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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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Climate Crisis Curriculum

Citizen Scientists

Joy Moss: Storytelling Roots

In Every Issue

Class Notes

Diane Donniger Award

By the Numbers

From the Archives

What’s (Who’s) New at Harley

Divisional Highlights

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

Letter from the Head of School

Letter from the Editor

Features

Central Work that Matters

Affinity Group Forms

Climate Crisis Curriculum

Citizen Scientists

Joy Moss: Storytelling Roots

In Every Issue

Class Notes

Diane Donniger Award

By the Numbers

From the Archives

What’s (Who’s) New at Harley

Divisional Highlights

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

Committed to our motto, “Become What Thou Art.”

2021

2020

2019

2018

Committed to our motto,
“Become What Thou Art.”

2021

2020

2019

2018

Head of School

Larry Frye, P ’12, ’15, ’15

Editor and Publisher

Beth Bailey, P ’23, ’26

Art Director and Designer

Lisa Osborne Lange ’74, P ’09

Director of Development

Holly Beaston

Associate Director  of Development and Alumni Relations

Karen Saludo, P ’27

Web Designer/Developer

Art Rothfuss III

Copy Consultant

Gail Hosking

Copy EDITOR

Terry Smith, P ’19, ’21

Contributing Photographers

Amy Brand, P ’25
Art Rothfuss III

and submissions from our  community

Cover Art

Samantha Lopez

Watch videos of her 3D process here and here.

Becoming Magazine welcomes questions, story ideas, and letters from readers. Contact us at becoming@harleyschool.org
The Harley School
1981 Clover Street
Rochester, New York 14618

In Every Issue

Letter from the Head of School

Letter from the Editor

Class Notes

Diane Donniger Award

Parent Service to the Harley Community

By the Numbers

E. E. Ford Foundation Grant Edition

From the Archives

Robin Long and Winter Creek Poems

What’s (Who’s) New at Harley

Introducing Recent Members of Our Administrative Team

Divisional Highlights

Lower School: Simple Machines, Complex Thinking
Middle School: Bee Club Debuts
Upper School: The Acorn Marks Latest Literary Publication

HAC Athletics

2021 Lives of Great Purpose Award Winners

Willie Jackson ’77, Toren Reaves ’06

1000 Words

Commencement 2022

Reunion 2022

In Memoriam

Phyllis Bentley ’45, Brad Prozeller ’71

Retirements and Fond Farewells

Features

Central Work that Matters to the Heart of Our School

Strategic plan for our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts

Harley Black Alumni Network

Affinity Group Forms

Climate Crisis Curriculum

Holistic Student Education

Citizen Scientists

Lower School: Grade 2 Creek Walk tradition
Middle School: Impact of Plastic Pollution
Upper School: Watershed Health in the Finger Lakes

Joy Moss

Storytelling Roots; A Woman “Ahead of Her Time”

The Harley Circle

Gifts to the School directly impact student experiences, faculty development, and the strength of the programs we offer. Your financial support will ensure the School’s mission of providing a balanced education that prepares our students to meet the challenges of tomorrow and lead lives of great purpose.

Please support The Harley Fund by joining The Harley Circle today and making a gift of $1,000 or greater.

Call Holly Beaston, Director of Development, (585) 442-1770.

We had a hugely successful Alumni Reunion in June, 2022

We are already planning for 2023.

Save the date–June 16 & 17

If you are interested in  helping to plan your class’ Reunion weekend, contact Karen Saludo in the Alumni / Development Office ksaludo@harleyschool.org

Watch your email for information about Reunion 2023, focusing on classes: 2018, 2013, 2008, 2003, 1998, 1993, 1988, 1983, 1978, 1973, 1968, 1963, 1958, 1953, 1948, 1943

We had a hugely successful Alumni Reunion in June, 2022

We are already planning for 2023.

Save the date–June 16 & 17

If you are interested in  helping to plan your class’ Reunion weekend, contact Karen Saludo in the Alumni / Development Office ksaludo@ harleyschool.org

Watch your email for information about Reunion 2023, focusing on classes: 2018, 2013, 2008, 2003, 1998, 1993, 1988, 1983, 1978, 1973, 1968, 1963, 1958, 1953, 1948, 1943

{ • Harriet Bentley Society • }

Leaving your Legacy through the Harriet Bentley Society

Many of us choose to give something back to the individuals and organizations that helped to define who we are today. Planned Giving is one way you can share the rewards of what you have been given and achieved.

Your planned gift to The Harley School can give you the personal satisfaction of ensuring that a Harley education will be possible for generations to come.

Planned Giving allows you to make the most of your charitable donations and maximize your tax and personal benefits.

The best estate plan is one that satisfies all of your wishes.

Please contact
Holly Beaston
Director of Development
(585) 277-1116
hbeaston@harleyschool.org

 

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TO GIVE

Your gift to
The Harley Fund
helped us reach
the finish line!

Please make a gift today!
harleyschool.org/harley-fund/

Thank you to the 643 donors who supported this year’s Harley Fund!

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