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5000 Clubside Road
Lyndhurst, Ohio 44124-2595
440.423.4446
12465 County Line Road, P.O. Box 8002
Gates Mills, Ohio 44040-8002
440.423.4446
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The Added Value of Co-Education
Hawken School is first and foremost a community—one of
engaged learners, of activists and one that reflects the world
in which we live.
As a coeducational institution committed to the celebration
of all types of people and cultures, we believe in creating
classrooms that embrace the most basic form of diversity in
our world—males and females working together. At Hawken,
children learn to problem solve and to understand how each
other, of both genders, think and feel.
Hawken faculty firmly believes that the enhanced educational
value intrinsic to our coeducational program is one that develops
global citizens. They become young people who are ready to
be positive, active learners in a worldwide classroom populated
by men and women—risk takers, debaters, Olympic competitors,
champions of their peers and those who ask the tough questions...people very similar to their Hawken selves.
Since 1915, Hawken has been a school that has embraced change
without sacrificing our focus on the learner. Whether it was
adding a high school in the 1960s, becoming coed in the 1970s
or growing our Lower School with the addition of Pre-school
classes in the 1980s, Hawken has consistently initiated programs
that continue to stress the importance of the individual while
creating a wider, more inclusive community of learners.
- A sophomore girl founded Cleveland Brain Gain, a
non-profit organization that seeks to educate students
about the exciting career opportunities Cleveland offers.
Its goal is to encourage talented college graduates to
return to Cleveland to begin their careers.
- Three Hawken students, two girls and a boy, were
chosen to compete in swimming for Team Cleveland
at the International Children's Games in Coventry,
England in July, 2005. One girl took home two
silver medals and one bronze.
- Three ninth grade girls won a 2005 President's
Environmental Youth Award, presented by President
Bush, for their efforts to protect the watershed
habitats of the Ohio brook trout; the students also
received a $10,000 grant from Seaworld.
- Two Hawken seniors, one girl and a boy, were
among the top 20 Lincoln-Douglas debaters at the
National Forensic League National Speech
Tournament in Philadelphia in spring 2005. Hawken
was the only school in the United States to have
two students finish in the top 20.
What Parents Say
“….Hawken taught me to become both a caring leader,
and a careful and thoughtful follower. As a result, the coed
experience at Hawken, as well as its unparalleled diversity,
made Hawken the only choice for our son and daughter.”
“Not only did I gain confidence in my strengths, but
I also gained strength in my weaknesses. Because of my Hawken
experience, I have never felt uncomfortable or disadvantaged
in any environment, and indeed, have learned how to level
all playing fields.”
Dr. Susan E. Stephens ’78, Orthopedic surgeon
“…the best place for my children was at Hawken as
I trust our teachers at Hawken to know our children and to
have a keen sense of awareness of how kids learn, regardless
of gender.”
Rory Beck, Hawken Parent
“As an educator and parent, I value coeducation because
it mimics the real world. From the youngest ages, children
notice and appreciate differences, whether related to gender,
size, shape or color. As the children get older, there are
ample opportunities for boys and girls to connect comfortably
in social situations and work side by side in competitive
academic venues. Coeducation is the training ground for
future successful personal relationships and fulfilling
professional choices”
Kathie MacEwan, Director of the Lower School, Hawken Parent
What Faculty Say
“If you walk into any math course at Hawken you will
hear that girls are being asked the higher order questions
and are answering them with remarkable answers. It is my
observation that the girls and boys push each other but
also work together.”
Carrie Barnabei, Math Department Chair
“I think it is also very important that girls and boys
both have positive male and female role models. The faculty
of the math and science departments are strong reflections
of ‘girls and boys’ working well together.”
Carrie Barnabei, Math Department Chair
“I want my own children to be ready for the future no
matter who they are. I want them to understand how they are
different yet be ready to put that aside to make a difference.”
“I ask is it possible to prepare the leaders of the future,
the ‘globalized’ world, without immersing students
in a diverse environment that demands people of different
backgrounds work together? I believe not.”
Brian Hart, History Teacher and Hawken Parent
“One of the most important pieces of advice that my
grandfather gave to me was about the need to try to find
balance in all that I did. Too much or too little of something
was not healthy or normal. With this thinking in mind, it
seems to me that coed provides the most normal of choices.”
Nadja Deighan, Director of Student Affairs and Community Service
What Students Say
“Coed schools not only provide more realistic working
and learning atmospheres, but also make interactions with
those of the opposite sex more normal….at an all girls
school, girls have boyfriends. At a coeducational school,
girls not only have boyfriends but friends who are boys.”
Claire Cooley ‘06
“Growing up in an environment hat reflects the diversity
of the real world better prepares students for their future.
For me, single sex school was never an option…Here
at Hawken, we learn from each other, we care about each
other.”
Beth Bacon‘06
“At Hawken, since we were six, we have been working together,
and playing together—we have gotten to know each other
since we were little…we are friends.”
Catherine Kachurek ‘06
What Others Say
“When a child is exposed to the opposite gender in the
formative years of elementary school and early adolescence,
she or he demythologizes the 'other' and discovers that one’s
ability and character define one’s success in life, not
predefined social roles…”
“Whether your child is timid or zealous, studious or
athletic, artistic or tone-deaf, learning to live with the
opposite gender nearby is clearly an asset in preparing
for the wide world beyond school.”
“The impact of enlightened teaching far outweighs
the implied benefits of single-gender classrooms; young
women are being equally challenged and respected in quality
coeducational schools across the country….”
Anthony Sherer, Former Head of School, St. Edmund’s Academy,
PA
“The coed environment encourages females to compete with
males. Females perform better when challenged by the complete
spectrum of male and female talents.”
Finding by Robert Sternberg, Yale Psychology and Education
Professor in a study on self-esteem in young women
“The questions isn’t “Which is the best
school?” It should always be, “Which is the best
school for my daughter or son?” And the question isn’t
“Which is better- coeducation or single gender?”
It’s “Which is better- coeducation or a single
gender school - for my son or daughter?” Study, visit,
compare- and find the right match for your child. And for
coeducation you will Hawken, a real life, real world school
that is, I think, one of the best schools you will find
anywhere.”
Peter Relic, Former Head of the National Association of Independent
Schools, Former Hawken Administrator and Present Trustee
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