St. Paul's School Concord NH

doschicos
Sun, 23 Aug 2020 12:49:38 +0000

"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.”