Private schools broaden their appeal
Expansive theaters, wireless networks and small class sizes are qualities most colleges strive for. However, some high school students gain access to these amenities long before they set foot on a university campus.
They’re the students at the area’s private secondary and boarding schools. Along with the often superior facilities, parents choose these institutions out of disappointment with public schools and the expectation of an exemplary education.These institutions compete for the best students elementary schools have to offer. But there’s also a new focus on diversifying the student population.
"I can’t think of one school that doesn’t want to widen its socioeconomic background," says Steve Clem, executive director of the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE).
Day schools extend their reach
For private secondary schools operating on a day schedule, building a diverse population is a tall order. With most of the students commuting from the immediate area, schools must step up outreach efforts to achieve a broader population and economic mix.
Building their endowments is key to that strategy. Experts note that for years parents would overlook private schools purely out of fear the schools weren’t affordable. Even while they increase tuition for the general student body, private schools are launching aggressive drives to raise funds to subsidize students from lower-income families.
St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury tries to keep its enrollment at 1,000 students. The school strives to maintain a high standard of students instead of huge numbers, says headmaster Michael Welch. However, there is a need to expand both the economic and geographic makeup of the student body. St. John’s has seen growth in the number of students coming from the Southboro and Westboro area, as well as towns surrounding the Rt. 146 corridor, notes Welch.
"Our goal is to grow our endowment so we can provide additional financial aid," says Welch.
The school has also made capital investments. A new building constructed in 1999 contains science labs and hi-tech smart classrooms, and an expansion is underway for the cafeteria. Plans are also in place for a new English center, complete with drop down LCDs, laptops, and smart boards – white boards that can interface with a computer. While these expenditures are important, says Welch, the quality of the educators and course offerings remains top priority.
In Framingham, Marian High School is scrambling to rebuild its student population. Once boasting over 700 students, the school now has fallen to less than 300 students over the past 15 years. Blame that downturn on the school’s being cut out of the Boston Archdiocese and shakeups at the management level, says Sister Catherine Clifford, principal at Marian. Steps taken to reverse that trend include several physical improvements to the school, such as new locker rooms and an updated library.
Marian is also ramping up marketing efforts by publishing its own magazine. The school hopes that by raising awareness, more students will attend the school’s open houses. While Marian currently attracts 35 percent of its students from Framingham, Clifford wants to increase that number. However, Marian isn’t looking to grow its financial aid population. "We have 25 percent on financial aid currently," says Clifford. "It’s a good mix."
Accent on the environment
While secondary day schools cater to the local population, boarding schools target students on an international level. Area schools offering residential programs have seen steady growth in interested students, a trend noted nationally by Pat Bassett, president of the National Association of Independent Schools. The environment of the campus often determines where students attend, local headmasters note, as well as course offerings and a proven track record of collegiate success.
At the Groton School, where annual board and tuition total $39,850, headmaster Rick Commons notes that the school hopes to add more course offerings and expand its financial aid in the years to come. While the school built a new performing arts center and athletic center in the late ’90s, Commons stresses that Groton does not want to become part of an "arms race" with competing schools. "You don’t want to be building facilities to attract students," says Commons, adding that students should come for the education and not the amenities.
The school also has an initiative underway to increase its financial aid and reevaluate its curriculum. About 35 percent of Groton students get financial aid, totaling $3.1 million annually. It’s not enough, Commons notes. The goal is to provide aid for every accepted student who seeks assistance. The school also aims to add languages such as Arabic to its course offerings, a move to enhance the school’s appeal and remain relevant to current social conditions.
At St. Mark’s in Southboro, a record 600 students applied for the upcoming school year. Some 80 percent of the 95 new students accepted will board, notes Anne Behnke, director of admissions. The school has made several capital investments, including as a new performing arts center. Despite these improvements, parents demand that what happens in the classroom be top priority.
"Parents send their children here for the education," says Behnke. She adds that the school will not make improvements just for the sake of "looking good," but that it is important to parents that the institution is in good health financially. St. Mark’s endowment now stands at $124 million. "Parents like to hear a school has a big endowment," says Behnke. "It signifies strong financial shape."
Still other boarding schools offer students the choice of living on campus full or part time. When the number of students choosing to board at Worcester Academy dropped, the school adjusted. It built a solid base of day students and re-structured its boarding program to attract more boarders and co-ed attendees.
With a choice of a five or seven-day program, students can either live on-campus full-time or return home on the weekends. The numbers indicate a rising popularity for the school’s on campus living: Over the last several years, boarders have increased from 80 to 142. Annual board and tuition totals $33,630 for five-day boarders and $37,650 for seven-day students.
Morse notes that the diversity of the student population has grown as well. When there once were only three students from Southboro, now there are 29. "The Boston money is moving into the area," says Morse, who adds the school is actively working to attract students from the Rt. 495 communities. In June, the school purchased six acres of land of the former St. Vincent’s campus, effectively increasing the size of the campus 50 percent.
Keeping costs down
For many parents, the ups and downs of the economy do not affect the decision to send children to exclusive schools. However, the schools themselves face the challenge of offering more dollars for financial aid to students while needing to hire additional staff to handle expansion. The independent institutions are limited, though, by the growth of the school-age population.
At the Groton School, headmaster Commons notes that increases in salary and compensation packages are increasingly necessary to retain good teachers. Adds AISNE’s Clem: "Schools need to create a significant endowment to control costs, and continue to make a real effort to pay teachers appropriately."
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