Hawbridge School Research Paper

The Hawbridge School: A charter school to learn from.

Saxapahaw is a small town in Alamance county known as the old mill town for the Haw River. This small and modest town has no major highway, and can be missed in the blink of an eye. Yet, this quiet town is home to a very unique charter school that shouldn’t be overlooked: the Hawbridge School.

The Hawbridge School was founded in 1998 as an alternative school for students who struggled to keep up in a traditional academic setting. However, 12 years ago, under the guidance of a new Director, the Hawbridge School evolved into the astounding and distinguished school that it is today. The Hawbridge School is a small, yet vibrant and collaborative charter school located in the Old Mill, beside
the Haw River. Much of its curriculum has a focus on environmental issues that enable students to engage in the local community.

Charter schools are different from traditional public schools in a myriad of ways, from funding to school characteristics. This often results in discrepancies between public and charter school’s student output. Students in charter schools are given the attention, creative outlet and resources they need to excel while traditional school students are often limited. These resources allow for charter school students to perform at a better rate than most of their peers on standardized testing.

The Hawbridge school has many characteristics similar to those of other charter schools: for example, its small inclusive environment, and large parent involvement.
However, it also has many characteristics that set it apart not only from traditional public schools, but also from most charter schools. The first of many such characteristics is the amount of community support and student involvement. Because the school is located at the epicenter of the town, in the Old Mill, students can be directly involved in the surrounding community, by taking engaging electives such as tending to the community garden, learning culinary skills at the local restaurant, harvesting and processing clay from a local deposit to make ceramic objects, or even canoeing on the Haw
River.

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The Hawbridge School also receives support from many nearby universities, colleges, and organizations due to its close proximity to the triad. Students are able to engage with lecturers, graduate students, and undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Central Carolina Community College, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden, to name a few.

The Hawbridge school also has an incredibly high level of parental involvement, a characteristic that is found in many charter schools, but is particularly noticeable at the Hawbridge school. Rick Morse, chairman of the board, states that the school “would not survive if not for the significant parental involvement.” Parents and students are required to sign a partnership agreement that stresses the importance of their role in the school’s success. However, parents do not volunteer simply because they are required to, or are asked to do so by the school, but because of the positive impact that they know they are making on the school’s environment and their children’s educational experience. For example, parents not only provide monetary assistance to the school, but also lend their hands and time in proctoring exams, installing and updating equipment for the school, leading weekend excursion trips, and helping with copious other activities.

“I joined the Board because my children are having such a great experience in this school” - Rick Morse, Chair of the Board of Directors

Although the Hawbridge School is a unique charter school, it has faced many problems that other charter schools have faced in the past; problems such as those that arise from a lack of funding and diversity.
Charter schools receive funding directly from their counties based on the number of students they have. Because of this, many charter schools often fall into the trap of expanding too rapidly and losing sight of their mission in an attempt to increase their funding. Likewise, charter schools are not provided money for facilities, transportation, or school lunches, which can severely limit the demographics of students that are able to attend the school. Parents of attending students are required to provide both lunch and daily transportation, without the possibility for financial aid from the
school.

The Hawbridge School strives to overcome financial hurdles and prevent stagnation of student diversity, while upholding its mission. Although the school recently added a pilot 5th grade program, massive expansion is not in the school’s future. The Hawbridge School is instead focused on strengthening its partnerships within the community in order to expand the number of opportunities presented to students. The school currently attracts students from seven different counties in North Carolina, and hopes to increase the number of counties it can serve. The board is also looking into methods of funding transportation for all students who attend, even for those outside of Alamance county. This idea stems from the board member’s belief that income or socioeconomic status should not limit or prevent any students who want to attend the Hawbridge School from doing so.

Service learning, community engagement, high parental involvement, and the retainment of its focus and mission in spite of various struggles are just a few of the factors that allow the Hawbridge School to succeed. Fortunately, other charter and even traditional public schools in the state can emulate these characteristics.

The question remains: Can and will other schools take the initiative to do so?