Have you ever wondered who chooses what items are sold in the Tuck? Who organizes Coffee Houses? Well, the answer is the Hackley Parents Association (HPA). The HPA plays a vital role in the behind-the-scenes work that helps much of life at Hackley run smoothly.
The HPA is headed by President Denise Dushas and assisted by Vice President Jennifer Madison. The HPA leadership is a two-year commitment in which the vice president becomes the president the following year.
Ms. Dushas described the role of the HPA as “enhancing life on the Hilltop with the help of parent volunteers.” The HPA is mainly responsible for organizing events throughout the three divisions at Hackley. One of the most important things that the HPA is responsible for is running the Tuck Shop.
The Tuck is one of the longest-standing HPA traditions and one of Hackley students’ favorite things that the HPA runs. Ms. Dushas described the Tuck as a “well-oiled machine.” In order for the Tuck to run, the HPA must organize a comprehensive shift schedule as well as purchase the inventory. According to Ms. Dushas, the parents determine what to buy based on what regularly sells. Sometimes parents will decide to put a new item in and see how it sells in order to keep products new. The parents purchase the items in bulk from BJ’s and Amazon. The drinks come from distributors and the popular bakery items are delivered fresh daily at the crack of dawn from Rockland Bakery.
The purpose of the Tuck is to serve as a “supplement to the dining hall as well as a social gathering spot,” said Ms. Dushas. Ms. Dushas emphasized the fact that the main purpose of the Tuck is to benefit the students and their goal is less focused on making a profit. However, all profit that they do make from the Tuck, the Nest, and other profiting events, goes into running all of the various HPA programming.
This year some of the prices in the Tuck have increased. For example last year all muffins, one of the more popular Tuck items, cost $1.50. This year these same muffins are priced at $2.50. Senior Edele Brennan reported that muffins were only $1.00 when she was in sixth grade at Hackley. Ms. Dushas explained that the HPA had to raise the prices in order to reflect the “rising costs in the greater economy.” Due to the increase in price from the vendors from which they purchase items, they had to keep in line with those prices.
Many students, however, do not understand or do not recognize the ways in which the Tuck must comply with the increase of the prices of the items in the outside world. When asked if they think the Tuck is too expensive both Freshmen Olivia Lyu and Harlo Navas said yes. “They have raised the prices since last year,” said Harlo. Olivia lamented that the prices are “inaccessible for students who want to grab a quick snack.”
However, in actuality, the prices outside of Hackley match the prices in which the items are listed. According to the Rockland Bakery website, they sell muffins in packs of 4 which are sold for $10 each. This means that each muffin is $2.50, in line with the price of muffins at the Tuck.
When these same students were asked if they would be surprised that the prices at the Tuck match the prices of the outside world, Olivia expressed that she was. “The items at Hackley are more expensive than you could get at a convenience store,” said Olivia
Harlo, however, commented that the prices are high for Hackley standards but not necessarily compared to prices of the items at places outside of Hackley.
While the Tuck is a major component of the HPA’s work, they also supervise many other events.
In the Lower School, the HPA ensures that each homeroom teacher has class parent volunteers who are tasked to help with in-classroom activities as well as communication between parents. In addition, they hold events such as Lower School Game Night and support sandwich making as well as help organize Lower School author visits.
Similarly, in the Middle School, the HPA hosts activity nights and assists the grade captains with communication among the parents.
In the Upper School, the HPA hosts the annual three-on-three basketball tournaments, the Coffee Houses, athletic dinners and the Prom Parent social.
Furthermore, the most well-known things that the HPA runs are division-specific or grade-specific parent coffees as well as running the Sting. The HPA is also responsible for running the Hornet’s Nest shop, Hackley’s merch store.
While the HPA contributes a lot to the Hackley community, a lot of their work and the effort into the decisions they make are not fully understood by Hackley students.
