Hawken School merges with Birchwood School, Develops Presence on West Side

CLEVELAND, OH - Hawken Schools and Birchwood School will merge, allowing Hawken to expand its presence into the western portion of Cleveland. Hawken already has locations in Gates Mills, Lyndhurst and University Circle. The new school will be called the Birchwood School of Hawken.

Hawken is also working on opening an early childhood development center in Gordon Square, which school officials are calling Phase II of their expansion plans.

Birchwood School co-founder Chuck Debelak assured families and students that the school would remain virtually unchanged by the merger. Chuck and Helene Debelak will remain the heads of Birchwood until their retirement. Once they retire, Dr. Christine Debelak Neider, who is a graduate of both Birchwood and Hawken Schools and currently holds the position of Director of Early Childhood Education at Birchwood and Assistant Head of School, will take over as the director of this campus, a plan determined by and approved by the Birchwood Board of Trustees. He did say that the merger gave Birchwood a more secure financial future moving forward.

“The school that you have known will essentially remain the same Birchwood tomorrow and into the foreseeable future, only better,” he said in a statement.

With this merger, all Birchwood students will automatically be accepted into the Hawken Upper School without having to go through an application process.

"Tuition at the Birchwood Campus will remain in line with what it is today," Debelak said. "Once students move on to the Upper School, Hawken is committed to supporting families who qualify for tuition assistance. Hawken has the largest tuition assistance budget of all the independent schools in Northeast Ohio."

Chuck Debelak said that the merger has been in discussion for at least 18 months and that he and Helene worked closely with Scott Looney, the head of Birchwood, Board Chair Charlie Cooley, and members of Hawken’s Board of Trustees and administration.

As the schools move closer to the merger, the Debelaks and other school officials will be holding various events to communicate how the changes may impact different families.

Phase II of Hawken’s move westward involves an arrangement to secure a property with the intention of opening an early childhood center to meet the needs of one of the fastest growing areas in Cleveland for families with young children: Gordon Square and its neighboring communities of Tremont and Ohio City, among others.

Hawken is currently conducting surveys and inspections on a property located at 5400 Detroit Avenue. That work has already begun, and interviews with families will continue. Once surveys, inspections and market research conclude, planning for the building renovations will commence. Timelines and architectural renderings, which will draw inspiration from the Nido at Hawken’s Early Childhood Center in Lyndhurst, will be released upon completion.

Hawken’s Head of School Scott Looney is eager to implement the school’s mission beyond its current constituents. “We are thrilled that this two phase process to move west will give more students access to a Hawken education,” he commented. “Hawken and Birchwood have already developed a strong partnership, ensuring the success of Phase I of this project. We are eager to move forward with Phase II by making our commitment to Cleveland and its residents a reality in Gordon Square.”

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