Anonymous
04/20/2025 12:25
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
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.
Madeira recently got a $60 million donation from an alumnus so I don’t think it’s going anywhere soon.
Anonymous
04/20/2025 11:33
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
SIAP but Feynman school also closed down this last year. Also, Seneca academy almost closed its doors a few years ago.
Anonymous
04/20/2025 10:59
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
You might want to start a new post just on Green Acres to get good intel. Their 990 is publicly available - https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/520613675
Anonymous
04/20/2025 10:52
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Is Green Acres safe? My daughter might go there and I'm worried
Anonymous
04/16/2025 20:19
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
What was the annual tuition there?
Anonymous
04/16/2025 13:24
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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.
That’s not true - a large endowment 100% provides a cushion in hard times - we’ve seen this in action
There are some universities that can self fund. Maybe a couple of exceptional boarding schools. The private schools in the DMV have endowments that range from ok to paltry.
You have an odd definition of "ok to paltry"
Episcopal $230M
Madeira $140M (including $60M single anonymous gift this year)
Sidwell $81M
Anonymous
04/16/2025 12:46
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Many schools went wild with DEI facilitators even though these positions could’ve easily been covered by existing faculty members.
Also, they ramped up FA to existing students to keep them without verifying true need.
These are almost laughable takes. You think that one position did this? Do you think they don't verify financial aid need?
Anonymous
04/16/2025 11:00
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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.
That’s not true - a large endowment 100% provides a cushion in hard times - we’ve seen this in action
There are some universities that can self fund. Maybe a couple of exceptional boarding schools. The private schools in the DMV have endowments that range from ok to paltry.
Anonymous
04/16/2025 10:34
Subject: Re:s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:A K-8 HOS told me SSFS was expensive because they have to pay for all that land.
When looking at private high schools, I did consider how much land they had and how much it might cost.
This makes zero sense. Annual upkeep cost for land can be zero (look at the natural forests and streams at Potomac). These schools are tax exempt, constituting on a lot of land doesn’t necessarily increase running expenses.
I can guarantee that Potomac’s grounds upkeep expenses are not zero dollars.
Anonymous
04/16/2025 10:30
Subject: Re:s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:A K-8 HOS told me SSFS was expensive because they have to pay for all that land.
When looking at private high schools, I did consider how much land they had and how much it might cost.
This makes zero sense. Annual upkeep cost for land can be zero (look at the natural forests and streams at Potomac). These schools are tax exempt, constituting on a lot of land doesn’t necessarily increase running expenses.
You still have to maintain your buildings and grounds and your sports fields. And servicing the debt for the building projects. Clearly they didn’t have enough revenue to meet their operating expenses.
Anonymous
04/16/2025 09:52
Subject: Re:s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:A K-8 HOS told me SSFS was expensive because they have to pay for all that land.
When looking at private high schools, I did consider how much land they had and how much it might cost.
This makes zero sense. Annual upkeep cost for land can be zero (look at the natural forests and streams at Potomac). These schools are tax exempt, constituting on a lot of land doesn’t necessarily increase running expenses.
Anonymous
04/16/2025 09:49
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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
And robust boarding programs that are not currently declining.
Both could pivot to day and still have to turn kid away. They are located in areas with more wealth. The local boarding school that could close is Foxcroft. They are pretty small and are reliant on full pay boarders.
I think foxcroft is insulated in the same way Madeira is bc they both appeal to the equestrian families. These families tend to be wealthier than average and there are very few remaining schools with equestrian teams, so if that’s a priority, then your pool of schools is smaller.
Anonymous
04/16/2025 09:44
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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.
That’s not true - a large endowment 100% provides a cushion in hard times - we’ve seen this in action
The truth is that an endowment has to be many times larger than operating expenses to make a difference because usually the principal is not to be touched. But it all depends on the rules around the endowment when it’s established.
Yes - a l said a "large endowment". It's HOS job to spearhead these endowment campaigns.
And sometimes there just aren’t enough super wealthy alumni to create a robust endowment. The HOS also has to fundraise for the current year and short mid-term obligations.
And if I’m understanding correctly, there are no 990s to scrutinize because of religious status so few will ever know what the books looked like and exactly what went on. But I guess as somebody said they got out over their skis and that’s pretty obvious.
Anonymous
04/16/2025 09:41
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Many schools went wild with DEI facilitators even though these positions could’ve easily been covered by existing faculty members.
Also, they ramped up FA to existing students to keep them without verifying true need.
Yea, sure, that was the problem - not COVID and then politics that led to the bottoming out of the boarding income stream.
SSFS enrollment boomed due to Covid impact on public schools
This happened at many private schools
SSFS was mismanaged
Anonymous
04/16/2025 09:39
Subject: s/o of SSFS closing
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Many schools went wild with DEI facilitators even though these positions could’ve easily been covered by existing faculty members.
Also, they ramped up FA to existing students to keep them without verifying true need.
“It’s absurd how schools are piling DEI work on the plates of overworked faculty. They aren’t experts in DEI; they are experts in their field.”
See how silly that sounds? Of course schools need a dedicated DEIB role.
No they don’t. Fake, make work project.
I taught at SSFS
Long before anyone talked about DEI that was the whole ethos of SSFS and most Quaker schools. They always walked the walk.
They certainly didn’t need to hire a virtue signaler to come in a talk the talk after the fact.