October 4, 2023

 

Dear Friends of Kiski,

In June, you received a letter introducing our Enrollment Task Force, composed of Board members and school administrators. We have been studying Kiski's size and student body since last summer to find solutions to the financial challenges single-sex boarding schools are facing. We are very grateful for the feedback we’ve heard from so many of you over the past few months.  

The Task Force explored a variety of modifications to Kiski's business model, including downsizing enrollment, merging with another school, and adding a junior boarding program to name just a few. The work produced detailed financial models that formed an objective basis for the rejection or affirmation of different scenarios. Final recommendations were recently presented to the Board, and the conclusion was unambiguous: in order to remain strong and thrive, Kiski should become a co-ed school. At a recent meeting, after careful consideration and much discussion, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to admit girls to Kiski starting in the fall of 2024. 

Beyond the promise of financial sustainability, co-education will allow us to grow enrollment, expand our academic offerings, and maintain all of our current athletic and extracurricular programs in the future. In addition, a co-ed environment will provide our students with more opportunities to develop important social skills, which are critical for success in college and beyond. This change will also allow us to draw top-tier students from a significantly broader pool of applicants, ensuring the preservation of Kiski’s high academic standards moving forward.

We understand that this announcement may elicit mixed emotions from everyone who loves Kiski. Some of you will embrace and welcome this change, and we know there are others who would prefer to see Kiski remain unchanged.  Kiski has a proud history of educating boys. Nothing can ever change that. For 136 years we’ve been capably preparing students for success in college and in life. On that foundation, we will build an expanded version of our school that all of our past and future graduates will be proud to call their alma mater.

We look forward to answering your questions and providing you with more information on Kiski’s transition to co-education and the decision-making process. Alumni and friends are invited to attend a Zoom information session for this purpose tomorrow, October 5th, at 7:00 pm EST. We will send a log-in link for the meeting in the morning, and it will be recorded and posted on Kiski’s social media channels for anyone who is unable to attend the live session.  Please use this link (feedback@kiski.org) if you have questions that you would like to share with us before the session tomorrow night.  In the meantime, we invite you to view a list of FAQs we have prepared by following this link, which will be active as of tomorrow morning.  

We are eagerly anticipating the changes on the horizon and believe they will create an enriched learning environment that will support all of our students during their time at Kiski and beyond. 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Jacob                                                                           Chris Brueningsen

Chair, Board of Trustees                                                     Head of School