User:ATC/Sandbox/Eagle Hill School (Hardwick)

Eagle Hill School is an independently-operated, private college preparatory boarding school in Hardwick, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1967, the school serves junior high and high school students with high-functioning special education needs.

History
In the early 1960s, Dr. James J.A. Cavanaugh, who was the director of the Department of Pediatrics at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton, Massachusetts, began to devote his work to children with dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities. Eagle Hill School was conceived from his recognition of the impact of this disability on the growing child and the limited facilities available for remediation.

Joining Dr. Cavanaugh to launch the school were educational director Mr. Charles Drake, of Brandeis University and headmaster Mr. Howard Delano, formerly of Fryeburg Academy. In September 1967, nineteen children were in residence when the school opened its doors on family owned property in Hardwick. All of them were housed in the Main House, which now contains the school's administrative offices. By the third year, a dedicated dormitory was constructed and one-hundred children were in residence. In 2009, the boarding enrollment for the school reached approximately 160 students.

Program
The school enrolls 220 students in grades 8-12 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, or other mild learning disabilities. It features exactly 119 faculty members, a student to teacher ratio of 2.5 to 1, and an average classroom size of 6 to 1.

Teacher Induction Training
Held every summer on the Eagle Hill campus the EHS Institute for Teacher Induction is an induction training program primarily designed for first, second or third year public school teachers or seasoned teachers who are new to an urban district. Funded mainly by private organizations, the institute was a line budget item in the 2008 Massachusetts state budget.

The STEM Center
In September 2019, the school opened a STEM center to include Makerspaces for academics in the fields of science, math, technology, and engineering.

The Cultural Center
In the fall of 2008, EHS opened a $15,000,000 Cultural Center complete with a new dining hall, classrooms, a black box theatre, and a 500-seat theatre. Professionals perform at the cultural center during the year. Eagle Hill students use it as well.