Experiential Learning at Hawken
the rise of experiential education I THE Rebékáh was done with Clevèl Trnnslorming ready to move on. As much as she loved her. school and her suburban neighborhood, heo a School plan was to g:o to a big city college and makel that city her home. Then, as a sophomore, she Through took a three-week immersion course on com- munity developnient and urban planning ai Integrated Hawken School's urban extension campus, Thd Sally & Bob Gries Center for Experiential and Experiential Service Learning, located in University Circle, Education the park-likç hub of cultural, educational, relil gious. and niedical institutions in Cleveland, ^^^ed by struggling city neighborhoods. BY SARA MIERKE I the rise of experiential education The course, designed to orient stu- Such significant change was a experiential learning opportunities dents to the harsh realities of many of risky move given the school's flat such as service, animal husbandry, and Cleveland's neighborhoods and find enrollment and revenue in 2005, set outdoor leadership. Slowly, however, solutions, started with an urban trek against the backdrop of a sluggish the school drifted away from this core. and an overnight stay in a church that local economy and declining regional By 2005, the board of trustees recog- serves low-income, distressed, and population. But indicators show the nized the need for dramatic change, homeless people. During the following risk was wise, in spite of the economic and hired a new head of school to turn weeks, Rebekah and her classmates crisis in the intervening years. Today things around. explored how and why University Circle the school is thriving.
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