Hitting The Road: First Stop, New York City

October 1, 2009

With the new class of students safely tucked into campus, it is time to hit the road to develop the next crop of candidates. While the hustle and bustle of travel has worn thin during my 18 years at Andover, I never tire of the actual work on the road: meeting students and parents as well as teachers and counselors (those dedicated professionals we refer to with admiration as “kid people”). The first trip of the year is generally a visit to New York City schools and talent identification programs. Andover is a founding member of a number of these programs that seek out underrepresented students of color or low-income students. I begin this year’s first trip with a celebratory breakfast in honor of the 25th anniversary of De La Salle Academy, one of my favorite schools on the planet.

When I arrived for my first visit to De La Salle many years ago, I could not find the school. This is a rare occurrence for an experienced admission counselor, for we pride ourselves on being able to locate any school anywhere. I had the address in my hand but it was no match for the name carved into the molding above the front door of the building at the address listed on my itinerary. I walked past the school a few times trying not to look like a lost tourist in the big city. Finally, in frustration, I planted my feet square in front of the steep granite steps leading to the front door with the “wrong” name and stared at the building, which I had discreetly, or so I thought, circumnavigated a few times by now. It was then that I heard a little voice ask, “Lady, are you lost?” “Well I am not sure,” I responded to the petite girl dressed in a neat uniform not unlike one I wore to kindergarten. “I’m looking for a school at this address but not this school,” I said pointing to the name above the door. “Wait up, we have another visitor,” she called to her classmates and teacher who had passed unnoticed behind me as I stood fixed in my trance. She gently took my arm, pointed to the top floor of the building and said, “De La Salle is up there. We go this way.”

As I climbed the three floors to the door of De La Salle, I was surrounded by a gaggle of students so full of life and questions that I arrived at the principal’s door winded—not only from the climb, but also from their energy. Lest I thought that I would have a chance to catch my breath, Brother Brian Carty, the founder of De La Salle—a private school that offers free tuition to academically talented students from low-income families—warmly welcomed me and exclaimed, “Let’s walk!” Walk we did through every nook and cranny of the top floor of the school building. Every bit of space had multiple purposes, and yet there was no sense of restraint. The middle school classes were a good balance of teacher- and student-led discussions, the curriculum was demanding, and there was no doubt that an environment of care for self and others permeated the relationships at the school. De La Salle, despite its cramped quarters and difficult to find location, is a great school: one that changes lives for the better and creates pathways for students to succeed in ways that they never imagined.

Over a pizza lunch, I, like all other admission visitors, had the opportunity to talk with the students who were interested in Andover. After giving an overview of the program, I took questions about life at Andover and boarding school in general. “How are the dorms organized?” “What is a cluster?” “Can I take two languages and spend a year on School Year Abroad in China?” “How much financial aid is available and does it cover expenses beyond tuition?” Their interest in learning as much as they could about the Academy impressed me. They exhibited strong senses of self and were dedicated to the goal of finding good secondary school matches.

After I spent a day at De La Salle, I understood why these students would get up extra early to finish their homework and make the long trip to school each morning from all over the city including: East and West Harlem, Hunts Point, the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Flatbush, Jamaica, and the Lower East Side. Their trip is well worthwhile as is mine. De La Salle has been and always will be fertile ground for Andover students. With a graduating eighth grade class of approximately 50 students who go on to matriculate at NYC day schools and boarding schools in CA, CT, MA, NC, NJ, NY, PA, VA, and VT, De La Salle plays an extraordinary role in the lives of its students and parents by delivering on its promise “to provide academically talented, economically disadvantaged children of diverse backgrounds equal access to a quality education through a needs-blind admission process.” Fifty-three percent of its students come from families with incomes of $40,000 or less, and 67 percent are first-generation Americans. Virtually all of its students go on to four-year colleges. Recent De La Salle and Andover alumni have gone on to the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton.

And so I feel very lucky, indeed, to begin my 2009-2010 travel season with a celebration of a great school. What an inspiration for the year ahead!