Sponsoring Schools

Hawthorn graduates celebrate Rising Up Ceremony at WashU

Members of the Class of 2021 from the Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls gathered at Washington University's Lab Sciences Building on the Danforth Campus in St. Louis for their Eighth Grade "Rising Up" Ceremony Thursday, June 1, 2017. The school, a public charter school in St. Louis founded by former WUSTL Assistant Dean and Lecturer Mary Danforth Stillman, is the first all-girls STEM school in the region and is sponsored by Washington University. Student Jayla Gordon-Spraggins greets a classmate before the ceremony. Photo by Sid Hastings / WUSTL Photos

Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls celebrated its first Rising Up Ceremony for graduating 8th grade students on June 1 at Washington University in St. Louis.

Hawthorn is the first all-girls charter school in Missouri and serves middle-school students. This fall, Hawthorn will launch its all-girls high school program. The school was founded in 2015 by Washington University Trustee Mary Danforth Stillman; Washington University is Hawthorn’s sponsor. The Institute for School Partnership has helped develop the school’s curriculum and provides ongoing teacher development. Washington University students serve as tutors and mentors through the Gephardt Institute’s InvestiGirls program.