States. The GEBG was founded in 2008 to collect data to assess outcomes and practices in order to create nationwide standard for global education both on and off campus, and to promote the development of global citizens in independent schools and beyond through global curriculum, experiences, and institutional support. “It is an incredible honor and privilege to serve as the director of the GEBG, which has quickly grown to more than 80 top independent schools that collaborate and share best practices on a daily basis,” Vogel says. “The GEBG continues to gain national stature as we help to establish the standards for global education in the States.” The 2012 C. Frederick Snook Coach of the Year Award has been given to HB Middle School History Department Chair and Upper School Speech & Debate Coach Jason Habig. This honor is bestowed annually on the most deserving speech and debate educators in the North Coast District. Habig, who oversees a group of more than 60 HB students in grades 9–12, was lauded for steadily assembling the third largest team in the area. He also has served as the District Chairman for the National Forensic League for the last four years.

At HB, the fun doesn’t stop when the school year ends. We offer a wide array of academic, adventure, athletics, and enrichment programs throughout the summer for boys and girls of all ages. Learn more and register today at

www.hb.edu/summer. Photo by Martha Strong ’12

The standard 11th grade mathematics course at HB is Statistics and Precalculus. Statistical work has a natural real-world orientation. The introduction of student-owned laptops means that students have even more power and data available every day. Buescher’s objective is to use this natural orientation toward data and real-world applications and make it local and relevant. Whenever possible, he ties this annual data-analysis project to the school theme for the year.

Faculty Honors