Porter Sargent Handbooks, a division of Carnegie Communications, has delved into its extensive historical data on American private schools to provide an unprecedented examination of financial aid trends in boarding schools since the 1930s. Established in 1914, Porter Sargent has published its annual guide to American nonpublic elementary and secondary education, The Handbook of Private Schools, since 1915. Renowned for its meticulously edited and researched data, the Handbook has provided readers with a wealth of information about private schools for nearly a hundred years.
Porter Sargent Handbooks’ longtime senior editor, Daniel P. McKeever, headed up the project, culminating in “A Historical Examination of Financial Aid Trends in American Boarding Schools: 1935-2010.” This assessment of tuition and financial-aid data looks at a cross-section of 30 boarding schools between 1935 through 2010, revealing valuable insights into American private school affordability.
According to McKeever, “Private schools—particularly boarding programs—are often labeled as elitist and unaffordable. Over the years, however, I have seen the great lengths to which many schools have gone to ensure that their fine educational programs are open to all students who have the intelligence and work ethic to thrive in a competitive academic environment—regardless of socioeconomic status or ethnicity. I was pleased to find that our extensive research has confirmed my belief in the accessibility of a private school education.”
To see how private schools have responded to significant fluctuations in the American economy—and, in many instances, the great challenges that have resulted—over the course of three quarters of a century, visit www.portersargent.com/FinancialAidTrends.pdf to download a copy of the report.