District cites shift to private schools

Class size, religion are key, report says

Despite the dismal economy, growing numbers of Newton children are getting a private education instead of going to the city's public schools.

Eighty more Newton students enrolled in nonpublic schools this school year than last, according to a report released this week by the school district. The share of students attending private or religious schools this year grew to 18.8 percent, up from 18.4 percent.

"The first thing I thought when I read this report is how surprising this is," said Paul Stein, the district's assistant superintendent of human services, as he presented the results to the School Committee at its meeting Monday night.

Private school enrollment increased at every level, Stein said, with the figures at 15.8 percent of the city's elementary students, 21.3 percent of middle-schoolers, and 21.4 percent of high school students.

Stein said parents cited smaller class size and religious choice as reasons for enrolling their children in nonpublic schools.

The report surprised not only public school officials, but private school administrators as well.

"I attend conferences regularly. I've been talking about admissions all year and most people have been saying that interest is flat," said Adrienne Frechter, director of admissions at the Rashi School, a Jewish elementary and middle school in Newton Corner.

At Rashi, where tuition ranges from $18,700 to $21,000, applications for kindergarten were up 35 percent this year, Frechter said. The school is home to 300 students, about half from Newton, she said.

"We're seeing a lot of applications from Newton, especially, where the override did not pass and there were cuts at the kindergarten level," she said.

Just as applications are increasing, requests for financial aid are also on the rise. About one-third of the students at Rashi receive assistance, Frechter said. But, she added, the small school is well positioned to handle the demand, which is coming from current families who have never received aid as well as from prospective families.

The school is accepting more students this year, which means more tuition money will be available and thus more financial aid. Also, the school has stepped up fund-raising efforts, and recently received a donation from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, which Jewish day schools across the country shared.

Frechter said no current students have left the school because of an inability to pay.

In Brookline, applications to the Park School were also up. "I was surprised," said Merle Jacobs, director of admissions. "Our numbers were up over 100. I was kind of scratching my head."

At the Park School, home to 550 students from prekindergarten through ninth grade, tuition ranges from $19,440 to $31,470.

"I suspect that even though there is this horrible recession here and everywhere else, metro Boston still has a lot of wealthy people, people who are capable of paying for quality education," Jacobs said. "Also, I think people are upset with Newton and with Boston for the changes in the public schools."

But all is not rosy for local independent schools. "There is an awful lot of uncertainty out there," said Steve Clem, executive director of the Association of Independent Schools in New England, based in Braintree.

"There are significant increases in requests for financial aid, frequently from folks who have not requested it before," Clem said. In the fall, the association surveyed its 175 member schools, of which 140 are in Massachusetts. Eighty percent of responding schools said requests for financial aid were up. Clem said the organization will survey schools again over the summer.

"All of this will take a while to shake out," he said.

The Newton district's report found that over the past 25 years, the peak years for private school enrollment were 16.8 percent in 2001-02 for elementary level students, 22.3 percent in 1986-87 at the middle school level, and 22.9 percent in 1989-90 for high schoolers.

According to a separate study completed by the district last month, Newton elementary school students who left the public schools in 2007-08 most frequently enrolled at the Park and Rashi schools.

Among middle school students, the Belmont Hill School, Boston University Academy, and Dedham's Noble & Greenough School were most popular. And at the high school level, Beaver Country Day School, Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School, Dexter School, and Gann Academy drew the most students.

Despite the increase in the number of students leaving Newton's public schools, Stein asked the School Committee to focus on the big picture. While 80 more Newton students attended private schools this year, the city's public school enrollment rose as well, by 14 students, he noted.

"Really, this is only a small increase in the percentage and in the numbers of students in private school," said Stein, who was appointed to replace Brenda Keegan as deputy superintendent after she retires this spring.

School Committee member Reenie Murphy pointed out that the numbers could change in the months ahead. "My suspicion is that we will have a number of kids back in the district soon," she said, pointing to the report's finding that there was a decline in the percentage of students enrolled in private schools during the financial slowdown of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"I happen to know four students from two different families that are considering coming back," she said.

Stein agreed, saying, "We may see a dramatic shift in the near future."