COMMUNITY

Our school serves students from six towns: Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren, and Waterbury. Located in the heart of the Green Mountains, Harwood Union High School is a short drive to the cities of Burlington and Montpelier and to several ski areas including Stowe Mountain Resort, Sugarbush Resort, Mad River Glen, and Bolton Valley. These communities are also home to businesses such as Ben & Jerry’s, Cabot Cheese, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, the Vermont State Office Complex, and many small businesses. Our communities include professionals who commute to Montpelier and Burlington, along with sculptors, artists, writers, chefs, farmers, and business owners, all connected to this unique area and to our Harwood Union school community.

 

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HARWOOD HIGHLIGHTS

 

ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES ~ Harwood offers 10 AP courses.

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CO-CURRICULAR programming is robust and has impressive student involvement in state championship teams, award winning music, theatre, art programs, 37 junior varsity/varsity sports, and 16 student-led clubs.

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EXHIBITIONS OF LEARNING are student led presentations designed to demonstrate growth and progress toward a set of academic and personal goals with evidence highlighting their achievements for the year. Students present each year to a panel of faculty, peers and family members.

 

HARKNESS pedagogy places students at the center of the educational process; it fundamentally shifts the dynamics of the teacher-student relationship and places ownership and initiative for learning on the student. Based on brain research, it is grounded in the principle that “the one who does the work does the learning.”

 

MATH BEST PRACTICES is a research-based approach to designing and implementing math instruction. It centers on fostering student discourse using mathematical habits of interaction and cultivating critical thinking and reflection techniques using mathematical habits of mind.

 

TEACHER ADVISORY ensures every student is known well by a teacher who assists in monitoring progress of their personal and academic goals for success in high school and beyond.

 

ROWLAND FELLOWSHIP ~ Harwood is 1 of 2 schools in Vermont that has been awarded 4 fellowships. The foundation provides grants to implement a vision to transform an aspect of school that positively impacts culture and climate.

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STUDENT LEADERSHIP & VOICE ~ Students are actively involved in leadership that impacts academics, school culture and climate. Students are represented on School Board, Leadership Team, Hiring Committee and other important committees. Students are at the center of leading other students in all co-curricular activities.

 

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PROFICIENCY-BASED TEACHING & LEARNING

Harwood Union High School provides a collaborative, equitable, and personalized learning community designed to meet the needs of all our students. It provides a rigorous proficiency-based system of teaching and learning with clearly defined Learning Expectations that lead to success in college, career and democratic citizenship. The Learning Expectations are: Communication, Creative Expression, Global Citizenship, Inquiry, Integrative Thinking Problem Solving, Reading, Writing, Wellness, and Self-Direction. To meet graduation requirements, students demonstrate proficiency of the ten Learning Expectations through a minimum of the following courses and/or by accessing equivalent learning through Flexible Pathways. The Flexible Pathways include; independent studies, online learning, career and technical centers, internships, travel studies, dual enrollment and early college.

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History of Harwood