We joined with The Henry Ford to establish the Henry Ford Learning Institute (HFLI) as a nonprofit educational organization. Focusing on communities where traditional public schools have struggled, we developed a network of small high schools located in America's premier cultural institutions and community organizations. HFLI's mission is to build and sustain innovative hands-on relationships that make education a community endeavor.
Connecting Schools and Communities
HFLI is an innovative nonprofit organization dedicated to the belief that education reform cannot take place within an educational system that isolates students and teachers from the community and separates teaching and learning from the real world.
HFLI creates innovative small schools that bring national and local community resources into the educational process and help to create thriving communities where education is everyone's responsibility.
We envision a future where public education becomes a truly public endeavor, engaging a community to create vibrant educational models, leverage underutilized local resources and remove boundaries between learning and the real world.
Henry Ford Academy
The Henry Ford Academy (HFA), which opened in 1997 in Dearborn, Michigan, is the nation's first charter school developed jointly by a public education, a global corporation and a world-renowned nonprofit cultural institution.
Ford contributes substantial input to HFA-Dearborn&EEMM;but the true power of the Academy lies in the direct, hands-on involvement of more than 400 individual Ford employees who serve as tutors, mentors, lecturers, curriculum advisors, student project sponsors, project partners and coaches for thousands of hours each year. Ford volunteers serve all 390 students and their families, as well as the 32 Academy teachers, administrators and support staff.
In addition, as HFA-Dearborn's host institution, The Henry Ford provides students with a truly "public" high school experience that has a tremendous impact on their personal and academic development. The students' presence on the Ford Motor Company campus exposes them to a much broader spectrum of people than they would encounter in a traditional, stand-alone high school. Students are frequently called upon to provide assistance to visitors, collaborate with museum staff on joint events and serve as unofficial ambassadors of the organization.
More Information
To learn more about HFLI, visit the Henry Ford Learning Institute website.
