News Detail
Hocka-Home-Stay Program
Dear Hockaday Families,
In case you missed the recent article in The Hockaday Magazine about a new residential experience for day students, please find the print version included. We are excited to be able to give all Hockaday students this experience and look forward to receiving your inquiries and reservations! Read more
Hockaday has long been recognized as one of the best college preparatory schools for girls in the nation and attracts inspired young women from small towns and cities all over the world. Just two years into the development of the School, Miss Hockaday created the Home Department for girls from the small towns of Texas and neighboring states to have the opportunity for a Hockaday education. In addition, Miss Hockaday recognized the importance of exposing “her girls” to a world view, and she believed that could only be accessed through travel abroad and casting a large recruitment net to attract a diverse community to Hockaday. As a result, in the 1930s Hockaday opened its doors to its first international students from Mexico.
Today, Hockaday students are still offered the chance to take part in travel programs, semester away programs and global exchanges to enhance their educational experience. It seems fitting that as we look forward to the next 100 years of the School, we envision a future that Miss Hockaday would dream of and pursue for her students that would bring a global experience into our own backyard. Even though a true international experience can only be achieved through travel and immersion in other cultures, more than 80 residents from 12 countries currently reside at Hockaday and eagerly share their unique stories about their lives giving each other a glimpse into a world unlike their own. As these young women learn to live together, they come to respect their backgrounds and differences and develop a sisterhood that lasts a lifetime.
Whether an eighth grade resident or new underclassman, new residents embrace the opportunity to live independently from their families and yet still be nurtured by an extended family of caring faculty and residential staff. The fabric of the Residence Life community quilt includes unique and diverse life experiences, and our residents learn from each other how to manage relationships, share experiences, challenge stereotypes, celebrate achievements, solve problems and resolve conflict.
With Miss Hockaday’s words in mind, we are proud to offer a true college preparatory experience – one that includes not only a premier education, but also the chance for all students, including day students, to experience independent living through our residential program. In January 2017, the Residence Life Program will launch a new program for all sophomore day students, which will provide each girl the opportunity to reside in the dormitories with their boarding classmates for “Hock-a-Home-Stay” – a two week stay to prepare for life in college. “Day Boarders” may face new challenges like homesickness or learning to do their own laundry, but more importantly they will gain self-confidence and new friendships through shared experiences. We believe Miss Hockaday would be proud that the School has again found a way to bring another facet of a college preparatory curriculum to all Hockaday graduates with these essential life skills.
For more information on the Hocka-Home-Stay program for your daughter, please contact Vicki Palmer, Residence Life Community Outreach Coordinator, at vpalmer@hockaday.org. Reservations can be made through the Residence Life page on The Hockaday School parent portal.
While the program is for Form II students, we expect junior and senior day students to request to participate before they graduate. We will honor any request from upperclassmen when it does not negate a sophomore’s reservation.
We hope to see you in the dorms soon!
Meshea Matthews
Director of Residence Life and Global Outreach
The purpose of the program is to bring day and boarding students together and support the strategies of the long range plan for the School and our own Residence Life House Goals:
| Residence Life House Goals | Hockaday 2020 – Long-Range Plan Strategies |
| Find joy and friendship | Foster a climate where mutual respect encourages and catalyzes learning, creativity, collaboration, and celebration and builds life-long bonds. |
| Gain understanding | Incorporate diverse perspectives and cross-cultural skills into Hockaday’s core curriculum, program, and the daily life of the School in order to equip all students for living in a complex world. |
| Act Responsibly | Re-shape Hockaday’s curricular and extracurricular programs to intentionally prioritize and teach the Cornerstones of Character and Courtesy in order to develop the whole girl” in mind, body and spirit.” |
| Lead with purpose | Expand and develop project-based, experiential, and real-world learning opportunities through exploring partnerships with non-profit entities, businesses, higher education, and other community organizations. |
How Hock-a-Home Stay Works:1
- “Day Boarders” will check-in on Sunday afternoon and check-out two weeks later on Sunday morning.
- “Day Boarders” are expected to follow the Residential Life schedule and honor the safety and security protocols of the School.
- Hockaday provides transportation to residents for weeknight and weekend activities within a range and time frame and will include “Day Boarders” in the rotation. “Day Boarders” with significant off-campus commitments will need to provide a schedule to the Director and coordinate alternate transportation arrangements.
- Participation in optional weekend service projects give day students another opportunity to complete service learning hours and work jointly for the benefit of the community.
- Each bedroom is equipped with two beds, storage shelves and drawers, a private closet and safe for personal items.
- Basic linens are provided, but if you prefer to bring your own linens, you should pack towels & washcloths, sheets, and other bedding items.
- You may also bring items to create your “home-away-from-home.”
(Please see the packing list for a comprehensive list of what to pack and not pack for your stay.)
- The cost of the program includes a shared bedroom and bathroom, three meals per day, snacks and organized weekend activities. Students who wish to participate in shopping trips or other excursions will need access to personal spending money.
- Reservations will be accepted for dates beginning in January 2017 for two week periods from January through May, some blackout periods apply to weeks before and after long vacation breaks.
The Hockaday School
Within the private school community, The Hockaday School is an independent college-preparatory day school for girls from grades PK–12 located in Dallas, Texas. Students realize their limitless potential through challenging academic curricula, arts, athletics, and extracurricular programs so that they are inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.