General FAQ

List of 38 frequently asked questions.

• + How do you determine potential success of young children?

  We rely on the considerable expertise of our teachers who have years of experience working with children in our setting. Through methods well-suited to our program and teaching philosophy, we determine whether a child’s learning profile falls within the developmental range of children at grade level who have been successful at Shady Hill.

• + What procedures are used to evaluate my child?

  Our goal is to get to know each applicant as a learner and as a citizen, and all elements of the application process are carefully considered. Student visit experiences give us the chance to meet each child and learn more about them both academically and socially through various activities and assessments. The parent interview and application provide anecdotal information about school match. School records for all applicants and assessments indicate academic readiness. If your child has had an educational evaluation or assessment of intellectual functioning (i.e. WISC, Woodcock-Johnson, etc.), a complete copy must be submitted with the application. If we have questions about your child’s learning profile or ability to succeed in our environment, we may request further information or evaluation.

• + How do you determine who will receive offers of admission?

  Our review process is holistic where no one element or aspect of an individual outweighs others. Faculty and administrators are involved in reviewing every applicant’s file, and the Admission Committee consists of teachers as well as the relevant Division Head and members of the Learning Resources department and Admission Office. Each year, we have more applicants than available spaces and recognize that we are unable to offer admission to all students whom we would wish to have in our classrooms. We welcome families to reapply, allowing us to reconnect and learn further about a student’s development— frequently our new student cohort includes such students.

• + What should my child expect during their student visit?

  Our goal during the student visit is to create a comfortable setting for conversation and to get to know each child. Time may be spent discussing activities, favorite books, or learning about friends or family. The assessment portion of the visit allows your child to demonstrate not only potential and acquired skills, but also how they approach learning. 

• + How many new students do you add?

  Each year, we welcome 36 new Beginners, up to 8 new Kindergartners, up to 8 students into Grade 3, and up to 20 students into Middle School (Grades 5 and 6). A variety of factors often result in our having openings at other grade levels as well, so we welcome applications to all grades.

• + Are there any preferred categories for admission?

  First and foremost, our goal is to understand a student’s learning profile and determine whether we can predict success in this environment. Beyond that, we work to build dynamic classroom communities. Admission decisions at Shady Hill are shaped by a number of priorities, which include a commitment to School-affiliated families and to diversity.
  
  In building classes, our goal is to create a diverse community in which perspectives shaped by differences in gender, class, racial/ethnic backgrounds, religion, and family configuration will create a climate of enhanced understanding and mutual respect. We also value a variety of personalities and individual interests.
  
  While these priorities can shape our decisions, the School retains flexibility in the application of their relative weights depending on the composition of each class. We strive for gender balance, diversity, and a complement of strengths and challenges in creating an optimal learning opportunity for all students.

• + When can we expect to learn the School’s admission decision?

  We share decisions on March 10. We will notify all applicants of admission decisions through our online portal and send a follow-up package of relevant information and materials to those receiving offers of admission. Between March 10 and April 10, the contract return deadline, there are opportunities for families to visit Shady Hill, speak to current families, and learn more about the School.

• + What does it mean to be placed on our waitlist?

  The waitlist is an unranked group of applicants, each of whom we would hope to enroll. When openings occur, we consider all students in the wait pool for a given grade and strive for the best complement to the existing class.

• + What is Shady Hill’s financial aid policy?

  We are committed to maintaining meaningful socioeconomic diversity and endeavor to meet the needs of families who qualify for financial aid. Our annual budget for the past year was approximately $4 million, providing financial aid grants to ~20% of Shady Hill families.
  
  We recognize that an independent school education is a significant investment. If you are interested in being considered for financial aid, please submit the financial aid forms by February 1. Students who enter without financial aid are expected to continue paying full tuition unless a significant change in circumstances is demonstrated.
  
  All financial aid application materials are handled by Clarity and are held in the strictest confidence. Families interested in applying for financial aid complete the financial aid application, which includes tax materials, through Clarity.
  
  Detailed information about Shady Hill’s financial aid policy and practices are available on our website under Tuition & Financial Aid.

• + What is the School’s commitment to diversity? 

  Shady Hill believes that a diverse student body is an educational imperative and enrolls children from a range of socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. When children learn among peers who bring experiences shaped by differences, they come to respect each other across these differences and to value the possibilities inherent in multiple perspectives.

• + How is the School governed?

  In its earliest years, Shady Hill was a parent-owned cooperative. In 1925 the School became a professionally operated, not-for-profit corporation registered with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Currently, every parent is a member of the Corporation, which is governed by a Board of Trustees made up of parents, alumni, and faculty, including ex officio positions held by the Head of School and the Chair of Parents Council. The Corporation’s responsibilities include nominating potential trustees, voting on the slate of trustees recommended by the Nominating Committee of the Board of Trustees, approving minutes from the Annual Meeting, and approving any changes in the Corporation’s Bylaws.
  
  The Board of Trustees works to advance the School’s mission by furthering the long-term well-being and vitality of the School, including specific responsibility for strategic planning and fiscal oversight. Additionally, the Board of Trustees hires, evaluates, and supports the Head of School. The Head oversees all daily operations of the School, including faculty and staff supervision and the educational program.

• + Do you have campus safety measures in place?

  Shady Hill’s campus is often described as a hidden gem in the city. While we value the natural and open environment, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our students. We have numerous safety protocols in place. On an on-going basis, the School continues to evaluate our current practices and invests in additional measures to maintain the safety of our community.

• + Does Shady Hill School provide transportation?

  Shady Hill families come from more than 40 surrounding communities, and we understand that transportation to and from school presents challenges for families. Shady Hill provides bus transportation from several communities including: Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Charlestown, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Lexington, Lincoln, Newton, Roslindale, Roxbury, Somerville, and Waban.  The bus stops shift year-to-year depending on where families reside.
  
  There is a fee for bus transportation and families who receive financial aid have a discounted rate applied toward the cost of the bus.  In addition to the bus, many families drive, carpool, walk, bike, and take public transportation to get to Shady Hill. We provide access to a student directory that can be leveraged to search for other families who live in carpooling proximity.

• + What is Central Subject?

  Central Subject, a dynamic and exciting way of teaching and learning, is the fundamental organizing force behind Shady Hill’s curriculum starting in Grade 3. At this point, students’ literacy skills have developed enough so that they can read to learn, and the curriculum grounds itself in literature, primary sources, and other resources/texts.
  
  Central Subject is a yearlong study of a people, place and period in history, around which each grade focuses its work in history, literature, geography, and writing. Using primary sources rather than textbooks, children deeply explore their subjects and materials. The Central Subject methodology allows our students to explore the relationships among academic disciplines, other cultures, and their own experiences.
  
  This deliberate commitment to depth, focus, and making connections develops a way of thinking that children bring to other subjects. Central Subject is a rich and challenging adventure requiring both initiative and collaboration, and its integrated and highly rigorous approach to learning turns even young students into researchers and scholars.

• + What is a Gradehead?

  Gradehead is the term used for a student’s principal classroom teacher. Typically, in Beginners, Kindergarten, and Grade 1, each classroom has two Gradeheads. In Grades 2 and higher, classrooms have one Gradehead—the Thematic Study/ Central Subject teacher. Due to Shady Hill’s gradehead system, each student is known well by their principal teacher.
  
  The Gradehead serves as the primary point of contact for students and parents. In addition to being a classroom teacher, the Gradehead provides individual guidance, supervision, and support.

• + What is Shady Hill’s approach to reading and writing instruction in the Lower School?

  The primary goal of our literacy program is to foster a love for reading and writing and a lifelong habit of engaging in meaningful literacy activities. Children experience direct instruction followed by guided practice and many opportunities to reinforce current skills and explore new ones. The program moves children from the emergent stage of literacy development, in which they are just beginning to understand conventions and uses of literacy, to the independent stage, in which they are able to use reading and writing to learn and record new information. To support children in various stages of literacy development, our teachers use a variety of teaching methods combining whole language and skill-based strategies. In the primary grades, each child’s progress is regularly assessed by their teachers and the Learning Resources Department. When a child needs additional literacy support, a number of interventions are available, including small-group instruction provided by a trained learning specialist or tutoring outside the classroom.

• + What is the math program at Shady Hill?

  Shady Hill’s math program emphasizes investigation and conceptual understanding. Basic skills are built through a sequence that takes into account what is developmentally appropriate at each age, and teachers take care to listen and respond to the thinking of their students. Skills are mastered because the underlying concepts have been explored in depth and the process is understood. In the earliest years, students use hands-on materials to develop mathematical concepts at a concrete level. They then move on to visual and abstract thinking in learning new algorithms and concepts. Students learn to think mathematically and to communicate their thoughts both verbally and in writing.
  
  From Beginners through Grade 4, math is taught by Gradeheads, and in Grades 5–8, it is taught by members of our Math Department. Every student studies Algebra in Grade 8. Shady Hill’s curriculum is developed with reference to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Mathematics and the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

• + How is science taught at Shady Hill?

  Science classes are hands-on, with a focus on problem solving, and are designed to give students experience in being scientists, not just learning about science.
  
  From the earliest ages, students learn the foundational scientific concepts and skills necessary to build a rich understanding within the discipline. The focus on learning by doing establishes scientific habits of mind and cultivates students’ abilities in employing the tools of scientific exploration and communication. We strive to develop careful observers, creative problem solvers, and independent, flexible, analytical thinkers. We emphasize learning through cooperation and collaboration, considering multiple perspectives, and using knowledge in an ethical manner to foster connections between the classroom and the natural and constructed world. This allows us to support the development of lifelong learners and stewards of the Earth.

• + What is the Makerspace?

  Our Makerspace houses both high-tech and low-tech tools and materials, which are used by students throughout the School for both curricular and independent projects. Low-tech materials include cardboard, felt, pipe cleaners, and PVC pipe. Higher-tech supplies include coding equipment for robotics, 3D printers, a laser cutter, and sewing machines. We even have a social robot dinosaur named Hopper. The Makerspace teacher oversees the area, collaborating with both students and faculty to foster an appreciation for design, engineering, and creation.

• + What is the role of technology in the program?

  Technology is thoughtfully integrated into our curriculum and classrooms to support and enhance both learning and teaching.
  
  A variety of software programs and internet resources expand the range of tools available for the research, creative projects, collaboration, and skill mastery that characterize learning at Shady Hill. The campus is wireless and has networked computers in every building. Students in Grade 2 and below have access to iPads. Students in Grade 3 and above are assigned laptops. Every classroom is equipped with both wired and wireless projection, as well as a document camera. The Director of Academic Technology is available to work with students in using these resources to support their learning and with teachers to innovate and develop curriculum.
  
  While we embrace the many opportunities offered by technology, we remain deeply rooted in our hands-on approach to learning and discovery. Technology is embedded in the School in ways that enhance creativity, encourage mastery, and spark curiosity.

• + When do students begin going to separate buildings for each subject?

  All children leave their gradehead classrooms for parts of the day. As they progress through the grades, gaining greater independence and the ability to transition more readily, their use of the campus and department buildings expands. As a special rite of passage in Grade 3, students are allowed to travel to classes across campus as a group without their teacher.
  
  In Beginners, children leave their gradehead classrooms for library, movement, music, and a weekly Lower School assembly. In Kindergarten, this schedule expands to include weekly trips to the Hub (our dedicated, integrated STEAM space) for science lessons. In Grade 1, children also travel to the woodshop and the makerspace for small-group classes, and starting in Grade 3, students go out for studio art, as well. Middle School students head to the Hub multiple times weekly for both math and science. In Grade 7, students start taking a world language in the Beehive.

• + When do world languages begin?

  A two-year intensive study of a world language begins in Grade 7 with a choice of Spanish, French, or Mandarin. Classes are conducted primarily in the target language and provide a lively and interactive learning environment. We teach language using a variety of methods which tap into students’ kinesthetic, creative, aural, oral, and visual talents. The language curriculum is rigorous and moves at a developmentally appropriate pace. Our graduates are well-prepared to enter secondary school language programs and typically enter level two or three honors programs.
  
  Both research and our own experience have shown that older students are efficient and effective second language learners because of their ability to abstract, classify, and generalize in their first language. Middle school students are well-equipped to absorb and retain simultaneous experiences in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in a secondary language.

• + What are the visual and performing arts programs?

  Arts play an integral role in our curriculum and represent a defining hallmark of Shady Hill. Through music, art, drama, and woodworking, children both shape and respond to what they are learning. They explore and create in classes led by adults who are practicing artists. Both art and music are integrated into classroom projects across all grade levels. Students begin formal music classes in Beginners and music is infused into every Shady Hill student’s experience in various ways whether through musicals, ensembles, or all school assemblies. Beginning in first grade, students travel to the Arts Courtyard for regularly scheduled time in the studios. In Grades 7 and 8, students choose visual and performing arts electives from a wide variety of offerings each trimester.

• + What is Shady Hill’s physical education and athletic program?

  Our Lower School physical education program begins with movement education in the earliest grades, where the emphasis is on the importance of following directions, playing fair, developing a variety of movement skills, and interacting positively with classmates. The Grade 3 and 4 physical education programs focus on the development of a healthy attitude toward all types of physical activities. Students refine basic movement techniques as they learn to use them confidently, safely, and competently in increasingly complex situations. They develop and practice sportsmanship and learn what it means to be a gracious winner and loser.

• + What is the School’s approach to homework?

  Homework assignments reinforce and extend material introduced in class and should be completed with minimal parental assistance. Our goal is for homework to lead students toward increasing independence and responsibility. Homework begins in Grade 3 when assignments take about 30 minutes. By Grade 5, students can expect to spend 45 minutes to an hour each night on homework. In Grades 7 and 8, students have about one and a half to two hours of school work per night. Gradeheads and department teachers work to balance homework demands so that students do not feel overwhelmed.

• + How will I learn about my child’s progress?

  We keep parents informed about their child’s academic progress through regular parent/teacher conferences and written reports and, beginning in Grade 7, the assignment of letter grades. Many teachers use portfolios, or focused collections of children’s work, as well as more traditional forms of assessment, such as quizzes, tests, and written assignments. We also conduct individual benchmark testing of all students in Grade 2 and below. Additionally, we use a nationally normed test called Track My Progress (TMP) as an additional source of information regarding individual student progress. Grade 7 students take a benchmark SSAT.

• + What resources are available for children who could benefit from enrichment or additional support?

  We seek to admit academically strong, curious, and motivated students, and we recognize that students have different learning styles and strengths, as well as different timetables for academic development and growth. Small classes and a strong, integrated academic program provide the essential structure for helping students become effective learners and critical thinkers. Student progress can vary. Our teachers are skilled at providing guidance and challenges to students who would benefit from enrichment as well as guiding students who need additional support.
  
  Our Learning Resources Department is available for students who are experiencing academic difficulty and require more specialized support. Learning Resources aims to teach long-term strategies which enable students to thrive as independent learners. The department includes a number of learning specialists and tutors who work with students in small groups, both in and out of the classroom. Individual tutoring is available outside the classroom at an additional cost.
  
  When concerns arise with a student’s progress, the Learning Resources Director, in consultation with the student’s teaching team and the Division Head, will meet with parents to develop an appropriate support plan and schedule. Collaboration and mutual support among parents, teachers, tutors, and other professionals is a key ingredient to setting students up for success. We expect any outside testing or evaluations to be shared in full with our Learning Resources Department.

• + What if my child’s educational background differs from the Shady Hill program?

  Children from a wide variety of educational settings enter Shady Hill at all grade levels. The admission process is designed to predict whether a child has the skills, potential, and desire necessary to succeed in our program. Should we anticipate the likelihood of some transitional challenges, we will specify materials or instruction during the summer prior to entry.

• + What activities and special events allow for school-wide connections?

  All-school gatherings play an important role in the lives of students, teachers, and parents. A number of celebrations throughout the school year are special annual traditions anticipated by the entire community: Gratitude Assembly, Black History Assembly, May Day, and Closing Day ceremonies.
  
  On a weekly basis, the Lower School and Middle School each have assemblies that provide opportunities to share class work, sing together, make important announcements, or enjoy visiting artists or performers. Lower School parents are welcome to attend these gatherings each Friday. 
  
  Older and younger students connect regularly and develop friendships through our partners program. Middle School students are paired with Lower School students for the year, spending time together reading, playing, or working on special projects. Also, classes are routinely invited to attend culminating curricular events across grade levels.

• + Does the School provide service opportunities for students?

  Service learning is part of the School’s commitment to developing ethical citizens who are active in their school community and in the world around them. Service learning opportunities help children to understand and identify needs within their local community. Through civic engagement, students become motivated to take action and develop projects that work to solve their community needs.
  
  At Shady Hill, students and faculty participate in a variety of service learning and community service projects appropriate to students’ ages, their academic curricula, and our community needs. On campus, students might support recycling efforts, plant bulbs, or serve as escorts to younger children at morning drop-off. Off-campus activities have included working with a variety of community partners. Two faculty members oversee the service learning program, providing a resource for meaningful opportunities.

• + Do you have an Afterschool program?

  There are two fee-based programs for care beyond the academic day. Families who receive financial aid have a discounted rate applied toward the cost of the program.
  
  Extended Day is available on Wednesdays, when Beginners and Kindergartners end their formal school day at 12:00 p.m. Children can relax and enjoy lunch, recess, rest, and choice times in comfortable and familiar surroundings. Lunch Bunch ends at the 2:30 p.m. dismissal, at which point some students go home and others stay with us for Afterschool.
  
  Afterschool is available daily to all students from 3:15 p.m. dismissal (2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays) until 5:45 p.m.
  
  The Afterschool program maintains a focus on the mission of Shady Hill in the planning and implementation of its curriculum. Our team provides a stimulating and fun environment in which children can explore their own unique imaginations, develop friendships, and test their abilities. Afterschool includes a variety of enrichment activities, including cooking, yoga, engineering, studio arts, music, and dance. Most of these options are planned for our students in Grade 1 and above. Students in Grades 3 through 5 also have a specified time for homework with a staff member who can provide help if needed. For Grades 6 through 8, Afterschool offers a supervised study hall to provide coverage around the sports schedule at no cost to families.

• + What are the benefits of entering Shady Hill’s Middle School?

  Each year we add approximately 20 new students to Middle School. Our strengths include:
  

  • Rigorous, dynamic, and engaging curriculum of integrated study
  • Teachers’ abilities to connect with and know each student well
  • Experiential, project-based, collaborative approach to learning 
  • Strong sense of community, with real-life opportunities for guided independence and leadership
  • Focus on nurturing caring individuals who are ethical citizens

  
  The middle school years are a time of tremendous intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth, and young adolescents need adults more than ever to support their development. At Shady Hill, Middle School students work closely with teachers who are experts in their academic fields and specialists in early adolescence. Students feel known and valued as individuals and challenged as learners. Our classes require mastery of in-depth content and skills, stretching students’ thinking as they make increasingly complex connections between their learning, themselves, and the world at large. Students are supported in taking responsibility for organizing their school lives, from getting to class on time to balancing workloads and planning long-term projects. Middle School students also grow and express themselves through Shady Hill’s extensive visual and performing arts curriculum, and they learn athletic skills, leadership, and sportsmanship competing on the School’s teams.
  
  Shady Hill graduates are poised individuals who are ready for the challenges that lie ahead and are well-received in a wide variety of high schools. They are known as thoughtful, confident learners who think outside the box and ask insightful questions. Our students are recognized as skilled, articulate communicators and solid citizens. They are able to adapt what they have learned to new situations and can advocate for themselves as they encounter different environments.

• + How do you integrate new students into the Middle School?

  We welcome the expanding social group that comes with Middle School. New students bring fresh perspectives and personalities and are welcomed by current students who are eager to meet new friends and broaden their world.
  
  Every new Middle School student is assigned a buddy—a current student who will be in their grade-level cohort. Buddies connect with new students over the summer, providing a warm welcome and often getting together before school starts. During the first days of school, buddies introduce new students to their classmates and guide them through the routines of day-to-day school life.
  
  We offer an orientation that provides new Middle School students with opportunities to become more familiar with each other, the campus, and our curricular approach.
  
  At the start of school and throughout the fall, annual events for each Middle School grade help promote new friendships and strengthen group bonds. For example, Grade 5 students might go on a scavenger hunt in Boston and visit Chinatown; Grade 6 students might climb Mt. Major and stay overnight at the Farm School in Athol, MA.
  
  Shady Hill also helps new parents and guardians feel welcome. Each classroom has Class Parents who reach out to new families and help integrate them into the community. There are special events for new parents at the start of school and many opportunities throughout the year to join in community activities.

• + What is the Middle School Athletics and Physical Education program?

  In Grade 5, physical education classes introduce a “Teach, Choose, Play” model for both individual and team sports as a transitional step toward interscholastic athletics. Each season, students practice the skills and strategies of a variety of sports and then engage in game play at the level of their choosing, meeting students where they are in their development.
  
  In Grades 6 through 8, students go through a formal tryout to compete on interscholastic teams or play on intramural teams, or choose to participate in physical education electives. The School has typically offered ten interscholastic sports—cross country, volleyball, soccer, flag football, basketball, ice hockey, fencing, lacrosse, track and field, and ultimate. Interscholastic teams practice and compete after the school day’s regular dismissal. Electives, held during the last block of the school day, may include yoga, dance, fitness, and a variety of seasonal intramural sports and games. Students are required to participate in an activity every trimester.
  
  Shady Hill’s program provides a positive and robust experience that allows students of all levels to explore, participate, and engage in healthy physical activity and competition.

• + How do you help families of graduating students select their secondary schools? 

  Our Director of Secondary School Counseling works with parents and students, starting in the spring of Grade 7, as they search for a school that would be a good match after Shady Hill. The Director meets individually with parents and students to identify their goals for high school and design a customized plan for their search process. The Director provides information about both independent and public schools, guides families through the application process (including tours, interviews, test preparation, and financial aid), and helps families with the registration and course selection process.

• + Where do Shady Hill graduates go?

  Our graduates choose from a wide range of schools: public, independent, day, boarding, etc. 
  
  Secondary Schools Attended by Five or More SHS Graduates 2018-2024:
  Beaver Country Day School Belmont Hill School 
  Brimmer & May School 
  Boston University Academy Buckingham Browne & Nichols School 
  Brookline High School Cambridge Rindge & Latin School Cambridge School of Weston Commonwealth School 
  Concord Academy 
  Groton School 
  Milton Academy 
  Newton Country Day School Newton North High School Noble & Greenough School Phillips Academy Andover Somerville High School The Rivers School 
  
  In the past five years, graduates from Shady Hill have ma-triculated to a total of 122 colleges.  Colleges with five or more SHS graduates include:
  Harvard University  
  Tufts University
  Brown University
  Middlebury College  
  Yale University  
  New York University  
  University of Vermont  
  Northeastern University
  Wesleyan University  
  Bowdoin College 
  Colorado College 
  Boston College  
  Colby College  
  Northwestern University
  Princeton University  
  Skidmore College 
  UMass Amherst 
  Washington University, St. Louis 

• + What are the opportunities for parent involvement?

  Shady Hill values its tradition of parent involvement and leadership. There are a variety of ways to join in and maintain connections, including volunteering, participating in parent-led organizations, and attending community events. Given the range of work and family commitments within our community, there is something for everyone.
  
  Volunteer opportunities are available in many areas of the School and include serving as a Class Parent, assisting at various Admission events, helping solicit donations for the Shady Hill Fund, shelving books in the Library, and supporting Parents Council initiatives such as Pizza Lunch, Faculty Appreciation, and Lost and Found—and much more. There are also traditional community-wide celebrations and festivals that rely heavily on parent volunteers, whether helping to organize in advance or working for an hour during the event. The Shady Hill Fair held in October is an annual favorite!
  
  Diversity at Shady Hill (DASH) encompasses several parent-led affinity groups and welcomes participation in its overall efforts to support the values of mutual respect and collaboration in our community. DASH also sponsors social and educational events during the year for parents and children. 
  
  There are a variety of additional events for parents to attend throughout the year. All-school assemblies—Gratitude Assembly, Black History Assembly, May Day, and Closing Day Ceremonies—are special Shady Hill traditions that bring the whole community together. Parents Council also hosts community forums that provide opportunities to hear from speakers with expertise on a variety of parenting and educational topics. Lower School parents are welcome to attend the weekly Lower School assemblies, where our students in Beginners through Grade 4 join in singing, sharing, and celebrating.

• + Philanthropy at Shady Hill: how are parents asked to support the School in addition to tuition?

  Like all independent schools, Shady Hill is a nonprofit, gift-supported institution, and tuition dollars cover just 77% of our annual operating budget. We rely on donations from all community constituencies to meet our revenue goals and fulfill our mission of offering innovative educational programming, hiring and supporting outstanding faculty, and creating a socioeconomically diverse community. We ask that parents place Shady Hill among their top philanthropic priorities and make gifts each year that are personally significant. Our parents, alumni, faculty, and staff have a proud tradition of giving, and annual fund gifts range from $10 to $50,000. Supporting the Shady Hill Fund each year is a cooperative effort that involves outreach and conversations with our Advancement Office, as well as parent volunteers.