Fall 2021 Newsletter

Successful Transition to a Safe, High-quality, Hybrid Learning Model Since February 2020, Nashoba Brooks School has been working closely with our partners in public health to provide safe and healthy learning experiences for our students. In March of 2020, we made a quick and highly successful transition to remote learning as mandated by the nationwide safe-at-home initiative. In the fall of 2020, we reconfigured our schedule, facilities, and infrastructure to provide a hyFlex learning model, through which all students who chose to do so could learn on campus, five days a week for the full year, while providing the flexibility families needed to manage COVID-related absences and allow students to learn from home as needed.

Nashoba Brooks launched the 2021-2022 academic year with an updated hyFlex model. This program is designed to welcome students back to campus for a Monday through Friday schedule with a focus on the core academic day and auxiliary programs that work effectively within our current safety protocols. Learning from home in a synchronous program is provided as needed for students and families for whom absence from campus is directly linked to COVID-19 (e.g. illness, close contact, quarantine, etc.).

Our hyFlex model builds on our successes thus far, considers the progress made in understanding the virus, and leverages the strength of our partnerships with health and public safety and members of the Nashoba Brooks School community. Improving public health data allows us greater flexibility in our programming this fall so that we can: •increase the use of art, music, and collaborative spaces; •provide team sports for Grades 6-8; •offer after-school activity options for all grade levels; •provide direct, in-person instruction across disciplines, and •preserve the flexible option of remote teaching and learning in

COVID-related circumstances.

Guided by our local and regional partners as well as the creativity and committment of our teachers, our hyFlex model provides high quality educational opportunities in a safe and healthy learning environment, as well as the flexibility to manage and adjust to developing circumstances.

Bringing the Classroom Outdoors Nashoba Brooks School takes advantage of our 30-acre campus and utilizes these incredible spaces for outdoor instruction across academic diciplines:

Garden Classroom

Campus Pond

Denault Library Courtyard

Sureau Family Discovery Barn Porch

Abutting Conservation Land

Nashoba Brooks Announces Affordability Initiative to Reduce Tuition According to the National Association of Independent Schools, over the last ten years, the average tuition at independent day schools has risen 54%. During the same time period, the U.S. Census Bureau indicates median household incomes have risen only 38%. The disconnect between rising tuition rates

NASHOBA BROOKS SCHOOL reVisions Tuition

and family income correlates with college education increases and has made private schools even more beyond reach for most families. While financial aid budgets have also climbed notably during this time, in many cases they have not kept pace with the increasing disparities. With the “reVision Tuition Plan,” Nashoba Brooks is one of the first independent schools in New England to think innovatively about the traditional financial model in order to reduce tuition costs.

The reVision Tuition Plan is the result of careful analysis and discussion on the part of the Board of Trustees to implement our School’s Strategic Directions launched in 2014. Over the past several years, we have committed to assessing our financial model with a focus on creating Inspired Education through innovation, inclusivity, and impact. As one of the key strategic imperatives of this plan, Nashoba Brooks School is committed to building a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community by expanding our outreach and making the School more accessible and affordable for families who are a strong fit for our program.

Starting in the fall of 2021, the new tuition plan will provide three years of visibility into annual tuition costs for Nashoba Brooks families. Over the next three years, Nashoba Brooks will reduce tuition by an average of 5% each year for an average total reduction of 15%. The chart below shows the previous tuition trajectory in red and the new model in blue: The net impact of these changes is that the average tuition amount in 2023-2024 will be almost $9500 less than it would have been if the School retained its previous financial model and executed typical annual tuition increases of approximately 3.5%.

This plan is a culmination of years of research and conversations that reflect Nashoba Brooks School’s mission. We have factored the evolving economic environment into our decisions, and decided that now, more than ever, is a critical moment to implement this new financial model. We have a healthy endowment, strong campus development, and, of course, an incredible community of dedicated employees, parents, and students.

ACADEMICS IN ACTION 1.

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1. Grade 8 students show their self-propelled car made out of a mouse trap and recycled materials 2. Grade 2 students observe nests in their study of birds 3. Grade 7 Students Recognized by National Latin Exam 4. Grade 6 students put the finishing touches on their EV3 robot 5. Grade 4 students collecting tree data from the Nashoba Brooks campus to help forest ecologists at Harvard understand climate change.

6. As part of their entomology study, Lower School students tagged Monarch butterflies for Monarch Watch 200 Strawberry Hill Road Concord, MA 01742 Phone: 978-369-4591 Email: info@nashobabrooks.org

Situated on a beautiful 30-acre campus in historic Concord, Massachusetts, Nashoba Brooks School enrolls boys and girls in Preschool through Grade 3, and girls in Grades 4 through 8.

Nashoba Brooks is an independent school designed to build community, character, and confidence in its students.