Learning Inside & Outside the Classroom
We treat every place and space as a potential classroom. Learning should not be bound by the four walls of a school building, and our weekly schedule reflects this truth. In addition to time spent on campus pursuing a number of core curricular courses and elective classes, students participate in our weekly field studies, internship, and service learning programs.
Field StudiesWe are so fortunate to live and learn in a place filled with historical, cultural, artistic, technological, and environmental resources. Each week, we utilize these resources to tie curricular subjects together, apply our understanding, and experience the incredible possibilities the world has to offer.
We utilize a broad range of trips and activities to augment and ground our learning. We range both geographically (as far as Manhattan!) and in what we see and do. One week might be a tour of a recycling plant, the next a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, the next a team building experience on the banks of the Potomac. Each field studies experience is tied to our current curricular efforts and creates tremendous opportunities for critical thought, analysis, and application in the real world.
In addition to our weekly field studies program, we also take multiple overnight trips each year. These trips create a chance for our students to live and work together in a setting unlike their daily experience.
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InternshipsStudents at HGS will enter the internship program as they begin to determine their interests and strengths. Students can begin seeking an internship as early as the second semester of their Freshman year. We have partnered with scores of area businesses, non-profits, schools, and other organizations to help provide positive, applicable, real-world experiences to our students.
As many of our students have come to understand, finding out what you don't like can be just as important as finding out what you do. (A certain alumnus, upon finishing an internship at a preschool, once remarked, "Kids are very sticky, perhaps my next internship will be working with adults.")
Being a part of the adult world on a weekly basis provides each student the opportunity to practice and apply all the understanding and skills they have been learning. Interns present their internship experience during one of four "Internship Fairs," on campus. 
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Service LearningOur Service Learning program extends throughout each student's time here at HGS. We have a weekly service program that functions in three areas of focus:
By engaging students in academic thought about service as a concept, we seek to learn more about the "why" behind it. There is nothing inherently wrong with merely performing service as so many programs do, but we believe in striving for a deeper understanding. 
Additionally, our Seniors undertake a large-scale individual project during their final semester. This project will integrate academic endeavor, university level research, and service learning.
Our students have planned, designed, and served in hundreds of projects. On average, an HGS student will participate in more than 200 hours of service learning over the course of their time at HGS.
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Community
One of the primary reasons we maintain a small enrollment here is based on the "one tribe" philosophy. This sociological theory was first posited by researcher Robin Dunbar who found that human beings function solely within groups of fewer than 125 people. This includes our families, friends, and colleagues. By maintaining a total number of students and faculty below this number, we eliminate many of the social pitfalls of a typical school setting. You don't see cliques here at HGS. There is no "cool kid," table in the lunchroom. Students here are not pigeonholed in to particular social groups (jock, choir-kid, drama person, gamer, smarty pants, fashionable, etc. etc.), they are individuals and members of the entire community.
We focus on our strengths, and we acknowledge that every person, no matter how strong, deals with challenges. No student is singled out, ridiculed, or ostracized because of a challenge they face. We are all members of The Howard Gardner School community.
We focus on our strengths, and we acknowledge that every person, no matter how strong, deals with challenges. No student is singled out, ridiculed, or ostracized because of a challenge they face. We are all members of The Howard Gardner School community.
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Clubs & ActivitiesHere at HGS, our clubs and activities are determined by our students. This means that our offerings can change every year to meet the needs and desires of our current students. This also means that to participate in a club or activity means taking ownership over the well-being of that organization.
Our students have created any number of clubs and activities over the past several years, including (but certainly not limited to):
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Sports & Physical EducationDespite our small size, we still field three different sports teams each year. In the fall, our soccer team plays against other like-sized schools. During the winter, our basketball team takes the court. In the spring, our obstacle course distance team will compete in a race of their choosing. (Examples include: One Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, DC Zombie 5K.)
All of our sports are co-ed and 100% inclusive. Students practice throughout the week and will compete against other schools a few times per season. Our focus is on positive participation and cooperative competition. Some students are seasoned athletes, many more are novices in the sport. Every student helps one another and our HGS coaches prioritize improvement and fun.
Our students select four different physical education courses during the course of the year. These can range from the traditional: soccer, ultimate frisbee, weight lifting, basketball, swimming ... to the not so traditional: yoga, nature walks, parkour, martial arts, even 1980's style aerobics (Richard Simmons videos and all).
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