Educating Girls—and Boys

More than once, we’ve gotten the question: is Haile-Manas Academy a school for girls? Our answer? YES! Unequivocally, we ARE a school for girls—and we are also a school for boys. We know full well the importance of educating girls, and we will serve our girls by creating an academic, residential and social community that is committed to gender equality and allows all students to thrive. 

At HMA, girls and boys will have the chance to excel as artists, mathematicians, chemists and writers. Girls and boys will have opportunities to serve as leaders and trail-blazers, and opportunities to serve as community-builders and team-players. Girls and boys will be free, if they wish, to be the class clown, the class activist and/or the class quiet leader—and to experiment with different roles at different times. Gender equality means that every student sees each of these roles as open to her or him. Gender equality means that girls and boys see each other in their full humanity, and do so with respect for each other’s full capabilities.  

We understand the work and intentional decision-making this most fundamental of human goals requires. By design, HMA will have gender parity in student enrollment. And it is not an accident that our founding faculty will be led by Kari and Tesfaye working in close partnership. From day one, they will model the equality we hope to embed in our community. 

Our school will serve girls well, and in so doing we will serve boys well too.

Happy International Women’s Day!