Disappointed in Blair

<p>I visited the Blair web site a couple of weeks ago. It looked like a great school, so I completed the on-line inquiry form and this weekend, I rec'd the Blair view book - - YIKES!! </p>

<p>To my surprise, there were virtually no photos of black students. Even more shocking, the only section w/ two photos of black students and the single most promiinent photo of a black student were both in - - yes, athletics (one photo was of a boy gping up to the hoop at a basketball game).</p>

<p>Though, disappointed by the view book (I haven't watched the DVD yet), I telephoned the admissions office - - maybe the black kids were just camera shy. Sadly, that is not the case. The current black enrollment is only 3% (a total of 14 students), a number I'd expect in NH, western PA and the western CT/MA border, but not a school w/i 2 hrs of NYC and Newark.</p>

<p>Before I cross Blair off my list (and go into outrage mode) - - is there about these numbers that I'm overlooking.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>nyc:</p>

<p>Unfortunately there are many boarding schools with student bodies that lack diversity. The last time I checked, well-known schools such as Groton, NMH, Mercersburg, St. George's, Middlesex, and St. Mark's all had fewer than 20% students of color. By and large, the schools with more diversity are also the ones with more of everything else (and, therefore, the ones that are hardest to get into): Exeter, St. Paul's, and Andover were the most diverse the last time I checked, with Milton, Lawrenceville, Choate, Deerfield, and Thacher not too far behind.</p>

<p>Is it a question of what the endowment is and how much is available for FA?
Sending a child to BS is a huge financial stretch for most families. The schools collegeprof mentions all have very large endowments.</p>

<p>I looked at last year's facebook, and I saw 20 students who looked African American to me. Blairstown is predominantly white, so the day population reflects the surrounding demographics. I guess that Blair would like to attract more African Americans.</p>

<p>When I looked at last year's viewbook, I saw many photos of black students included in group shots, which is what most of the photos are. There is also a black student featured in the "likely to Lead" section (one of three).</p>

<p>While I know that you really want a high boarding population, you might consider Peddie. They are only around 60& boarding. However, their large endowment and less rural location, allow them to attract more african americans. At least that is my impression.</p>

<p>where did you get the NMH statistics? I had kids at NMH and exeter and we found nmh to be more diverse.</p>

<p>Burb Parent:
I've been following your posts for months and I must say you've turned me into a Blair fan. Although we initially focused on Boston area schools, we've added Blair to our list because it seems like such a warm, welcoming place. We are not Caucasian and my son has never even lived in the U.S. but I get a good feeling from what I've seen and read about Blair.</p>

<p>Personally, I worry more when I see school marketing materials that artificially create an appearance of diversity. Some schools produce marketing materials in such a way that the kid from Afghanistan appears on the left, the kid from Beijing appears on the right, the Indian student over here and the Nigerian student over there standing with a Caucasian student. They seem so staged sometimes... like an ad from Benetton. It would be sad if students were being picked to be models rather than to represent truly diverse points of view. Ironically, it was reported recently that racist remarks were carved onto the door of a student at one such "diverse" school. For me, a campus that is truly tolerant of different backgrounds and points of view would be the right one for my child regardless of statistics. It's my hope that my child finds new friends who don't latch on to stereo-types about our country or race and accept my child for who he is.</p>

<p>I can understand the OP's concern but also understand that a school is limited by its size and location in reaching out and drawing applications from diverse communities. I don't believe schools like Blair are less diverse for lack of effort or caring. I think it takes a long time to build up name recognition outside of communities where students traditionally came from. Just my opinion.... Anyway, we are looking forward to visiting Blair soon so we can get a good feel for it.</p>

<p>I don't know whether this applies to the African-American community, but I think some ethnic groups or religious groups or nationalities don't -- as a cultural matter -- seek out boarding school opportunities.</p>

<p>That might mean fewer prospects from an already minority population; practically eliminating the chances to establish proportionate representation. Then, if you have schools trying hard to compete for that highly self-selected pool, there isn't much to go around. And schools with the larger endowments that can basically use financial aid to draw deeper and deeper into that pool will come closest to showing proportional representation -- at the expense of the other schools being able to do so.</p>

<p>Then let's add in to that other factors that might make one school more appealing than another. One of those would surely be seeing a community that already has a significant number of people from your own ethnic group, meaning that it's likely that the "rich get richer."</p>

<p>It's difficult to look at a viewbook or even get the raw numbers and say that there's a problem. Now, for a parent or student who seeks out a truly diverse community, it's fair to say that "no matter how hard they're trying, the outcome is lacking and the demographics aren't a fit for us." But it's pretty harsh to look at the outcome and say that the school isn't doing enough or trying hard enough because its demographics are far below the proportional representation of a certain group in society-at-large. (I don't know if that was the point of the OP; I'm just warning against reading that sort of value judgment into the OP.)</p>

<p>A number of schools make a concerted effort to conduct outreach to groups of talented and gifted youth that are largely untapped or undertapped by boarding schools. I have no idea if Blair participates in any of these programs or not. But that's what I'd be interested in if I was looking at the equity of the process. And if I was an administrator at a school like Blair, I would be continually examining whether there are unintentional barriers or walls that make it harder for un- and under-tapped groups to choose my school. (Do students display Confederate flags? would be an obvious example, but there are far more subtle and unintentional signals that might warn off people that I'd try to actively seek out.)</p>

<p>I think it would be brutally difficult to find a school that has an endowment that fosters a quality experience and mirrors the demographics of the national population. We can cherry pick which ethnic groups and religions or nationalities that we wish to see well-represented, but by doing so we're also implicitly saying we're perfectly fine if -- for example -- Armenian-Americans are not represented at all. A school can be incredibly diverse even if it's not "as diverse" as others with respect to certain, selected demographics.</p>

<p>These are tough choices for a school as well as a parent/student searching for a school that will provide the right "fit." </p>

<p>Diversity can be created in many ways outside of the composition of the student body. The richness of the experience of being around others who hail from different backgrounds can be amazing in an environment where the demographics might not suggest it. A school that has few African-American students might foster that richness by creating a student-mentoring or tutoring program for disadvantaged and at-risk children in a nearby community. Or maybe that school is more actively in engaged in celebrating and welcoming its smaller ethnic community to be engaged and stay identified to their heritage than a school that has more students but expects them to fall in line with a WASP-ish "norm." </p>

<p>For example, a school that has many Latino-American students who make up the entire membership in the Latino student organization may not offer as diverse an experience as a school with far fewer Latino-American students where the club is very active and typically holds activities that most of the student body participates in.</p>

<p>In terms of what an incoming student/parent would want to know about diversity, demographics is just one question. Perhaps the first question. But regardless of how impressive (or unimpressive) the answer might be, the inquiry should continue if this is an important consideration:</p>

<p>a) How does the school go about creating and fostering diversity?</p>

<p>b) What efforts does the school make to ensure that the student-experience includes the richness of a culturally diverse global community?</p>

<p>c) What are the various minority ethnic/national/religious groups that are active on campus?</p>

<p>d) What activities at school tie into these groups?</p>

<p>e) How does the school create a welcoming environment for these groups?</p>

<p>f) What opportunities for participation and engagement exist for students who come from "outside" of these groups?</p>

<p>And these sorts of questions, in the end, only give you a general notion of the statistical likelihood that your child's actual experience will be what is typical at the school. </p>

<p>You never know when or where opportunities will strike. In my case, the apartment I rented for grad school burned down a few weeks before school started. Campus housing was unavailable and I actually lived out of my car for 2 days and used the floor of other students -- all strangers -- for another week when a fellow student said he had a room I could sublet. He was one of the under 5% African-American students and I lived with him in large complex where I was of 4 white people. In winter, it was so drafty we nailed blankets over the front door and windows and used only the rear door. And since I had the car that worked, I took him to his AME church on Sunday. Statistically speaking, diversity was not destined to be a component of my grad school experience. Fate dictated otherwise.</p>

<p>The final point is that if your child is truly open to embracing diversity, then it actually might be less important to look for large numbers. Your child's receptiveness to alternative backgrounds/cultures is the biggest factor that will determine whether s/he will seize those opportunities. Kids who want to avoid the 22% Aztec demographic at Cortes Academy for Boys will do so. Kids who wish to engage the 2% Latvian demographic at the Louie De Palma Finishing School will do so.</p>

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<p>Classic!/<em>8437672364</em>/</p>

<p>While NMH might have an 18% black population (as shown on BSR), they do have a higher than average - and much higher than AESCD - percentage of international students (21%) which may account for their lower black population numbers. BTW, Exeter is only showing 12% on BSR for black students (and 9% international).</p>

<p>Another Blair fan (parent of a grad) weighing in- You aren't going to find a lot of blacks at most boarding schools. Simple fact. Many more international students, though. I wouldn't let that fact sway you from Blair. It is the greatest!</p>

<p>college prof -</p>

<p>I think you're wrong about NMH (10% black?) and Mercersburg (6% black = 25 black students). Also, I wasn't talking about students of color in general (many schs have a relatively large Asian-Am enrollment), but black students in particular, since D is black. </p>

<p>Burb Prnt-</p>

<p>I don't have the face book, and the 3% figue and number 14 were reported by an Asst. Dir. of Admissions at Blair. As for the view book, there were indeed photos of black students - -including the student featured in the " likely to lead" section. Maybe my characterization of "virtually none" was a bit of an overstatement, but considering that the view book is primarily photos, 5 or 6 passport-sized pix w/ black students hardly constitutes "many" - - one has to put effort to find the black students. And the one prominent photo (3/4 of a page?) is, as I stated, in "Athletics."</p>

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<p>I'm not suggesting that any sch stage a Benetton ad (great line, Lexima). Nor am I imputing any bad motive or sugesting that Blair has failed to "do enough" to attract black students. </p>

<p>My focus on "outcome" relates SOLELY to D's comfort level. While D is interested in embracing diversity, like most adolescents, she wants to attend sch where she can make friends based on common interest - - a reasonable number of whom will be like her (boarding/culture) and look like her (gender/race). And, please keep in mind that embracing the 22% Aztecs and the 2% Latvians (White) is one thing when you are part of the 97% racial majority and another thing entirely when you are one of only three black students in your grade and possibly the only black girl (that's what it means to have only 12-14 black students on campus). </p>

<p>Blar looked like a good sch. We were very interested, hence my call to the admissions office and my request for more info. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something I was over looking.</p>

<p>MomofWild -</p>

<p>I know I won't find "a lot" of black students at BSs and Blair looks like a great sch - - but 12 black students is too few for us. It's also fewer (in absolute number and %) than a number of BSs. </p>

<p>For us the absence of a critical mass of black students is dispositive. No matter how good a sch is objectively (if there is such a thing), a sch where D is likely to be the only black girl in her grade is not a good sch for our family - - and certainly not an experience for which we are willing to pay good $.</p>

<p>Fortunately, we are looking to apply to no more than 3-4 shcs and we have already found a couple that fit the bill. It would have been nice to add Blair to the list (it's sooo close), but c'est la vie.</p>

<p>Nyc,</p>

<p>I just tried to post a long response, but it didn't go through. I used to work with a group placing black students at Blair. It is not a school I would recommend for black students, if you or anyone cares to find out why, you can pm me. Certainly some black students are happy there, but mine was not.</p>

<p>NMH was the first school to accept black students, very open envir. Also, there are all black boarding schools if you are interested...piney woods, for one.</p>

<p>There's a good number of African-Americans at Choate. I mean...obviously, like someone said, they're not a majority, but in our grade alone there's 37.5% students of color. There are also a lot of Asians though.</p>

<p>Now that I see my posts are going through, I'm sending another one. In my 7 years of working with talented black students going to private schools, I have one favorite school which I'll recommend to you: Episcopal High School in Alexandria. Yes, it's in the south, yes it has a formal dress code and looks stuffy, but it's my winner!</p>

<p>There are two black admissions officers, one of whom, Mr. Hodge, worked tirelessly on behalf of the black students on campus. The black student who I placed there started out as a shy young man who had few friends in his all-black middle school, and ended up with a wonderful group of friends at Episcopal, both black and white. He had a mentor and friend in Mr. Hodge, as well as several other teachers. When it was time to graduate, he tried to stay and do a PG year. I visited my student there so many times and was so impressed with the place.</p>

<p>NYC, I hope you will give Episcopal a look. It's 5 miles from Washington, DC, a city with a strong upper middle class black population, another plus.</p>

<p>Olivia, thanks, but D3 is soooo not Choate material!! </p>

<p>Kiristin, I'll check out Episcopal. But but more imprtant than black admissions officers - - what's the advising like? Please PM me. Thanks.</p>

<p>For what it's worth -- Deborah Wright, Dean of Admissions at NMH, is African-American.</p>

<p>Because they don't receive the applications from non-Caucausians, they can't increase their ratios. Because they can't increase their ratios, they don't receive the applications. Is this the school's fault? I don't blame you NYC for not wanting your child to be the only African-American girl in a group but I think you may be protecting her too much. What if she's the only African-Amercian female CEO in Solar Power or something in 25 yrs? She'll handle it (and, I trust, laugh all the way to the bank). What are her feelings about attending a school with a less-than-balanced student body? Has she fallen in love with any particular school yet?</p>

<p>Novelisto-</p>

<p>I didn't assign any blame for the absence of crit mass of black students. I just said that a sch w/o sufficient #s will get crossed off our list. Ohter families can and do make other/different choices (for example Prep/ABC kids who may need to follow the $$).</p>

<p>Obviously, if D could not be comfortable attending a sch w/ a "less than balance" student body, I wouldn't be bothering w/ any of the BSs, nor would she have attended day sch. Placing D in a residential setting where she would not have the support of her family or a black out-of-sch community and where at the same time could be the only black girl in her grade is, however is far too unbalanced for our family. And, as I stated earlier, this is not an experience for which we are willing to pay good $. OTOH, if Blair is offering her a CEO's compensation package, we can talk. But even then I'm making no promises - - D is, after all, only 15 yrs old - - not 40.</p>

<p>As for being protective - - guilty as charged (that goes w/ the job of "Mom"). Too protective? I'd disagree, but she's my D, so it's my call. </p>

<p>And, no offense, but find it hard to believe that any parent would UNNECESSARILY put his/her child in the position of being the "only one." BS is not a necessity and a sch's racial composition is as valid a consideration for my family as distance from home, the availability of finaid and the oppty to play a particular sport are to other families.</p>

<p>I think you're taking a good stance on whcih boarding school type you are looking for, nyc... I'm going though the same situation.</p>

<p>The black girls in my son's Blair graduating class were very happy at Blair and there were several black girls. They were leaders and top athletes. One of the boys came to Blair as a PG from a top prep day school in Dallas. There are always several black PGs at Blair- especially basketball players since Blair has such a strong program.</p>