EXPLORING PURPOSE

The Institute for Social Impact is built on core values that serve as its principles and beliefs, guiding every decision and action. Designed as an expansion of the School’s service learning program, the Institute allows students to engage with diverse partners, learn from civic leaders, and make a direct impact on the community around them. The key differences between a traditional community service model and the Institute for Social Impact are found in both the focus of the program and the ways in which programming and core values are integrated throughout a student’s Hockaday experience.

“Through the Institute, we try to integrate the values and goals of Social Impact through every aspect of our students’ day and build on skills as they get older,“ said Laura Day, William B. Dean Director of Service Learning; Executive Director of the Institute for Social Impact.

Leadership

We recognize that today’s students have the potential to be leaders, not just in the future, but now.

Empathy

We seek to understand others and do so by working to abandon our assumptions and participating in honest, open dialogue.

Community

We are committed to supporting all members of our community in reaching their greatest potential.

Innovation

We keep a pulse on emerging practices and trends and believe in pursuing creative ideas that have the potential to change the world.

A DAISY’S PATH THROUGH SOCIAL IMPACT

As a Hockaday girl grows and learns, she builds on skills developed through the Institute for Social Impact, which are incorporated into all aspects of her School experience. By the time she graduates, she is ready and inspired to lead a life of purpose and impact.

PRE-K Our Community

Students learn about our Hockaday community and focus on connecting with and showing kindness to all the different people who help them.

• Meet and thank our support staff

• Get to know our Boarding students on a playground playdate

• Plant flowers and delivering them

KINDER / PRIMER

The Elderly

Students learn about ways to connect with the elderly in our community.

• Create decorations for senior housing centers

• Work with Meals on Wheels to create holiday cards

• Collect essential needs items and assembling into bags

• Take PE and Art classes with seniors

“ The Hockaday Institute for Social Impact is an important pillar in our community, educating students today in the ways they can lead now and inspiring them to do so in the future, no matter their professions. Students have the opportunity to pursue ideas that change the way our communities work—for the better.

Ways To Engage

CAMPUS VISIT

COMMUNITY SERVICE CLUBS DESIGN THINKING DRIVE FUNDRAISER INDEPENDENT STUDY INTERNSHIP

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP SERVICE PROJECT

SKILLS-BUILDING

SIMULATIONS & IMMERSIONS

SOCIAL IMPACT COURSE

STUDENT-RUN SERVICE PROJECT

Lower School

Each grade level in Lower School features a Social Impact theme that directly aligns with the four pillars that define the Institute for Social Impactcommunity engagement community service, service learning, and social entrepreneurship. These lessons and activities emphasize real-world experiences and outcomes, including advocacy skills, community interactions, and hands-on practice in designing solutions, while at the same time, exploring purpose and building empathy.

Students at each grade level take part (at minimum) in an impact field trip, a campus visit, and a service project according to their grade’s theme. Families are also offered optional weekend projects, grade-level party projects, and projects specifically for parents. “We empower the girls to believe they can achieve anything, and that limitless potential authentically shines through when they see the impact they are having on the community,” said Taylor Miller Third Grade teacher. “Whether that’s learning about social entrepreneurship, supporting local food drives, or raising money to provide PPE to kids all over the world, they are making a difference.”

SPOTLIGHT: EMPATHY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

After hearing about the threats facing endangered African penguins — and Dallas Zoo's efforts to save them in the wild through the artificial nesting project — First and Fourth Graders got to work on their own projects to inspire and educate others about these topics. The First Grade students crafted educational posters to illustrate the challenges that penguins face in the wild due to loss of nesting habitats; the Fourth Graders designed and built their very own artificial nest prototypes that they presented at an exhibition, attended by penguin experts from the Dallas Zoo.

Both classes also had the opportunity to meet with people at the Dallas Zoo who work with South African penguins in Dallas, but also work with a group of penguin experts in South Africa via Zoom. They were able to hear from and ask questions of experts about the problem and about some of the unique challenges faced by the South African penguin.

LEARN MORE

About Social Impact in the Lower School

FIRST GRADE Animals

First Graders partner with local organizations, including Operation Kindness, the Dallas Zoo, Joppy Farm, and Canine Companions, to see ways animals affect our daily lives.

• Raise chickens from eggs to donate to a local farm in a food desert

• Learn about therapeutic animals

• Create penguin habitats in conjunction with experts from the Dallas Zoo

• Collect items for dog shelters and reading to animals in shelters to reduce their anxiety

SECOND GRADE The Environment

Second Grade students focus on ways to sustain our environment and begin learning about how to start a social enterprise business.

• Partner with Trinity River Audubon Center and 12 Hills Nature Center for river cleanup

• Prepare the Lower School garden for planting

• Meet with Frost Bank and Hari Mari about the process of applying for a loan and starting a business

• Launch a business selling reusable grocery bags, and donating proceeds to an environmentally focused organization

• Build an air pollution detector and tracking carbon emission data during carpool times

THIRD GRADE Hunger

Third Graders learn about the process of food production and what a food desert is, and use design thinking to direct food toward those who need it.

• Take part in a Social Entrepreneurship unit where students create their own business in partnership with an Upper School Biology class

• Learn about UNICEF and participate in a “trick-or-treat for good” to raise money

• Visit Bonton Farms and Feed My Starving Children to learn about food production and food deserts in Dallas

• Lead and organize a grade-wide food drive to make backpacks for local elementary school partners who are on the waiting list for the weekend food programs

FOURTH GRADE Community Engagement

In Fourth Grade, students build empathy by partnering with homeless shelters, head start programs, and reading groups.

• Learn about homeless shelters and create blankets for children at Jonathan’s Place

• Partner with The Inclusion Project to discover different kinds of inclusion, including a two-hour simulation about learning differences and physical disabilities

• Visit DISD school, donate books, and read to students. Learn about the purpose of head start programs and the 20-million-word gap

Middle School

Students in Middle school build the leadership skills outlined in the five outcomes and engage in authentic real-world opportunities for impact through Social Impact-designated courses, Social Impact clubs, leadership opportunities, and class projects. Each grade level offers a rigorous course connecting academics to real-world application and problem-solving. “Our Daisies recognize their capacity to identify problems and use Design Thinking to work to solve them,” said Head of Middle School Nicole Escudero Christenson “They are learning to be powerful agents of compassion and empathy.”

Beyond class themes and projects, Middle School students can engage with the Institute for Social Impact in other ways. This year, Close Up and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools will bring together Middle School students, including Hockaday girls, from around the world to build inclusive communities, develop the skills needed for active citizenship, and learn from the stories, the successes, and the setbacks of other young changemakers. Seventh and Eighth Graders can join the Social Impact Club, where they engage in Design Thinking to build leadership skills and create impact within Hockaday and the greater community. Fifth through Eighth Grade students are part of Social Impact Leaders, and attend four sessions throughout the year designed to build leadership skills in students and help them develop the five outcomes. In addition, our Middle School Robotics program has a Social Impact slant, as they take on a problem that impacts the world and meets with experts to make their vision a reality.

SPOTLIGHT: SCIENCE AND SOCIAL IMPACT

In Seventh Grade, the Institute for Social Impact repurposes an entire day to focus to the science curriculum involving wind power, and the Social Impact theme of food insecurity. First, students design and build wind-powered cell phone chargers for the community at CitySquare in Dallas, a nonprofit that offers a comprehensive array of social services. Students will go to CitySquare to build empathy around the theme of food access, and while at CitySquare, residents will provide the students with feedback about their wind-powered chargers. Students take the feedback and experience back to Hockaday with them to engage in an impact-a-thon where students work in groups to develop solutions. “Giving students a challenge and then using curriculum and real-world field trips to help build empathy and solve the problems deepens learning,” said Laura Day Executive Director of the Institute for Social Impact.

Fifth Grade

Theme: Homelessness

Social Impact Course: World Geography

Fifth Graders begin to explore the different facets of homelessness and learning what our city does about homelessness. After talking through different issues, students begin to think about solutions.

• Connect with CitySquare, a nonprofit offering a comprehensive array of social services that address four key areas related to the persistence of poverty: hunger, health, housing, and hope

• Tour Family Gateway, a nonprofit that provides stability and life-changing supportive services to children and families affected by homelessness

Sixth Grade

Theme: Water Social Impact Course: English

Sixth Grade students study issues facing our oceans, rivers, and local water sources, and work on ways to advocate for cleaner water in our community.

• Learn about issues surrounding global access to water

• Create advocacy posters for the Hockaday campus about water

• Hear from Paper for Water, a local nonprofit that teaches children about the world water crisis, and raises money to fund water wells worldwide

Seventh Grade

Theme: Food Access

Social Impact Course: Science

Seventh Graders go deeper into food insecurity in Dallas, and work with local nonprofits to create solutions and learn more.

• Create a human map of food deserts in Dallas

• Build windmills in science to power homeless populations’ cell phones

• Pack snack bags for DISD after-school programs

• Tour CitySquare and learn more about food insecurity

Eighth Grade

Theme: Community Engagement

Social Impact Course: English

Eighth Grade students prepare to enter Upper School by focusing on ways to engage deeper in their community.

• Listen to Upper School Social Impact panel

• Focus on finding an issue and purpose that is personally meaningful

Upper School

Courses with the Social Impact designation directly align with the four pillars of community engagement, community service, service learning, and social entrepreneurship that define the Institute for Social Impact. These courses emphasize real-world experiences and outcomes such as strong advocacy skills, increased community interactions, and hands-on practice in designing solutions, while exploring purpose and building empathy. Throughout each course, students will complete alternative assessments to evaluate 21st century skills such as empathy creativity collaboration and purpose as well as measure the overall social impact experienced by our community partners.

For interested students, Hockaday has repurposed a portion of the school day to allow students to volunteer off and on campus through recurring programs, such as tutoring and volunteering with local nonprofit organizations. Students attend a recurring programs assembly in September to learn about the opportunities and then can choose to participate throughout the year. Students can also engage with the Institute for Social Impact through Athletics and Fine Arts partnerships.

Many graduating seniors cite their Upper School Social Impact work as some of the most meaningful experiences they have at Hockaday. Following a Literature of Minorities class trip to T.R. Hoover Center and Bonton Farms, Eleanor Lockhart ’22 remarked, “Today was the most impactful trip I’ve gone on during my time at Hockaday.”

Mathematics

Integrated Math III Enriched

Establish a partnership with Marsh Preparatory Academy, a public school serving students from predominately low-income families

Statistics

Collaborate and engage in a class where data combined with mathematical ideas transform the way one looks at the world

History

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Economics and Social Entrepreneurship

Participate in a class based in economic principals and the incubation of a business

U.S. History: Public Perspectives and Community Action

Examine the historical processes of America’s past with a focus on how individual stories and narratives are used to shape our present

U.S. Government

Participate in a civics based class that features lecturers from city, state, and federal government

Global Issues

Collaborate in a current events seminar and grapple with major sociopolitical issues facing our world today

Science

Biology, Impact, and the Zoo

Engage in a biology class that includes collaboration with a local public high school, culminating in a Shark Tank pitch presentation

Environmental Chemistry

Learn and apply chemistry in the context of societal issues

AP Environmental Science

Partner with Trinity River Audobon Center to find ways to preserve native species

Social Impact Synthesis

An ever-changing class that keeps up with future trends

Neuroscience

Learn how the brain functions and develop skills to synthesize information in order to solve problems

World Languages

Spanish in the Community Partner with the Dallas Spanish-speaking community through practicum work in education, geriatrics, and healthcare

Fine Arts

Chamber Orchestra

Apply musical knowledge and skills to design and teach a weekly music enrichment course for a local public elementary school without access to music education

Hockaday Theater Company: Drama

Perform and teach the art of drama and storytelling at a local public elementary school to enrich access to performing arts

Dance Lab and Dance Theater

Designed for the intermediate/advanced dancer who wishes to explore a variety of dance techniques in greater depth. Share the joy of dance throughout the Dallas community with performances and student-led dance projects with partner elementary schools

English

Before “Me Too”: Literature as Protest

Explore novels that concentrate on the empowerment of women and build empathy through shared experiences and storytelling

Literature of Minorities

Explore the powerful works of Black, Muslim, Jewish, Hispanic, and other ethnic, religious, and cultural authors and interrogate the category of “minority” to enhance advocacy writing skills

“I’ve gained the ability to empathize with different demographics, whether or not I personally identify with them. In every volunteer event I’ve participated in, I’ve been encouraged to think about who I am impacting and how my actions are seen from their perspective. What does this mean to the person who is on the receiving end of my service? That perspective is invaluable and will continue to inspire me in any act of service I do in the future.

PREMANSHI AGARWALLA ’22

SPOTLIGHT: THE WRITING CENTER

Hockaday’s Writing Center, which launched in 2019, helps students become effective critical thinkers, analytical writers, and persuasive communicators so they are prepared for the writing demands of all academic disciplines and of life. Lisa Fisher, Director of the Writing Center, has been working with the Institute for Social Impact to expand the reach of the Writing Center beyond Hockaday.

“Sharing our passion for writing with the community outside of Hockaday aligns with the Writing Center’s purpose of encouraging an appreciation of writing as a skill and way of learning for everyone,” she said.

The Writing Center began partnering with the Institute for Social Impact last year through a mentorship program with Foster Elementary School. “I work with a fifth grader to develop his writing skills,” said Libby Warren (Class of 2023). “Every Monday, we discuss pillars of storytelling such as character development, plot, and setting. No matter our neighborhood, age, or background, each of us has an innate love for storytelling.”

Writing Center Interns work with Brighter, a magazine for women affected by cancer. Writing Interns meet regularly with founder Helen Bowles to plan, write, and edit various writing projects. “My experience with Brighter has taught me how to empower others and myself,” said Warren.