Hudson Scholars

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Hudson Scholars fostering a culture of excellence

Sixth-graders sat together in a circle, shared greetings and their impressions of the Broadway Show, “Come from Away,” which they attended as part of Hudson Scholars. The program located on the Hackley School campus in Tarrytown, provides sixth through eighth-graders from the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns with an avenue to learn more about themselves and the community in which they live.

“I enjoy getting to know new mentors and seeing the ones from last year,” said rising seventh-grader Breyanna who is enjoying her English class this summer. “In school next year, we may have to write a lot of essays, so it is good to have a larger vocabulary.”

Hudson Scholars entered its third year with approximately 45 scholars from Washington Irving Intermediate School and Sleepy Hollow Middle School. Rising sixth-graders enter the program for the first time and former scholars returned for another year. On any given day, 30 out of 50 mentors from Hackley’s Upper School guide the younger children through academic courses like English, art, math, science and social studies to combat summer learning loss. The students immerse themselves in leadership studies, drama, and computer science to enrich their experiences with professional educators sharing their talents in each subject area.

“The energy is contagious and inspirational,” remarked Hudson Scholars Director David Sykes. “As we continue to grow and search for ways to improve the program, we emphasize our main goals of fostering a culture of excellence, hard work, and resilience, while also focusing on creating a caring, inclusive, and supportive community that allows our scholars to grow and learn together.”

The work at Hudson Scholars sparks curiosity and creativity, offering the students access to experience they might not receive elsewhere.

The program presents new ideas to the scholars. Rising seventh-graders recently discovered how to develop and grow their own businesses from a real-life entrepreneur. Nadine Cino shared her experiences as the founder of TygaBox, a sustainability company that revolutionized how companies move from one location to another. “A problem is nothing but opportunity in work clothes,” said Cino who wanted the children to transform the word “impossible” to the phrase “I’m possible.”

The scholars will put their newly learned skills to the test on July 27, as they set up lemonade stands in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow for Hudson Scholars' Community Day. As in past years, sixth-graders are teaming up with TaSH to engage with younger children at the Farmer’s Market and eighth-graders’ civic engagement project will come to life.

Community Day, 2018

Every experience leads to growth for the scholars and mentors alike who build strong bonds with each other. “I’ve really enjoyed the program. It’s been really fun to connect with the scholars and I think I have formed some relationships that are valuable,” said Brendan who is a rising sophomore. “I’m learning a lot as well and they are awesome,” said Alex G. who will be a senior at Hackley next year.

The day starts out with facilitators, scholars and mentors coming together in large groups who then form smaller groups called pods. Scholars complete an exercise that focuses on self-improvement. Julissa, a rising seventh-grader explained, “We get to talk about things that don’t always come up in conversation.”

The activities are designed to introduce new idea to the scholars and to build their confidence. Eighth-graders immersed themselves in a robotics class where they developed a code to power a robotic car. The learned the mechanics of the lesson but also discovered the concepts of teamwork and perseverance. Mentor Audrey developed the curriculum.

Exploration continued in art class where students created self-portraits with clay and then began a re-creation of the Wolf Conservation Center which they visited earlier in the week.

Amid the hard work, there is time to just be a kid. Drama Coach Willie Teacher invoked laughter as he instructed the students on the fundamentals of acting. He introduced them to concepts of relaxation and breathing and then the students played a game to better understand the techniques of improv.

Hudson Scholars runs for four weeks and each day builds upon the next, providing unique and exciting opportunities for scholars and mentors alike.

Written & Edited by: Grace Noone

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