Which private schools are struggling to fill classes?

[Anonymous]

Lowell. I know they had PK spots available outright about a month ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The question didn't say the schools are struggling in totality, just struggling to fill classes. And that is a reality at a lot of schools. Enrollment is down. What is irresponsible about acknowledging that and exploring which schools it is happening at and the possible reasons why?

No, the question was which schools are close to failure. Thats why this is so irresponsible. So Lowell didn't fill its Pre-K, no way are they close to failure. The question just invites irresponsible speculation.

[Anonymous]

Having slots available is a sign that a school is NOT "close to failure" as they would have filled those slots with almost anyone if it was truly necessary. Instead, schools generally maintain enough financial cushion so that they can underenroll a few classes here and there rather than accept students/families that are not a good fit for the school and/or are unlikely to be successful. Every school occassionally has unfilled classes ... it is not an indication of imminent failure.

Yes, every now and then students are admitted who turn out to not be a good fit for the school ... but the schools don't do this intentionally just to collect the tuition. Doing so would put all tuition revenues in jeopardy as the nature of the school and the level of teaching would all be affected and current families would leave.

[Anonymous]

The title of the post is "Which private schools are struggling to fill classes?" How is that asking which schools are close to failure? Perhaps that is how some have interpreted, but the question itself is fair to ask. Not only does it give parents an idea of where openings might exist, but it also calls into question WHY schools may be struggling. Both of those are legitimate aims.

PP-
As a school insider, I will say that schools sometimes do make decisions based on financial bottom lines instead of educational bottom lines. They will accept students they might not otherwise accept if enrollment is down. I'm not saying they are taking gross numbers of kids that they can't support (though there may be some sprinkled in), but they definitely do change admissions standards based on yield. You are right that, long term, this is a wrong-headed decision as it only serves to further the difficulties schools are facing. But when budgets turn from black to red, those higher up the food chain have to consider different factors.

Trust me, in schools where enrollment is very down, a kid has to have screaming red flag to be rejected.

[Anonymous]

Note, I am not defending this practice. Just acknowledging it as a reality in independent schools. It is how SOME schools choose to deal with enrollment crunches. I say this coming from a school which has seen a 10% drop in enrollment over the past few years.

[Anonymous]

if you read the post afterthe title it does say which are close to failure.

[Anonymous]

Point taken. I was speaking to the broader question of which schools are struggling to fill classes. Absent real reason to believe that schools are near failure, this is a dangerous conversation. But what conversations on DCUM are NOT dangerous?

[Anonymous]

Jeez, 16:26, what are you getting at? The OP asked which schools are close to failure. This is not "dangerous," its irresponsible because it invites speculation based on a criteria (class enrollment) that doesn't lead to the conclusion requested. Speak all you want about schools that are underenrolled. Thats not "dangerous" and there's nothing wrong with discussing it, just not under the larger question of THIS thread about schools failing.

[Anonymous]

PP-

I'm not sure we are on the same page. I said it was dangerous to speculate which schools are near failure without evidence to support that. Otherwise, we could speculate ANY school is near failure based on any issue it is facing and just let the gossip mill go to work. Sex parties at Landon? Might fail. Teacher turnover at Lowell? Might fail. Frustration with Prize Day at StAs? Might fail.

Speculation does us little good and, as such, I think it is wrong to indulge it. Should we talk about schools facing problems (including underenrollment)? Absolutely. Should we jump to the conclusion that those schools are failing? No.

The topic of this conversation asked which schools are struggling to fill classes. I was speaking to that question. Some are speculating more specifically to school's failing, which is simply indulgent gossiping. But that's nothing new to DCUM, now is it?

[Anonymous]

When the economy turns sour people will take a close look at their local publics if they are good. In SW MoCo, the schools are very good, so the competition will be tight, public vs private.

[Anonymous]

CHDS is in very good financial shape. I don't know where the pp is getting his/her information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When the economy turns sour people will take a close look at their local publics if they are good. In SW MoCo, the schools are very good, so the competition will be tight, public vs private.

At the same time, as the economy turns sour, public school cutbacks may cause some people to take another look at private schools. I know some of our friends are reconsidering their choice to go public, although their experience to date has been pretty good.

[Anonymous]

I think any parent considering private school @30K/year should consider the business side of the institution -- finances and management, including the strength of enrollment, reserves, etc.... Just as much as I want a school with good academics, I want a school where I have a high degree of confidence that it will experience financial problems. This should be a consideration in all private school decisions. When schools start to have financial problems, the impact on the classroom is fast and fierce.

[Anonymous]

Those schools considered to be the top 10 to 15 schools on DCUM, regardless of how individuals choose to rank order them, are not experiencing weak enrollments at this time nor are they experiencing financial problems. The implication that they are is off-base ... not sure of the motivation behind it. Schools in existence for less than 10 years and without an established giving community (alumni families) and endowments may very well be experiencing some stress ... but those schools are very rarely discussed here and certainly do not include the schools that have been named here.

[Anonymous]

I don't think Harbor is in any danger of closing. Irresponsible rumors.