| Dear Hillbrook families, For more than 85 years, Hillbrook School has provided an extraordinary educational experience that inspires children to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world. From the beginning, we have known that the most authentic and meaningful education happens when you place student choice and engagement at the center of the learning experience. The Village of Friendly Relations, built by our earliest students and located at the heart of our campus, serves as a visible reminder of what children can imagine and create if given the right tools, guidance, and opportunities. The success of our graduates in high school, college and beyond, provides powerful evidence that our approach to education works and that our graduates leave Hillbrook prepared to succeed in school and in life. During the creation of our most-recent strategic plan – Vision 2020 – members of our community consistently asked a variation of the following question: how might we extend the extraordinary educational program we offer through high school? At that moment in the spring of 2016, we were focused on several major initiatives, including the growth of the Middle School and the completion of several major campus projects, such as the building of the Hub. As a result, we decided that the timing was not right for the Board, senior leadership, and community to consider the question of a high school. Six years later, the school has grown, we implemented an innovative new schedule that strengthens our ability to place choice and engagement at the center of the learning experience, we launched the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and we built the Hub. We have also successfully managed through a global pandemic, meeting the unprecedented demands of the moment while continuing to provide an extraordinary educational experience for children. In many ways, the world has changed in the last 24 months, and yet the strength of our school and the compelling vision we offer has not waned. Earlier today, following four years of careful study and inspired by the possibilities for the school’s future, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to approve the expansion of the school from a JK-8 to a JK-12 with the addition of a high school with a target opening date of Fall 2023. Below you’ll find some additional information about the high school, including next steps. While we will shift from a JK-8 to a JK-12 in the years ahead, our vision and mission as a school will remain unchanged. Since our earliest days, we have inspired children to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world. We cannot wait to continue that work with students from four to eighteen, preparing them to thrive in school and in life. Mark Silver Head of School Chuck Hammers Chair, Board of Trustees Shannon Hunt-Scott Chair, Secondary School Exploratory Committee FAQs & More Information Why do we need a Hillbrook High School? We believe that our graduates and other students deserve to have an extraordinary educational experience in high school that builds upon the exceptional foundation we provide for our JK-8 students. The core differentiators for our current program – the placement of choice and engagement at the center of the learning experience, integrated, real world education that challenges students to reach beyond and make a difference in the world, and a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion – would translate seamlessly into a 9-12 environment, allowing us to extend our innovative approach to education into a market in need of a new model of high school education. As we noted in Vision 2020, we are living in a time of dramatic change. As parents, educators, and school communities, we are faced with the challenge of preparing children for a world we cannot yet imagine. The factory model of schooling that rewards compliance and applies a one-size fits all approach to learners no longer meets the needs of today’s students. Too many high schools are teaching the same way and using the same metrics – traditional syllabi, standardized test scores, Advanced Placement exams – that they have been using since the late 20th century, failing to recognize that the same old teaching practices will not provide today’s students with the skills they need to thrive in tomorrow’s world. As we increasingly inhabit a world of rapid change, we know that we must provide children with a set of skills – communication, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity – that will allow them to be able to successfully adapt to any and all challenges that they face. The events of the last two years have only amplified these needs. Many schools, public and private, were caught short amidst the pandemic, unable to deliver the type of learning experience that children needed during this challenging moment. Hillbrook, like we have for more than 80 years, seized the moment, adapting quickly to the new realities and remaining flexible and fluid throughout the pandemic in an effort to best meet the needs of our community. New traditions and practices emerged – virtual Flag with significantly increased student engagement and ownership, Social Impact & Leadership as a core 8th grade capstone course, numerous new outdoor learning spaces – that will continue on beyond the pandemic. While we certainly faced difficult moments along the way, in the end, we continued to provide the support and educational experience that children needed to grow, persevere and thrive. Why Hillbrook? In our market, while there are a variety of high school options, there are no models – a small, independent high school connected to a JK-8 – that look like the one we envision for Hillbrook. The benefits of top independent schools around the Bay Area and the country are well known – environments in which students are known and valued, educational programs that combine academic challenge with meaningful engagement, co-curricular programs that are both excellent and inclusive, and results, including traditional results like college placements and standardized test scores, that are stronger than any other type of school. We are confident that a Hillbrook High School will, like other peer, progressive independent schools across the Bay Area and country, provide an extraordinary educational experience that creates a pathway for students to excel both in school and in life. What’s next? In the months ahead, we will be sharing more details about the high school, including information for our 7th grade families and students about the opportunity to be founding members in the first graduating class in 2027. We look forward to sharing exciting updates with you soon! We anticipate being able to announce the hiring of our founding Upper School Head in the coming month. In addition, we continue to explore a variety of options for potential facilities in downtown San Jose. We have a strong pool of candidates for this position, and we are expecting to have an announcement within the next month. We’re excited to keep the community updated as we make progress on this project. |
Hillbrook Head of School Mark Silver's blogs, podcasts, community updates, and more.