Harley’s Approach to College Counseling
“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.
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. 
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
Food insecurity affects nearly 30 percent of people in eight of Rochester’s highest-poverty ZIP codes. Urban agriculture and community gardens are a great way to provide sustainable food production and supply those in need. They can help address issues of limited accessibility to healthy supplies of food, while also confronting other public health concerns, promoting positive social well-being, and generating green environments.
Leslie Knox ’97 has served at Taproot in several roles, including volunteer/people coordinator, board member, and director of farm operations. During her time there, Taproot, supported by the Greater Rochester Health Foundation’s Community Health Grant, created the Community Food Program, a family-based series of seed-to-table classes held in collaboration with the Rochester Public Market’s new instructional kitchen. The classes have covered community gardening and cooking and food preservation.
She added: “Taproot’s efforts to make sure people know they have options while empowering them to make better choices has been an emphasis for most of my working career.
“I’ve learned the importance of walking the walk, as well as talking the talk. When my daughter and I go to First Market Farm to work or give tours or just see what’s going on, we are both happy and excited. It’s a safe educational space to build positive memories and really good friendships, too.”
Leslie is currently facilitating a class at the University of Rochester called “Food Justice, Urban Farming, Social Practice,” while acting as the community contact through Taproot Collective. The class is a combination of environmental humanities and advanced video art.
Students have been utilizing First Market Farm as an additional learning space while putting ideas into action around topics that are central to the class, such as fighting food insecurity and redlining. Among the final projects is a documentary about the organization, with interviews from the Taproot Collective board.
“Students come to Taproot to learn about concepts such as redlining, poverty, and the lack of economic opportunity. Sometimes, the line between the haves and have-nots is very physical and real,” said Leslie. “It’s about being able to see concepts and consequences in action, as well as discovering possibilities, or seeing part of a solution literally under their feet and growing around them. Taproot is something they can be a part of, and this helps the students become more well-grounded in the actual functionality of society and how it is — and isn’t — working in these ways.
“I appreciate youth who may not know everything but are confidently looking for answers and information. They are learning humility, because not knowing everything doesn’t make you less of a person — but striving to know more and know better does make you a better individual.”
