The Hedgerows Born; Sparhawk For Sale in Amesbury

AMESBURY — Sparhawk School headmaster Louise Stilphen closed the private school last week for the last time and is attempting to sell its two campuses, while parents and teachers are trying either to buy the school or open a new one.
Stilphen, who started Sparhawk and has nurtured the for-profit school for almost 30 years, issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for individuals, companies or schools to buy the multiple buildings and their school’s equipment, furniture and materials.
The RFP will close on July 15, according to individuals familiar with it. Stilphen has not suggested an amount she is seeking, they said.
The two buildings are at 259 Elm Street, where the Lower School operated out of several buildings, and 4 Noel Street, the middle and high schools.
A group of parents, former Sparhawk teachers and administrators are working to open a new school in New Hampshire. They are so determined they plan to hold class next fall even if it is in a park.
“We are a go,” said Emily Samuel, a former Sparhawk teacher, who is working with the former Lower School counselor and teacher Cynthia Bolin to establish The Hedgerows, a new school.
They are working with at least a half dozen other teachers and administrators to establish the school in southern New Hampshire and have looked at leasing space in an Exeter, NH church and several commercial buildings.
“The hardest thing about opening a school is finding a location,” said Samuel, who has run her own schools in the past. She has also been a science and math teacher and worked for a technology firm that designed educational materials.
She did not rule out expanding or moving the school into Massachusetts in the future, but New Hampshire regulations are less stringent on new schools, she said.
The worst-case scenario is that in September The Hedgerows will begin teaching in a park, she said.
The Hedgerows board includes Catherine Debrocke Kulik, chair, the former art teacher; Suzanne Atkins, the vice chair, who was the director of the Lower School; Annie Adamsky, secretary, a Lower School teacher; Julie Anderson, the former music teacher; Bridgette Beaulieu Mammah, a Lower School teacher, and Sarah Guard, a pre-kindergarden teacher.
Several families have agreed to pay the first year’s tuition, Samuel said. She predicted the school will open with seven to 27 students.
“The mission of The Hedgerows is to create a learning community founded in respect for young people and in trust in each individual’s natural abilities to learn,” its web site states. “We cultivate each youth’s capacity for critical and creative thinking through a strong academic foundation, hands-on learning, and interdisciplinary projects.
“We are consciously committed to seeing the unique strengths in every child and to helping each young person achieve their full potential. We are a learning community where everyone develops their whole self through directing their learning in relationship with others.”
The Hedgerows offers “experiential education” for youth ages 5 through 18 by providing structures, programs, and environments that offer the key values of community collaboration, learner agency, and meaningful challenge, the site states.
The name Hedgerow comes from Irish schools that were deemed illegal by the government because they taught in Gallic. As a result, they were forced to hold class behind the hedgerows.
As a micro school, “we will be doing things a little differently,” Samuel said.
Parents have a lot of questions before more students enroll, she said. Probably the most often asked is where will the school be.
In a statement, Stilphen said, “I say farewell to Sparhawk with a heavy heart, yet with great pride in what generations of leadership, staff and students have accomplished at our joyful little school. Our students and staff remain our top priority and we are committed to minimizing any stresses and helping them throughout this transition.”
The letter sent to parents mentioned “financial difficulties” as a contributing factor.
Some Sparhawk parents were willing to donate to keep the school operating or to purchase it from Stilphin, but their proposals were rejected, they said. One issue, said Jeff Clark, the headmaster of the Clark School in Rowley, is that Sparhawk is a for-profit school.
“Sparhawk was her child,” Clark said.
Stilphen initially said she would like to be interviewed for this article, but did not respond to several requests to schedule an interview.