The St. Paul’s School Board of Trustees voted unanimously to waive application fees and make standardized testing optional for students interested in enrolling for the 2021-22 school year. In addition to the two-year tuition freeze currently in effect, the move is a further demonstration of the School’s commitment to greater accessibility, inclusivity, and as diverse a community as possible.
To the Members of the St. Paul’s School Community,
The recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have once again required our country and our School to re-examine the pervasive role of racism and its impact on people of color and our society.
As Trustees, we hail from a variety of backgrounds, races, ethnicities, nationalities, and faiths. We are White, African-American, Asian, Latinx, and mixed race. We are alumni, past parents, and parents and grandparents of current students. We affirm that all Black Lives Matter, and we are united in our desire to create an institution in which everyone feels seen, respected, and empowered.
We have heard the voices of our current Sixth Form Officers and read the stories of the many courageous students and alumni who shared their experiences through the @BlackatSPS Instagram account. They have helped to surface harrowing stories of racism and isolation that undermine our commitment to inclusivity. We see you, we hear you, and we are committed to change.
Every student, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or politics, should be able to walk the Millville grounds knowing they belong. It is clear, and Rector Giles has duly acknowledged that we have a long way to go to reach our goal.
As a Board, we recognize that we should not be judged by our words but by our actions and measurable results. Supporting Rector Giles in her efforts to create a more equitable and welcoming community, we are accountable not only to the faculty and the students but also to the moral imperative of protecting the basic human rights of all. We take seriously the directive issued by the current Sixth Form Officers: “Let us all live up to the values of our School.”
Below, please find a list of the initiatives that have been informed by student and alumni feedback and undertaken by Rector Giles, the School’s faculty and staff, and this Board of Trustees.
As a School, we are committed to:
• Moving forward on the recommendations of the 2017 Strategic Initiative Task Force on Inclusivity and Access in the areas of admissions, faculty hiring, and access for all students to the SPS experience. We will update these recommendations for the 2020-21 school year, including students, faculty, and staff in this work led by the Dean of Equity and Inclusion.
• Hiring/retaining a counselor of color.
• Further incorporating anti-racism and anti-institutional racism work into our Living in Community “LINC” curriculum and meetings.
• Developing a “reporting” protocol for microaggressions that includes students, faculty, and staff access and clear consequences for intentional misconduct.
• Identifying and supporting dedicated interfaith meeting and worship space on the grounds.
• Identifying and supporting dedicated affinity group space. We will compensate faculty advisers to affinity groups, as well as develop job descriptions and a council that can coordinate work.
• Requiring annual professional training and development for faculty and staff on diversity, equality, and inclusion work.
• Supporting professional development for faculty as teachers, advisers, house parents, and coaches to strengthen their work with and support of students of color.
• Continuing to explore and work on the challenges to support and retain faculty of color.
• Exploring ways to break down barriers to access, in addition to the new admission officers, people of color whose assignments specifically include seeking out applicants from underrepresented communities.
• Removing barriers to access by going test-optional in our admission process and removing any application fees for the 2021-22 year.
We appreciate the thoughts and experiences many of you have shared with the School and will continue this dialogue and our work as a school community.
Sincerely yours,
Board of Trustees, St. Paul’s School
This should be a very interesting event (later today), featuring the Rector of St. Paul’s in conversation with Lacy Crawford, whose recently published book recounts her experiences as a student there. https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/event/notes-on-a-silencing
Here’s the recording of the above: https://youtu.be/38xDIU_P1w0
"For many area private schools, the sudden peaked interest is an unexpected windfall.
Scott Bohan is the dean of admission at St. Paul’s School in Concord. He says back in the spring there was some concern in the admission office that families wouldn’t choose to send their kids away to private boarding school during a pandemic. But those fears turned out to be unwarranted when summer hit and his phone started to ring — and ring, and ring — with people who had not applied to St. Paul’s but who wanted to, after they learned their local school system was closing.
“This has probably been the busiest summer I’ve ever had, yielding phone calls from people trying to get their kids into St. Paul’s,” Bohan said. “It’s been fascinating to see how this has unfolded, from this being a major concern to…we can take many more.”
St. Paul’s School will be bringing students back on campus Aug. 31 for in-person classes, while offering remote learning for those who prefer that option. Returning students are required to self-quarantine for two weeks and must test negative for COVID-19 within four days of arriving on campus. The school is making masks mandatory indoors, including in dorm common spaces like bathrooms and hallways.
St. Paul’s enrolls students far beyond Concord, from 40 U.S. states and several countries. Bohan said admission interest has come in waves over the summer, as public school districts in different parts of the U.S. have made their decisions.
“When California announced they were going online, we started hearing a lot from California. Here in Concord, as local districts announced, local people started to call asking if we have spots for this fall,” Bohan said. “It’s already boosted interest in our application process for next fall.”
@doschicos: Very interesting information. Thank you for sharing.
@doschicos that is super interesting! I wondered how Covid would impact applications for 2021. I do wonder if SPS is seeing something different from other schools because it’s 100% boarding and in a low-risk state? As a side note, we noticed that this year in the application packet DD3 got last week, there was a sheet of really nice quality SPS stickers – something that seemed more like an acceptance package price point. I could be wrong, but I don’t recall getting these last year in DD2 application viewbook/package. We didn’t read anything big into it, but we did notice it.
Also, SPS is TO this year and has no application fees. So I do think they will have a huge app year.
During a pandemic, 100% boarding should be more attractive as it should be easier to track “contacts”.
I have a couple of friends who work in BS admissions and all had the same experience over the summer. In fact, so did 1 at a private day school.
In our area, many families, including ones in top rated public districts, were really unhappy with how their schools handled distance learning. Even though the BS communities are feeling really dismayed by how much of the typical experience is being limited by covid, the academic experience seems to have adapted better than it has elsewhere.
Curious to see how it plays out for next year.