Summary & Mission
The Howard Gardner School is an intentionally small, independent, experiential school serving grades 6-12 on two campuses. Our mission is to help bright, creative, non-traditional learners use their unique strengths to thrive academically, intellectually, and emotionally.
Campus Locations
Our Alexandria Campus is home to both middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) programs. Nestled in Rose Hill, the Alexandria Campus provides us with indoor and outdoor classrooms, laboratory spaces, and our beloved "tech shed," where we so often see the sparks and arcs of students bringing their projects to life.
In the Fall of 2022, we opened our Fairfax-Loudoun Campus in Loudoun County, just east of Dulles Airport on the Route-28 corridor. Because of added demand, we have expanded our cohort to include a new middle school program on the Fairfax-Loudoun Campus.
We are now serving bright, creative, non-traditional learners in both middle school and high school on both campuses.
While we are fortunate to call these remarkable places home, we also spend a substantial amount of time in the world, exploring the vast cultural and environmental resources at our fingertips in this region.
In the Fall of 2022, we opened our Fairfax-Loudoun Campus in Loudoun County, just east of Dulles Airport on the Route-28 corridor. Because of added demand, we have expanded our cohort to include a new middle school program on the Fairfax-Loudoun Campus.
We are now serving bright, creative, non-traditional learners in both middle school and high school on both campuses.
While we are fortunate to call these remarkable places home, we also spend a substantial amount of time in the world, exploring the vast cultural and environmental resources at our fingertips in this region.
HGS at a Glance
- Named one of the top five "Most Nurturing School Communities" by The Washingtonian Magazine.
- 10:00 AM start time in the high school.
- Intentionally small enrollment to ensure a highly individualized education and a close-knit learning community.
- Student to faculty ratio of 6:1.
- Average class size of 8 students.
- Our graduates attend a diverse array of universities and programs and boast a 99% first-choice acceptance rate.
- We are a non-profit entity, fall under the 501(c)(3) designation, and have an independent board of trustees.
- More than 40% of our students receive financial aid from HGS.
- Recently named "The Face of Neurodiverse Education" by both Arlington Magazine and The Washingtonian.
- Member School VSSA
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History
Founded by Katherine Keith and Emily Pavot in 2004, The Howard Gardner School is proud to celebrate nearly two decades of creating unique educational experiences for each of its students. Originally located near South Quaker Lane in Alexandria, the school purchased the land on which our Alexandria Campus now resides, in 2007. For two years, HGS petitioned the county to rezone the property, established the watershed plans, and ultimately built the new classroom building. We are incredibly thankful to all the supporters, contractors, experts, and especially to our families and students for helping create the Alexandria Campus.
After a series of requests by families and students, The Howard Gardner School created a middle school program on the Alexandria Campus to serve students in grades 6-8. HGS Middle was founded in 2009, and utilizes a one-room-school-house approach (though they also have an outdoor workshop, two break-out classrooms, a maker-space, and a laboratory). Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade occupy the same space, each serving as student, teacher, mentor, and friend to one another as they make their way through the learning process.
In 2018, after significant demand, the board of trustees and Head of School deployed a feasibility study for a Fairfax-Loudoun Campus. With a resounding result, plans were made to found the new cohort. While the pandemic brought a pause to those plans, they were never forgotten, and we were able to found the newest cohort and location serving families in Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties. Originally, this campus was designed as a high school program, but additional demand led HGS to open a middle school cohort on the Fairfax-Loudoun Campus as well.
Our community's leader, Erick Johnson, has been at HGS for twelve years, serving as Head of School for ten. The average tenure of the current faculty is ten years - all of whom hold advanced degrees - and includes three HGS alumni. More important than any pedigree, however, is the faculty commitment to collaborating with our students and helping them develop self-awareness, self-advocacy, and self-confidence.
Each and every person involved with The Howard Gardner School lives and breathes our mission. Every student has unique strengths. Every student can use those strengths to thrive.
After a series of requests by families and students, The Howard Gardner School created a middle school program on the Alexandria Campus to serve students in grades 6-8. HGS Middle was founded in 2009, and utilizes a one-room-school-house approach (though they also have an outdoor workshop, two break-out classrooms, a maker-space, and a laboratory). Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade occupy the same space, each serving as student, teacher, mentor, and friend to one another as they make their way through the learning process.
In 2018, after significant demand, the board of trustees and Head of School deployed a feasibility study for a Fairfax-Loudoun Campus. With a resounding result, plans were made to found the new cohort. While the pandemic brought a pause to those plans, they were never forgotten, and we were able to found the newest cohort and location serving families in Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties. Originally, this campus was designed as a high school program, but additional demand led HGS to open a middle school cohort on the Fairfax-Loudoun Campus as well.
Our community's leader, Erick Johnson, has been at HGS for twelve years, serving as Head of School for ten. The average tenure of the current faculty is ten years - all of whom hold advanced degrees - and includes three HGS alumni. More important than any pedigree, however, is the faculty commitment to collaborating with our students and helping them develop self-awareness, self-advocacy, and self-confidence.
Each and every person involved with The Howard Gardner School lives and breathes our mission. Every student has unique strengths. Every student can use those strengths to thrive.