Browne Academy’s Future?

[Anonymous]

So we are thinking about changing school next year for early elementary and due to commute constraints, only schools within Alexandria are a fit right now. We’ve done tours at ACDS, Burgundy, SSSAS but haven’t gone to Browne yet but will when schools re-open after this snow.

Anyone on here a current or past parent who can comment on the viability of the school in the long run? I did a deep dive into their financials and it was a rough few years between 2019-2022. The flat tuition is hopefully helping but I’ve also read the head of school may be leaving this year. Not sure whether this is good or bad but hoping some insights from Browne parents can help as I get the feeling they are on shaky ground.

I do like that they have a beautiful campus, a robust art and technology program, smaller class sizes, and are non-religious, a ding against SSSAS in our book. From my own online assessment, I see ACDS and Browne being very similar but for whatever reason, Browne struggling with their numbers.

Thanks for your candid responses.

[Anonymous]

I can’t speak to Browne specifically, but I would personally not be interested in going to a school with financial issues. I went to such a school growing up (where my mom was also a division head). Private school financial problems give the parents too much power, especially donor parents. They can easily the leverage the ability to leave and go to a new school to drive curricular changes that they prefer, avoid punishment, etc. The school knows they can’t afford to lose family. By necessity, the school will also need to focus on advertisement and enrollment, which can also look a lot like prioritizing appearance over substance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t speak to Browne specifically, but I would personally not be interested in going to a school with financial issues. I went to such a school growing up (where my mom was also a division head). Private school financial problems give the parents too much power, especially donor parents. They can easily the leverage the ability to leave and go to a new school to drive curricular changes that they prefer, avoid punishment, etc. The school knows they can’t afford to lose family. By necessity, the school will also need to focus on advertisement and enrollment, which can also look a lot like prioritizing appearance over substance.

Yes, these are my fears exactly so thanks for confirming my gut. But I could only find data up to 2022 so not sure if there has been any sort of turnaround the past three years. Hoping they have found more stable ground.

[Anonymous]

Candid.org has their 2023 form 990.

As an anecdote only because this is for US versus LS, we looked at SSSAS for US because it was so close to us. We did not want religious but couldn't look past location. Ultimately it was our DC's favorite, and the religious part is light touch. In the end DC has really liked the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Candid.org has their 2023 form 990.

As an anecdote only because this is for US versus LS, we looked at SSSAS for US because it was so close to us. We did not want religious but couldn't look past location. Ultimately it was our DC's favorite, and the religious part is light touch. In the end DC has really liked the school.

Agreed. My oldest went to SSSAS and the religion part was practically non-existent.

[Anonymous]

Another resistance that the religion at SSSAS (which is Episcopalian not Catholic) is a light touch. My agnostic DC has been very happy there.

Can you ask for the annual reports from Browne for the last couple of years? I think you’re on the right track in trying to figure out if the last few years have been an improvement. 2019-2022 is Covid era, and many small schools struggled.

[Anonymous]

^reassurance, not resistance. Fumble fingers, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Propublica has Browne's FY24 990. Their FY year ends 8/31, so it's likely they don't have a finalized FY25 audit or 990 yet. They had a net income of -$470,899 for FY24. Their contributions decreased by more than $1m, as did their program service revenue. A majority of the programs and services decrease seems to be tuition as camp income actually went up. I'd be curious to see what their enrollment numbers look like, but a $1m decrease is at least 35 students overall.

From what I understand, they are also super tiny by the time they get to 8th grade, and I've heard mixed things about their curriculum. For what it's worth, I have friends who seem to really like it.

We have a child in LS at SSSAS. DC's father is anti-religion and has been very happy with their approach. We've attended a few chapels and really enjoy the way they are run. We talk a lot about how happy we are DC ended up at SSSAS. It's been a great experience so far.