Impact & Leadership

By Vanessa Marie Fernández“Unlike any other course at Hillbrook, SIL evolves and shifts each year in response to what is happening in our community, what students and faculty want to dig deeper into, and what students share matters to…

Anchoring Reach Beyond

By Professor Vanessa Marie Fernández“My main takeaway from the field trip was the excitement behind the diversity and creativity of the city itself expressed through food, art and local businesses”(Hillbrook School 8th Grader, Social Impact and Leadership Class)…

Reflections on Food Education: Sustainability + Health

Victoria Levinsohn co-founded CAVI Kitchen with friend Caroline King as a way of addressing intersecting needs and interests around food waste, health, and education. She hosted the Scott Center and fourteen seventh and eighth graders at the coffee shop she…

Curriculum Outline: Identity and Impact Course

Identity and Impact examines the intersection of personal identity and the changes that we want to make in the world. The course aims to answer the essential questions of “What is identity?” and “What does it have to do with…

Finance Fridays: Math + Social Impact Through Kiva

by Matt Callahan, Scott Center Associate DirectorIn the spring of 2022, math teacher Christina Tran-Kenyon and the Scott Center teamed up to explore the intersection of math instruction and social impact. Born from a desire to integrate more diversity,…

Behind the Scenes of the Biomimicry Unit

This unit was developed by Hillbrook Middle School Science Teacher Brian Ravizza, in partnership with the Scott Center.DESCRIPTION:This Spring, the seventh grade embarked on a biomimicry unit that asked them to apply nature-inspired design to some of the…

Sneak Peak: Community Garden Design Project

Sixth graders Joshua and Justin present their community design to their classmates.This unit was developed by Hillbrook Sixth-Grade English Teacher, Jenn Gingery, in partnership with the Scott Center.DESCRIPTION:After students in sixth-grade English read Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman,…

Behind the Scenes of the Social Impact Marketplace

by Clara Ngo, Hillbrook Hub Maker and Design Teacher, Annie Makela, Scott Center Director, and Fiona Maloney-McCrystle, Scott Center Program AssociateOn the afternoon of Friday, October 29, the edge of the first- and second-grade playground was abuzz with activity.…

Sneak Peak: Empowerful Girls Lesson

CONTEXTThe Scott Center Empowerful Girls camp is designed to support second to fourth graders in identifying and articulating through words, art, and collaboration what makes them feel empowered + powerful (empowerful!). With daily themes like education, sports, activism, and…

Art as Activism in Clarion Alley

This fall, the Scott Center team has been co-teaching a Reach Beyond Block each Tuesday afternoon alongside the DEI team and sixth-grade team. The block, titled “Identity and Impact,” is based on a sixth-grade elective taught last year by Scott…