s/o of SSFS closing

[Anonymous]

I feel horrible for the kids, families, teachers....

But it makes me wonder -- could any other local small privates could be at risk?

[Anonymous]

Probably depends on the loans they have out.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I'm in a different world, but per privateschoolreview.com, the 600 students at Sandy Springs made it quite large, by local standards. Not much smaller than Georgetown Day, slightly bigger than St Albans.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the issue here was tied to 1) a very large campus that was difficult to maintain & super leveraged 2) a once-profitable boarding program that couldn't survive Covid. I don't know that any other school is in that situation. I'm sure some other schools are struggling, but not necessarily for these reasons and with this outcome.

[Anonymous]

It is always a good idea to check the 990 forms for the schools you are considering. Not all schools have them because many get a religious exemption.

My two favorite data points endowment and financial aid numbers.

How is the endowment fund total trend? I think endowments are what help schools weather ups and downs.

I also like to look at the financial aid total divided by the listed number of recipients. A healthy school will have about 1/4 of the student body receiving an average of 50% aid. Some schools might be able to swing more, especially those with large endowments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I'm in a different world, but per privateschoolreview.com, the 600 students at Sandy Springs made it quite large, by local standards. Not much smaller than Georgetown Day, slightly bigger than St Albans.

Thank you. I thought it was much smaller than that, but I suppose being Preschool - 12 it just seems smaller when looking at grade size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I'm in a different world, but per privateschoolreview.com, the 600 students at Sandy Springs made it quite large, by local standards. Not much smaller than Georgetown Day, slightly bigger than St Albans.

While I know SSFS was struggling with enrollment, but it doesn't sound like a status quo enrollment would have addressed this anyway.

[Anonymous]

I was frustrated when the private applied to didn’t have 990s because of the religious exemption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is always a good idea to check the 990 forms for the schools you are considering. Not all schools have them because many get a religious exemption.

My two favorite data points endowment and financial aid numbers.

How is the endowment fund total trend? I think endowments are what help schools weather ups and downs.

I also like to look at the financial aid total divided by the listed number of recipients. A healthy school will have about 1/4 of the student body receiving an average of 50% aid. Some schools might be able to swing more, especially those with large endowments.

That isn't how endowments work. Most of the funds in endowments ar earmarked for very specific programs or uses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like the issue here was tied to 1) a very large campus that was difficult to maintain & super leveraged 2) a once-profitable boarding program that couldn't survive Covid. I don't know that any other school is in that situation. I'm sure some other schools are struggling, but not necessarily for these reasons and with this outcome.

+1

Seems like the reliance on international students for boarding was an Achilles heel - first with the drop in these students during COVID, and now with the current administration’s policies

[Anonymous]

Agree that the decline of the boarding program was a key factor the school couldn’t overcome, and one that isn’t relevant for many other schools in the area, as the vast majority do not have boarders to start with.

[Anonymous]

International boarding was part of the business model for that failed Intelsat school, too. Georgetown Prep and Madeira are two other schools around here with a bunch of international boarders, though I tend to assume Georgetown Prep has resources or donors who will see it through if it comes to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is always a good idea to check the 990 forms for the schools you are considering. Not all schools have them because many get a religious exemption.

My two favorite data points endowment and financial aid numbers.

How is the endowment fund total trend? I think endowments are what help schools weather ups and downs.

I also like to look at the financial aid total divided by the listed number of recipients. A healthy school will have about 1/4 of the student body receiving an average of 50% aid. Some schools might be able to swing more, especially those with large endowments.

How do you find these?

Would you have known SSFS was at risk of imminent closure based on theirs?

[Anonymous]

No SSFS had a religious exemption, as do many schools locally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:International boarding was part of the business model for that failed Intelsat school, too. Georgetown Prep and Madeira are two other schools around here with a bunch of international boarders, though I tend to assume Georgetown Prep has resources or donors who will see it through if it comes to that.

Georgetown Prep and Madeira are much older schools with larger endowments and bigger alumni/donor base