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Colby Eisen, 17, of Bedford, N.Y., left, and Nancy Vinal, 17, of Chestnut Hill, Ma. walk toward the horse barns on the Ethel Walker School campus where they work on their independent study and after-school projects. Both senior girls met when they lived in the same dorm as sophomores and have been close friends ever since. The Ethel Walker School, located on both sides of Bushy Hill Rd., is an independent, college preparatory boarding and day school for girls in grades 6-12. Both Eisen and Vinal board their horses at the school and are involved in the many equine science programs. (STEPHEN DUNN / HARTFORD COURANT / November 9, 2009) |
When one of the worst recessions in decades arrived in the state, private schools braced for a hit, figuring that economically pinched parents might see tuition as an easy cost to trim.
But the schools have been pleasantly surprised to find they've merely been sideswiped by the recession.
Although private school enrollment is down slightly overall, and day schools are reporting small decreases, many boarding schools say they're booming and have record-high applications.
But more parents have been asking for financial aid, determined not to uproot their children, particularly during a time of economic uncertainty, private school leaders said.
Connecticut's private schools, which serve 75,000 students, have responded by holding fundraisers to increase scholarship money, offering more aid, limiting tuition increases and intensifying marketing efforts both here and abroad.
Financial aid requests at the Ethel Walker School, a private girls' school in Simsbury, for example, have risen about 20 percent this school year, Admissions Director Erin Corbett said.
"The biggest surprise is seeing some financial aid requests from families already in schools who have not asked for financial aid before. That usually means a job loss," said Doug Lyons, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools.
Even with financial aid, many parents are struggling to pay tuition. Some have turned to relatives for help or even dipped into their retirement savings.
Paul Keyes, a Bloomfield father who lost his job nearly two years ago and only recently found a new one, said it has been a struggle to send his daughter, Chelsea, to Ethel Walker for her senior year this year.
"It's a huge sacrifice," he said. "The bulk of our income goes toward funding our daughter's education. We made a decision to continue on that path because we've seen her develop and turn into a leader."
School officials said there's a consensus that parents see the economic downtown as temporary and don't want to disrupt their child's education.
"No matter how much discretionary income people have, they are spending it differently now," said Andrea Herron, of Bedford, N.Y., whose daughter, Colby Eisen, is a senior at Ethel Walker. "The one place you don't want to scrimp is education. Vacations, restaurants, clothes, fashionable items — from what I'm seeing and from our point of view, that's where you are going to cut back," she said.
Many day schools, which are private but whose students return home each day, are reporting slight enrollment declines, Lyons said.
Some regions are doing better than others. Schools in Greater Hartford and west of Hartford are taking more of a hit, reporting a 4 percent to 5 percent decline in enrollment, a trend Lyons attributes to a slight dip in the number of school-aged children along with flat salary growth in the region.
But in some regions, such as northwest Connecticut and Fairfield County, private day schools are doing well. King Low Heywood Thomas, a day school in Stamford, for example, expanded its enrollment to an all-time high of 664 students because there were so many good applicants this year, said Tom Main, King's head of school. The school had nearly 200 applications for 35 openings for its ninth-grade class, he said.
"This is the largest the school has ever been," he said. "The field was very strong, so we grew a little bit this year."
Some day schools are trying to retain their edge by opening new facilities, such as a $13 million science, math and technology building at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford and a science center at the Watkinson School in Hartford, Lyons said.
Catholic schools in Connecticut have seen some slowdown, with secondary school enrollment stagnant and elementary enrollment down slightly, said Anne T. Clubb, director of school advancement for the office of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford.
Many boarding schools have responded to the economic downturn by intensifying their marketing, across the country and internationally, a strategy that has resulted in record numbers of applications and big waiting lists.
The Ethel Walker School, which has both day and boarding students, increased its travel budget by about 25 percent and has been recruiting students from as far away as New Mexico and Colorado. The efforts have paid off with an increase of more than 14 percent this year in the school's boarding population, Corbett said.
The Westminster School in Simsbury has also broadened its marketing and now reports a student body from 27 states and 21 countries, including Singapore and Thailand, Admissions Director Jon Deveaux said.
"Before, marketing was considered a dirty word. The attitude was private schools don't advertise. That has all changed," Deveaux said.
Lyons, of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, said Connecticut's private schools have always attracted international students, particularly from Asia.
"I think it's the high value that Asian parents place on education. Maybe some of it is wanting their children to be better positioned for an American university because they've had the rigor of an independent school education," Lyons said.
Nationwide, overall private school enrollment is holding steady and, like Connecticut, differs by region, said Myra McGovern, spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools.
"The recession has a much greater impact in Detroit, where the auto industry is really collapsing, than it does in New York City," McGovern said.
"It's a testament to the strength of independent schools that families are still willing to make a commitment," McGovern said. "Families realize that if they are having a tough financial time, it's just a temporary setback. And many schools have stepped in to help families weather the storm."
National experts believe that the recession may even harden parents' resolve to keep their children at their school.
"In times of economic turbulence or any type of instability in the larger world, people flock to the institutions that provide comfort and stability. In that category, I think of schools, churches and other institutions that provide emotional support as well as stability," McGovern said.
"You always want your children to have the best. But particularly if there is instability at work, they want to shelter them from the storm. They might consider other ways to trim the budget — tuition is not one of the things they are willing to give up," McGovern said.
But the schools have been pleasantly surprised to find they've merely been sideswiped by the recession.
Although private school enrollment is down slightly overall, and day schools are reporting small decreases, many boarding schools say they're booming and have record-high applications.
But more parents have been asking for financial aid, determined not to uproot their children, particularly during a time of economic uncertainty, private school leaders said.
Connecticut's private schools, which serve 75,000 students, have responded by holding fundraisers to increase scholarship money, offering more aid, limiting tuition increases and intensifying marketing efforts both here and abroad.
Financial aid requests at the Ethel Walker School, a private girls' school in Simsbury, for example, have risen about 20 percent this school year, Admissions Director Erin Corbett said.
"The biggest surprise is seeing some financial aid requests from families already in schools who have not asked for financial aid before. That usually means a job loss," said Doug Lyons, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools.
Even with financial aid, many parents are struggling to pay tuition. Some have turned to relatives for help or even dipped into their retirement savings.
Paul Keyes, a Bloomfield father who lost his job nearly two years ago and only recently found a new one, said it has been a struggle to send his daughter, Chelsea, to Ethel Walker for her senior year this year.
"It's a huge sacrifice," he said. "The bulk of our income goes toward funding our daughter's education. We made a decision to continue on that path because we've seen her develop and turn into a leader."
School officials said there's a consensus that parents see the economic downtown as temporary and don't want to disrupt their child's education.
"No matter how much discretionary income people have, they are spending it differently now," said Andrea Herron, of Bedford, N.Y., whose daughter, Colby Eisen, is a senior at Ethel Walker. "The one place you don't want to scrimp is education. Vacations, restaurants, clothes, fashionable items — from what I'm seeing and from our point of view, that's where you are going to cut back," she said.
Many day schools, which are private but whose students return home each day, are reporting slight enrollment declines, Lyons said.
Some regions are doing better than others. Schools in Greater Hartford and west of Hartford are taking more of a hit, reporting a 4 percent to 5 percent decline in enrollment, a trend Lyons attributes to a slight dip in the number of school-aged children along with flat salary growth in the region.
But in some regions, such as northwest Connecticut and Fairfield County, private day schools are doing well. King Low Heywood Thomas, a day school in Stamford, for example, expanded its enrollment to an all-time high of 664 students because there were so many good applicants this year, said Tom Main, King's head of school. The school had nearly 200 applications for 35 openings for its ninth-grade class, he said.
"This is the largest the school has ever been," he said. "The field was very strong, so we grew a little bit this year."
Some day schools are trying to retain their edge by opening new facilities, such as a $13 million science, math and technology building at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford and a science center at the Watkinson School in Hartford, Lyons said.
Catholic schools in Connecticut have seen some slowdown, with secondary school enrollment stagnant and elementary enrollment down slightly, said Anne T. Clubb, director of school advancement for the office of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford.
Many boarding schools have responded to the economic downturn by intensifying their marketing, across the country and internationally, a strategy that has resulted in record numbers of applications and big waiting lists.
The Ethel Walker School, which has both day and boarding students, increased its travel budget by about 25 percent and has been recruiting students from as far away as New Mexico and Colorado. The efforts have paid off with an increase of more than 14 percent this year in the school's boarding population, Corbett said.
The Westminster School in Simsbury has also broadened its marketing and now reports a student body from 27 states and 21 countries, including Singapore and Thailand, Admissions Director Jon Deveaux said.
"Before, marketing was considered a dirty word. The attitude was private schools don't advertise. That has all changed," Deveaux said.
Lyons, of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, said Connecticut's private schools have always attracted international students, particularly from Asia.
"I think it's the high value that Asian parents place on education. Maybe some of it is wanting their children to be better positioned for an American university because they've had the rigor of an independent school education," Lyons said.
Nationwide, overall private school enrollment is holding steady and, like Connecticut, differs by region, said Myra McGovern, spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools.
"The recession has a much greater impact in Detroit, where the auto industry is really collapsing, than it does in New York City," McGovern said.
"It's a testament to the strength of independent schools that families are still willing to make a commitment," McGovern said. "Families realize that if they are having a tough financial time, it's just a temporary setback. And many schools have stepped in to help families weather the storm."
National experts believe that the recession may even harden parents' resolve to keep their children at their school.
"In times of economic turbulence or any type of instability in the larger world, people flock to the institutions that provide comfort and stability. In that category, I think of schools, churches and other institutions that provide emotional support as well as stability," McGovern said.
"You always want your children to have the best. But particularly if there is instability at work, they want to shelter them from the storm. They might consider other ways to trim the budget — tuition is not one of the things they are willing to give up," McGovern said.
"SuzieP: I send my son to a private scholl because they offer far more than public schools. NOT because I think (or would ever want him to think) that they are better than anybody. You are being very stereotypical with your comments. You have already formed an opinion about people. It's a choice we make. I send my son to private school, becauseI can. I could drive a ford, but chose something a little better. I could live in a trailer park (like yourself) but chose something a little better. Think about the choices people make. You see someone driving a Toyota, but they could probably get by with a Yugo, right? Someone has a 3 bedroom house. But they could probably get by with a 2 bedroom apartment, right? Get a clue, then a life.
Waitforme (11/12/2009, 12:28 PM )"
Ditto. We middle classer's also send our kids to private high school. Had to take a part time job to make it work but anything to keep them out of our public school system which ranks at the bottom (outside of the urban systems) in Hartford County.
SquireH (11/12/2009, 4:03 PM )