Private High Schools:
A Study of Saint Sebastian’s and the ISL Conference of Eastern Massachusetts.
by Ray Lauenstein

As a result of living in Boston, MA, I am very familiar with the concept of families investing $25,000-$35,000 a year on their child’s middle and high school education.  New England is home to many, and perhaps most, of what are considered elite level preparatory schools. Some NE prep schools are set up to be boarding schools with a post graduate option, a good many are day schools drawing from a fairly close geographic radius.

Since I happen to live within three miles of Saint Sebastian’s and Noble and Greenough, both of the Independent School League, it is appropriate to start this study of private schools with the ISL.  Saint Sebastian’s athletic director and football coach, Robert Souza, was a gracious host and tour guide for about a two hour visit.

 The ISL is made up of the following schools:

None of these institutions are new. All have long histories in the area and typically served as a stop-over on the way to Harvard or Dartmouth for many of Boston’s most privileged and storied families. To this day, graduates of ISL schools go in great numbers to Ivy League and other elite colleges and universities around the country.  In fact a lot of these schools look like small college campuses. 

Athletics at ISL schools are a serious undertaking and grounded in a long tradition of success.  Hockey in the ISL is, as stated on the Milton Academy website, “commonly considered by college recruiters as the top prep school hockey league in the country.”   Souza also noted that college coaches feel that the level of soccer in the ISL is the best in the state.  From a recruiting standpoint club soccer is more important to college coaches in the recruiting world, but that makes at least two sports that play with no peer in the state. Lacrosse and basketball are two other ISL sports that often produce top level talent.

Paying The Tuition
I had heard rumors going into my meeting with Souza, perhaps from disgruntled parents, that ISL schools give athletic scholarships – how else could all these great hockey players afford the tuition.  “Everyone thinks we give athletic scholarships and we categorically do not”, noted Souza. 

I think that the level of hockey is such that parents will invest the money in the hopes of gaining exposure to scouts and college coaches that might lead to an athletic scholarship or professional career.

"Financial aid is available on a need based system only.  Ultimately, a lot of people are making a big financial sacrifice for their child’s education because they believe in what we are doing, and that it will have a big impact on their child’s life,” noted Souza.

 What is it that you are paying for?

The first thing that struck me about Saint Sebastian’s was the quality of the people I met. Start with Robert Souza.  West Point educated and locally born and raised in Mansfield MA, Souza exudes a grandfatherly aura and an “un-military” view of the role athletics plays in educating St Sebastian’s young men (single sex school).

“Our top priority is the whole person, not just the athlete and I don’t think a hard line approach with these kids is the best way to help them develop.  Kids make mistakes and we are here to teach them how to make their own decisions, learn from mistakes and improve. That can’t happen if we are unforgiving in our philosophy.”

Only two coaches in the entire Saint Sebastian’s program are not teachers, and both of them are relatives of current employees the school.  The “Teacher as Coach” model is intentional and carefully adhered to.  So much of what can happen on the athletic fields and in the classroom can be a by-product of something that is happening in the other arena. Factor in the uncertainties of home life and it is easy to see how a non-teaching coach is unable to view the athlete in the context of school and home.  Souza expanded on this:

”We had an athlete explode on the field one day and what he did, if taken as a single isolated incident, would normally require you to remove them from the team for the season.  Fortunately, since the coaches are teachers and administrators, we knew there was a very difficult situation going on at home and were able to predict that this might happen. The damage was minimized, as we had warmed the coaches involved ahead of time.  He was disciplined, but the incident was minimized. This does not happen when coaches are not teachers.”

Souza continued, “There is also a certain accountability that comes from facing your coach in the classroom or your teacher on the field.  The coaches also feel like they have more invested with the student in this model. It works very well for us.  One thing is for certain, and it was proven by the result of our independent 10 year audit- St. Sebastian’s knows who it is and does not waiver from that. We are delivering on our mission.”

That mission being:

A Catholic independent school, St. Sebastian's seeks to engage young men in the pursuit of truth through faith and reason. By embracing Gospel values in an inclusive, nurturing community and by inspiring intellectual excellence in a structured liberal arts curriculum, St. Sebastian's strives to empower students for success in college and in life. The ideal St. Sebastian's graduate will be a moral and just person, a gentleman of courage, honor, and wisdom, a life-long learner who continues to grow in his capacity to know, to love, and to serve God and neighbor. - From web site.

Who is teaching and what are they teaching?
During my visit I was introduced to faculty and staff who had graduated from colleges such as Williams, Princeton, Boston College, West Point, Hamilton, and Holy Cross to name a few.  The staff is highly educated based on where their degrees are from. The student /faculty ratio of 7:1 and the average class size of 11 are outstanding figures.

I was very impressed with the writing and public speaking programs at St Sebastian’s.  The freshmen all have a writing workshop and I actually observed a group of about 20 or so students deeply focused in a freshmen writing workshop. Writing is an underestimated skill that is highly valued in the working and professional world. You are not going to find this type of intensive program at your average public school (although they too produce excellent writers.)

Public speaking is another time honored focus and tradition at St. Sebastian’s. The school is attached to a church and has a small chapel, large enough to hold a full grade level of students.  In all grades, tradition calls for every boy to develop and deliver at least one  speech per year in front of his peers in the chapel.  This process is capped off with Senior Speeches that are given in front of the entire student body.  Typically, you don’t see this focus on public speaking and debate at public schools.

Back to Sports

By attending a school with such a powerful hockey program, you might thinking earning a roster spot is almost impossible.  At the varsity level, that might very well be the case, but St. Sebastian’s has a no cut policy in most of  its sports. If you don’t make one team, you can always play for another.  For example, the middle school hockey program has enough players to field 3 teams – and they do.  This gives all the players an opportunity to develop their skills without being the victim being “cut” in 7^th or 8^th grade. Great for late bloomers.  Souza schedules games so that his weaker unit will go play weaker opponents, top level plays the best teams, etc. 

One nice facet of paying the $23,000 bill to attend St. Sebastian’s – no athletic fees!  But don’t expect that fact to exempt you parents from helping out in fund raisers and silent auctions to support various school initiatives.   

One fun part of my visit was re-visiting a wall of fame with Souza as he proudly pointed out former athletes who went to be, or are currently, college athletes – many of them team captains. It seems like a lot of high achievers have been through these halls.  Says Souza, “I find it very rewarding working with these student athletes, and it means a lot to see them go on and be successful at the next level, and as adults.”

“I think we do a good job preparing students for the real world, despite what some might say is a “less than real” world environment.  They learn to develop their own moral and ethical compass and apply it.  I am not so sure it is all that valuable to expose 14-15 year olds to the “real world” so fast and expect them to learn and make good decisions.  Once they move on from here, I am pretty sure they can be a judge of good and bad on their own. Why rush into it?"

”Being a student at St. Sebastian’s is tough” added Souza, “it’s a long, focused day and if you tack on sports or other extra-curricular activities and a ride home, it is very demanding.  I’d bet you most of the 7^th graders, if given the choice, would return to their home school at the end of 7^th grade. It is not easy at first, but then again, nothing worth doing well is very easy.  After that first year, they start to understand what we do and why we do it a little better and how it impacts them for the better.” 

Let it be said that both of Souza’s sons are St. Sebastian’s graduates so he has seen the school at work as both a parent and an educator.

 Summary

Is going to an ISL school anything like going to a public school?  My take on that question is "not really."  ISL schools, being independent,  have more freedom with the type of studies they teach and are not beholden to the MCAS.  Discipline is not mandated by state rules and neither are athletic policies.  Tolerance of poor performance or behavior will only last so long until you are asked to leave the school.  Expectations are higher, excuses are not well accepted and pressure to reach ones potential is going to be higher as well.

ISL schools also provide significant resources for guidance and college preparation. One of the selling points of an ISL school is that it will help you when it comes to being admitted to a selective college.  While these schools might not encourage this line of thinking, parents are sending their sons and daughter to ISL schools with an eye to acceptance in the top colleges. Look at selective school rosters in sports like hockey, soccer, lacrosse and football and you will see numerous ISL schools represented (plus other prep and private schools in New England.) 

All ISL schools offer open houses for prospective families and we suggest you attend one or two to get a feel for what these schools are like.  The decision to send your child to an ISL school does not guarantee a lifetime of success. It will put them in position to take advantage of some very high level resources, programs and experiences, but what they do with that is up to them. You have a lot to think about when weighing the pro's and con's of sending your child to a high end private school.  Admission to Harvard or Yale is not guaranteed, but if your child applies themselves and stretches a bit, it is safe to say that they are guaranteed an outstanding educational experience.

 I’d like to thank Robert Souza and the Saint Sebastian’s school for opening up their doors to me. Souza was generous with his time and his thoughts.

Photo on the right is of the unique classrooms of St. Sebastian's. They connect to the Ice Arena on the back side. Musical rooms are sound proofed to prevent musical hockey and a hockey musical! Photo courtesy of www.stsebs.org.