The new decade began with Ms. Joan Lonergan’s arrival as Hewitt’s seventh head of school. In 2012, she introduced a plan to expand the campus by purchasing a townhouse located directly west of the Gregory Building. Ms. Lonergan worked closely alongside Graham S. Wyatt, a partner at Robert A. M. Stern Architects, on master planning efforts. Under her leadership, she secured funding to renovate the townhouse, the first expansion of the campus since the McKelvey Building was purchased in the early 2000s. Ms. Lonergan left her apartment temporarily and lived in the townhouse until the school reached its construction fundraising goal. In her final year, a committee planned a complete renovation for the building as well as an integration of the building with the rest of the campus. Construction to convert the 76th Street townhouse into a new educational space officially began in May of 2015.

 

On July 1, 2015, Dr. Tara Christie Kinsey officially joined the Hewitt community as the eighth head of school. When she began her position, the new building was still under construction. On September 6, 2017, Hewitt opened the new building, Winslow Hall, which adjoined the townhouse on 76th Street. The building was designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects and includes ten new classrooms as well as a lab for STEM programming.

 

A dedication to girls’ research has also become part of the Hewitt School’s pedagogy. As a part of this program, Hewitt has had a plethora of visiting research scholars, including Jessica Lahey, Barb Golub, Naomi Katz, Charlotte Jacobs, Rachel Simmons, Lisa Damour, and Carl Honoré. The research is applied differently based on age. In Lower School, girls learn about healthy relationships, collaboration, and storytelling. By High School, girls are given the opportunity to learn about having an open mindset and unlearning perfectionism as it is ingrained in us from a young age.

 

In 2016, the school introduced Women’s Cooperative, a club that consists of affinity groups based on race, religion, and sexuality. It meets during the school week to talk about complicated issues with an open mindset. Diversity and Inclusivity have become central to a Hewitt Student’s education as well as the community at large. Workshops and conferences are offered to students, faculty, and parents and they tackle important and challenging topics from socio-economic inequality to racial inclusivity. Anti-bias education begins in lower school, and there are days dedicated to talking about intersectionality, white privilege, and activism. Every year, The Hewitt School also sends six students and several teachers to the annual, NYSAIS-hosted Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC).

 

Hewitt’s academic philosophy centers around four pillars: presence, empathy, research, and purpose. Student voices helped come up with and decide what was most important to the community. Through surveys and student advocacy, these four pillars were selected. The Hewitt School describes its mission in terms of education and the four pillars: "From kindergarten through commencement, Hewitt faculty members exemplify thoughtful presence, social-emotional and intellectual empathy, research-driven teaching, and a personal sense of purpose as they expertly and personally deliver a curriculum that stimulates each girl’s capacity for reflective engagement."

 

College guidance has come a long way from the school transitioning to offering a college track course to focusing on preparing all of its students to seek higher education. Today, there is a well-defined college process that reflects an individual's values while ensuring the prospect of higher learning. By junior year, students will begin to meet regularly with the college guidance team to prepare for the application process and understand how to build a compelling story. The process also includes taking a college trip and speaking to college students about their experience after graduating from Hewitt. In their senior year, students begin their application process with the support of the school and decide where they will continue their education.

 

Hewitt’s dedication to sports has also increased significantly along with school spirit and pride that go along with cheering for a sport. Currently, 75% of upper school students play on a varsity or junior varsity team. Hewitt’s Varsity teams are cross country, soccer, volleyball, tennis, basketball, squash, indoor track, and field, badminton, crew, and outdoor track and field. Additionally, 21 student-athletes have been named AAIS All-Star Athletes.

 

With the school's centennial approaching, a Strategic Visioning Committee was put in place to re-envision and reimagine what the next century should look like for the school community. As a part of the vision, a new mission statement was created to reflect the current values of the school, the community, and future generations: "The Hewitt School inspires girls and young women to become game changers and ethical leaders who forge an equitable, sustainable, and joyous future."

 

The new vision for Hewitt centers around three commitments: redesign learning, reimagine location, and redefine leadership. Learning will reflect the need for real-world solutions to real-world problems, recognizing that a class should span and intersect a variety of subjects in order to reflect how one would approach the subject in the real world. The location of Hewitt has always been essential to numerous opportunities, but the new vision plans to take advantage of the needs of the community and collaborate with local organizations. Finally, leadership stems from an emphasis on empowering women in the context of girls' education and finding a way to build up voices that speak their minds and stand up for what is important. For a full account of The Hewitt School’s strategic vision, please visit this site.

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