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Affording Harley

A Harley education is a gift to your child as well as an investment for your family.

Making Education a Priority

 Remaining independent allows us to:

  • Attract and retain excellent teachers with advanced degrees in their fields
  • Retain an average class size of 12 students
  • Have every child participate every day
  • Deliver a wider variety of classes and areas of study in sustainability, arts, digital media, biomimicry, project-based learning, food and farm, and mindfulness and empathy education 
  • Use individualized teaching methods to teach the whole child and graduate highly prepared young adults
  • Construct curriculum focused beyond “teaching to the test”
  • Feed our community healthy and well-balanced lunches and snacks
  • Ensure that we graduate students highly prepared for the academic and social rigors of college

We realize choosing an independent school involves a significant financial commitment on the part of our families. 

It is a priority for us to make a Harley education both accessible and affordable. We seek to provide as many families as possible access to our life-changing education. 

We believe the success of our students is undeniably related to our independence as a non-profit institution. Because we receive no funding from a church or NY state, we must raise the money on our own, and Tuition covers approximately 80% of expenses, and ranges from $18,400 – $29,200, although the cost of educating each student is actually higher.  

Our Board of Trustees, with the help of the business office, steward all of our dollars very carefully.  Investing your money in your child’s education is a thoughtful choice on your part, and we are extremely careful to keep costs as low as possible while also maintaining the fiscal health of the school.

A Harley education is a gift to your child as well as an investment for your family. We are invested in attracting the best students from a diverse pool of applicants and view our approach to financial assistance as critical for both your family and our community.  

We encourage parents who may not be able to pay the full amount of tuition to apply for a need-based scholarship. Financial assistance for newly enrolled families is considered on a rolling basis.

Need-based scholarships help bridge the gap between what families can afford and the cost of their children’s education. In 2019, Harley provided need-based financial aid to 40% of our students, granting over $3 million in aid. Our average aid package is 47% of the full tuition. As our goal is to keep you with us; unless your family’s financial profile changes dramatically, families should expect aid to remain at a consistent level.  

Please note, financial aid is only available for students in Kindergarten  – 12th grade. If your child is in nursery, you may apply for an Acorn grant. 

At any point in the application process, families may apply for financial aid through Blackbaud Financial Aid Management.  The Harley code is 14572.

Thinking of applying? Explore our admissions and application process HERE.

Acorn Grants are smaller grants awarded to families who may not be eligible for need-based financial aid.  It is a grant of up to $3000 for nursery school and $5,000 for kindergarten through senior year. It is intended to put a Harley education within reach for your family. The Acorn Grant stays with your child until graduation.

A Harley education is possible for your child. 

Nursery Acorn Grant application (downloadable .pdf).

K-Grade 12 Acorn Grant application (downloadable .pdf).

Like most independent schools, Harley uses a standard calculation from the Blackbaud Smart Aid as a guideline for determining what each family can contribute to a Harley education. Smart Aid provides a need-based financial assistance analysis system for families and schools Smart Aid’s Calculation looks at the income, expenses, assets, and debts that the parents input into the application to determine a family’s Calculated Need.

*Families receiving a need-based scholarship are not eligible for Acorn Grants.

“Education is an investment in a child’s future. While at many college prep schools this may be an investment in their future income or career prospects, Harley is an investment in their whole being.”—Harley graduate, class of 2017

Meet Our Enrollment Team

The Harley School

1981 Clover Street
Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 442-1770

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©2023 The Harley School

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College Counseling

Harley’s Approach to College Counseling is highly individualized and student-centered. Students have direct access to college counselors throughout their Upper School experience, but really, each student is part of a team including faculty, administration, and staff. It’s our job to support each student and we want nothing more than to send students on to the next step of their journey at a right fit school for them. The student centered and driven process is wrapped in care, expertise, and professionalism.

We host college reps during times students are available (no need to miss a class) so they can make connections and learn more about potential schools. We also arrange campus visits for classes as field trips, host an alumni college day (where recent Upper School graduates return to share advice and answer questions), and help connect students with our international alumni network. In fact, representatives from schools all over the world actively seek opportunities to come to Harley and meet with our students!

Our college counselors are accredited and are part of national/global conversations on admission trends. They also attend and present at conferences across the country.

Beginning with our Grade 11 parent night, we offer informational sessions for parents, including one devoted just to financial aid. Our partnership with families is critical, as the college admissions world changes very quickly and having an expert to guide students and families through the process is essential.

View the downloadable College Counseling Guide

Clubs

“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.

A few of this year’s choices: Sports Media, Social Action Club, Journalism Club, Feminism Club, Student of Color & Allies (SOCA), Gay-Straight Alliance, Tri M (music honor society), E-Sports Club, Euchre, Key Club (service), Animation Club, Dungeons & Dragons, Sustainability Club, Jewish Cultural Club, Astronomy Club, Biomimicry, and Beyond Soup (social justice/service).

Athletics

​Each and every year, students at The Harley School participate in HAC Athletics, and their success continues to be impressive, both as students and athletes. Our athletic program is an integral part of Harley, teaching student-athletes invaluable lessons about teamwork, time management, persistence, and competition.  Our program allows them to develop physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally as they represent their school on and off the field. They grow, mature, and work hard to be the best teammate they can, while creating lifelong memories with teammates who often remain friends for life. 

Helping our athletes to reach their potential are some of HAC’s best assets: our coaches. More often than not, they are drawn from the ranks of our faculty and  have a deep understanding of the personalities and abilities of the student-athletes on their teams.  

We strive to find the right balance of academics, exercise, and personal growth for everyone.  By offering a variety of sports at many different levels, all student-athletes find a sport they can be successful in. It is with great pride and pleasure that my team and I work to enrich the athletic lives of all our HAC student-athletes. Go Wolves! 

To learn more check out our athletics page.

Student Leadership

Our Upper School is filled with formal and informal opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. Whether following passions or learning new skills, student-driven opportunities take many shapes.

– Independent study: one trimester, full year, and multi-year projects have included automating our solar chimneys, coding handmade musical instruments, or developing a class on financial literacy for underserved high school students.

– Serving on student council

– STEM: Climate curriculum program, biomimicry program, NASA Hunch program

Clubs

“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.

A few of this year’s choices: Sports Media, Social Action Club, Journalism Club, Feminism Club, Student of Color & Allies (SOCA), Gay-Straight Alliance, Tri M (music honor society), E-Sports Club, Euchre, Key Club (service), Animation Club, Dungeons & Dragons, Sustainability Club, Jewish Cultural Club, Astronomy Club, Biomimicry, and Beyond Soup (social justice/service).

Hospice

Unlike this class, death is not an elective. Although it is one of two universal human experiences, our culture often ignores, denies, or misconstrues the true nature of death and dying. What happens when we bear witness to this natural process in the cycle of life and develop our ability to be fully present with others when they need us more than ever? It has the potential to change us deeply and fundamentally while shining a brilliant light on the path of our own lives.

With the support of their classmates, teacher, and comfort care home communities, senior students are offered the chance to care for others who truly need their purposeful, non-judgmental attention. In the home-like setting of a comfort care home, opportunities for learning extend beyond a traditional classroom rubric and conventional methods of evaluation. In this course, students will certainly find tangible “learning outcomes” by studying the medical/physical processes associated with dying and the basic nursing assistant skills of comfort care. The ultimate goal, however, will always be rooted in true relationships and connection, which occurs only through empathy and compassion.

Learn more about the Hospice Program at Harley HERE.

Capstone/Independent Studies

This program utilizes environmentally-focused approaches to education and hands-on learning in order to foster the next generation of leaders through a lens of sustainability and problem-solving.

Food & Farm: These year-long and trimester-long classes are held outside as much as possible, allowing students to become leaders in our various growing spaces. They cover environmental justice issues as well as hands-on work such as planning and overseeing planting, harvesting, and preparation of the gardens.

Past year-long focus projects have included: Creating a native plant shade garden in the Wild Wood area, redesigning our hydroponic system, overhauling Harley’s high tunnel, and improving the irrigation system for the MicroFarm.

Culinary Arts: These classes have a two-fold purpose: to give students practical skills in cooking and the science behind different techniques in the kitchen, learning about food justice, food sourcing, labor topics, and sustainability.

Past topics have included: Examining a plant-based diet, looking at the carbon footprint of different meals and food preparation methods, proposing a low carbon footprint menu to the dining hall, links between food labeling and environmental issues of food production.

Beekeeping: This one trimester class provides hands-on training in beekeeping, how to be a beekeeper, and safety and other techniques for working with bees. Once trained students help with all aspects of Harley beekeeping such as hive inspections, honey collection and extraction, and teaching students in Lower School about our hives.

Students pick a research topic addressing honeybee health and the larger environmental picture.

Social Justice

At Harley, our students learn how to evaluate social systems in order to identify complex problems in society through a lens of social justice. They take a hands-on approach to working for a fair, equitable society by researching, exploring and evaluating different perspectives, and offering solutions—both theoretical and practical.

Our faculty integrate social justice into our broader curriculum to assist students in gaining a foundational knowledge about what makes a democracy function. By gaining skills in ideating supportive pathways they become more exposed and experienced to how communities can undergo healing and restorative actions.

 

Capstone/Independent Studies

Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. They are empowered to create their own curriculum, set goals, and work on time management skills in order to accomplish their objectives.

Independent Studies run the gamut from The Psychology of Sports to Furniture Design to The Neuroimaging of Alzheimer’s Disease. Capstones, meanwhile, are as diverse as the students who pursue them: Fictional Rochester, Autobiographical Art, Biomimicry Education, Organic Fuel, and Rochester Refugees. 

Indicative of Upper School curiosity and creativity, pursuits such as these distinguish our graduates in college. Through deep dives of this sort, Harley students master more than speaking, writing, and computing: they learn to communicate, advocate, collaborate, organize, listen, and empathize. 

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In Every Issue

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Alumni Profile: Vandebroek

Alumni Profiles: Keller

HAC Athletics

2021 Lives of Great Purpose Awards

1000 Words

Commencement 2022

Reunion 2022

In Memoriam

Retirements and Fond Farewells