Residential Response

As many of you may be aware we recently announced Berwick’s new residential program for boys beginning next fall. While the announcement has been met with many enthusiastic responses, we also have heard some concerns expressed by younger alumni about why Berwick was beginning with boys and not allowing girls to enjoy the new residential hall as well. Additionally, there have been questions about gender questioning students and whether or not they might be allowed in our new program. While it is challenging to receive these concerns, I have been struck by a sense of pride that we have a group of young alumni holding us accountable for our commitment to inclusivity and gender equity. These responses reminded me that our efforts in this area remain critical, and our alumni are entering a world now where these concerns are omnipresent within their own educational and professional lives. The reality is that our rationale for beginning with boys in our dorm was complex, and it struck me that a bit of explanation in my next blog might be appropriate for the Berwick community as a whole.

For those who are not aware, the Academy Street Inn (recently renamed as the Hancock House in honor of our charter’s signature) purchase afforded Berwick with just six bedrooms and six bathrooms, so its capacity is fairly modest. While it actually is set up in such a way that can offer far more privacy for students questioning their identity than a typical institutional dorm, we did not feel a true co-educational environment was feasible given our desire to enroll students as young as age fourteen. Looking ahead, if this residential effort goes well in the first year or two, we hope to establish a second comparable facility, and we have already had some great strategic conversations about how and where that might be possible in the future.

In the end, this left us to determine whom we should enroll in the new Hancock House next fall. Given the amount of administrators we have with prior experience in boarding school admissions, we had a strong intuition that the market for boys would be stronger for Berwick in its early stages of brand recognition. We know that getting the word out about this program in its first year will be a significant challenge.  In fact, our suspicion about the market for boys has been confirmed through multiple conversations with consultants and others in the industry. While our data is certainly imperfect when we acknowledge the market could potentially be the entire world, we ultimately felt confident that boys made most sense for our enrollment goals.

It goes without saying that we hope to be able to accommodate all mission appropriate applicants in the future, and we would never discriminate against a gender questioning or gender fluid student in our admissions process. That said, the new landscape for gender makes the conversations around dormitories and facilities far more complex for schools than it has been in the past. While I know some of our parents worry that we might consider these gender issues a bit too comprehensively, this recent response from our young alumni reminds us that the world is watching. Certainly I would argue that the concerns expressed that Berwick might be advantaging boys at the expense of girls was a valid concern. As we continue to remain committed to being an inclusive school, this work will continue to touch virtually all that we do on campus.

One sentiment that has been uniform since we made this announcement has been how many people have expressed excitement that Berwick might now become more accessible from more distant geographies and more diverse populations of students over time. While we are not yet sure how many of our new residential students might be five day regional students or seven day international students, we are excited to know that Berwick’s mission and reach will be extended considerably. And I am even more excited to have an alumni body that will hold us accountable on issues of equity as we move forward in the years ahead.