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Independent Schools in the News
Teaching to the top, private school has staying power
By Emily Richmond, The Las Vegas Sun (from May 12, 2009)
(Las Vegas, NV) – “Goodman decided not to wait and established a nonprofit organization that would ultimately become the Meadows School, now in its 25th year. Southern Nevada’s only nonprofit, nonreligious private school for grades pre-K through high school has grown into an educational oasis in the desert.”
Schools avoiding increase in tuition
Nine private institutions in county say they don’t want to add to existing hardship
By Melissa Tanji, The Maui News (from May 12, 2009)
(Maui, HI) – “Nine private schools in Maui County will not be increasing tuition next school year. Some administrators say they do not want to further burden parents during hard times.
But as the schools keep tuition rates stable, some say they will balance their budgets by freezing staff salaries and making job cuts.” Grosse Pointe Blues
By Eric Konigsberg, The New York Times (from May 8, 2009)
(Grosse Pointe, MI) – “At University Liggett School, a K-12 private school in Grosse Pointe Woods where tuition runs as high as $20,000, that fear of the unknown has needed to be addressed just as much as lost income.” First female valedictorian to speak at commencement
By Jennifer Nessmith, MyHometownNews (from May 8, 2009)
(Melbourne, FL) - “Merely four years after the school went co-ed, Florida Air Academy in Melbourne will have its first female valedictorian.
Charlene Gracia, 18, of Satellite Beach, who enrolled in the academy's first co-ed class in 2005, will speak as the school's top student at a graduation ceremony at 3 p.m. May 15 at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne.” Wheelchair athlete for a day
The Bernardsville News (from May 8, 2009)
(Far Hills, NJ) – “Scott Thomas of Bernardsville, a student at Far Hills Country Day School, takes a turn at adapted soccer on Thursday, April 29 during the annual visit to the school by students and staff from the Matheny School in Peapack-Gladstone. To demonstrate Matheny’s adapted physical education program for the disabled, the students also participated in wheelchair hockey and bowling.” Provision in ed bill could spur donations to private schools
By Darwin Danielson, Radio Iowa (from May 7, 2009)
“A last minute provision in an education bill could mean a new corporate tax credit to benefit private schools, if the governor signs the change into law. Currently, individual contributors to private school scholarship funds receive a significant income tax credit.
Under the new law, that tax break would extend to corporations.” Parents still paying up for private schools
By Diana Costello, The News-Journal (from May 7, 2009)
“Between salary freezes and the uncertainty of future employment, basically all discretionary spending has gone by the wayside - from manicures and haircuts to vacations and expensive phone plans. Yet there's one thing parents Joseph and Virginia Constantino refuse to do without, so long as they can come up with the $16,500 for tuition next year: sending their 13-year-old son to the Melrose School in Brewster.” High school decathlete already world class in several events
By Dick Patrick, USA Today (from May 7, 2009)
(Albuquerque, NM) – “Curtis Beach is a different breed of decathlete and not just because he recently obliterated the national high school record in the event. The senior at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico comes from a middle-distance background and relishes the 1,500 meters, the concluding event of the two-day, 10-event discipline that most participants equate to a root canal.” Private schools struggle to meet needs of struggling parents
By J.M. Brown, The Sentinel (from May 7, 2009)
(Santa Cruz, CA) – “As the cost of living rises and many are losing jobs or homes, private schools countywide are providing more financial aid, taking pay cuts and making other sacrifices to keep parents like single mom Colleen Arnold from taking their students off the rolls." Cape Cod private schools ride out the recession
Home budget cuts, financial aid and scholarships--parents of Cape private school students find a way
By Bethany Gibbons, Cape Cod Today (from May 4, 2009)
(Falmouth, MA) – “The sluggish economy has seen families delaying the purchase of a newer car, while others trim expenses by cutting back on trips or even clipping coupons. There is one part of the budget that some Cape Cod families remain steadfastly committed to preserving, and that is their child’s private school education.” Will high school budget crisis affect enrollment at private schools?
By Andrea Adelson, The Orlando Sentinel (from May 4, 2009)
(Orlando, FL) – “The threat of budget cuts to freshman and junior varsity sports in Orange County has sent a stream of parents to Pine Castle Christian, where Athletic Director Mark Rickman has fielded questions from concerned moms and dads.In addition to asking about enrollment, class sizes and academic curricula, among the biggest inquiries from parents considering whether to take their children out of public school and into private school concerns athletics.”
Eighth-graders become movie directors
By Ashley Wilson, The Citizen-Times (from May 4, 2009)
(Ashville, NC) – “Watch out, Steven Spielberg: You might have some competition from eighth-graders at Carolina Day School.Eighteen students at the school took on the roles of director, producer, actor and crew member this semester. After about three months of creating their films, they got to watch them on the big screen at the Fine Arts Theatre downtown on Friday.”
Private schools increase aid
By Leslie Brody, The Herald (from May 3, 2009)
(Saddle River, NJ) – “Independent school officials say they are giving out more financial aid awards to hang on to students in families hit hard by the recession, and so far enrollments for next year are holding steady.School leaders said this week that many families who are committed to private education trim spending by skipping vacations, high-end cars and other expenses rather than pulling kids out of familiar schools, whenever possible. Some parents are wary of switching to the public system in districts struggling with tight budgets.”
Fundraising efforts find new focus: Online
By Emily Johns, The Star Tribune (from May 2, 2009)
(Minneapolis, MN) – “But more and more of Minnesota's private schools are turning to the Internet to run the auctions that bring a considerable chunk of fundraising money every year. Most of the schools still hold annual galas, with a few items for a live auction, but many are conducting the bulk of their auctions online.”
Forsyth School is part of a national trend
By Georgina Gustin, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (from April 27, 2009)
(St. Louis, MO) – “Forsyth, on Wydown Boulevard near Forest Park, is among the first schools in the state to launch such a farm-to-school lunch program — part of a national movement to bring fresher food into school cafeterias by tapping regional farmers and boosting rural economies at the same time.”
Getting in touch with ancient cultures
By Carla Rivera, The Los Angeles Times (from April 25, 2009)
(Los Angeles, CA) – “The awe-struck reactions Friday of a group of students huddled around ancient Roman jewelry, Mesopotamian clay tablets and Etruscan safety pins proved that some old objects can impress today's teenagers even more than the latest gadget. The 30 artifacts that were on display at Harvard-Westlake Middle School are part of a collection owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is testing a pilot project to exhibit the fragile, valuable items at public and private schools and use them for lesson plans.” |
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