Hawthorn Elementary South is a K-5 school in Hawthorn School District 73.

The school utilizes "Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences," which, according to the school website, "offers teachers methods with which to engage students at all levels of learning. The nine intelligences include verbal-linguistic, mathematical-logical, musical, visual-spatial, bodily- kinesthetic, interpersonal, intra-personal, naturalist, and existential. Individual teachers also draw on a variety of best-practice methods and strategies."