Haile-Manas Academy

About Haile-Manas Academy

Forty-five years after fleeing Ethiopia with her family, Rebecca Haile, together with her husband Jean Manas, founded Haile-Manas Academy (HMA), a co-educational boarding school aimed at re-envisioning high school education in Ethiopia. Haile was ten years old when her father, a leading academic and Amharic language scholar, was shot and nearly died resisting arrest for his political beliefs in the aftermath of Ethiopia's 1974 revolution. The family came to the U.S. as refugees in 1976 and landed in Minnesota. HMA is more than just an educational institution; it's a vision for the future of education in Ethiopia. The school functions as a model school, setting the bar for excellence in education and serving as a catalyst for positive change in the country's educational landscape. HMA adheres to the Ethiopian National Curriculum while implementing a student-centered methodology that emphasizes active learning, critical thinking, and technology integration—departing from traditional approaches that rely on memorization and limited engagement. HMA stands out as a pioneer in promoting diversity and inclusivity in Ethiopian education, and is the only boarding school in Ethiopia that recruits students from across all regional states, with diversity described as fundamental to its educational philosophy.

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