For Parents

Message from the Head of School


Alan Sparrow has been Head of School at Rowland Hall since 1992.  He came to Rowland Hall after eight years as the Upper School Principal at Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He was a Middle School Principal in Rochester, New York for four years and prior to that, spent eight years in the classroom teaching fifth through twelfth grades.  Alan holds a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University, a M.A. in History and a M.S. in Educational Administration from the University of Rochester. 

Dear Parents,

It has been an extraordinary year by every measure. The economy has certainly dominated the headlines and has affected both the school and our families. With the amazing support you've provided, through valuable contributions of your time, your good advice, and your generous donations, our school has remained a predictable safe haven for children, especially for those whose families are struggling. Financial aid funds have enabled us to keep almost all of our students at the school who wanted to stay this year in spite of their families' economic hardships.

We've been tracking re-enrollment and new enrollment very closely to make sure we are prepared for whatever comes next fall.  We are actually ahead of what our 2008-2009 enrollment numbers were at this time last year, and we have waiting lists in a number of classes.  We are predicting an opening enrollment for next fall that is close to this past year's, which has been our largest enrollment ever.  Nonetheless, it's very important that you continue to help us recruit new families to the school. The vast majority of new families come to our school because of the enthusiastic comments about Rowland Hall from our current families.

Please remember tuition, or at least your first payment if you are on a payment plan, is due July 15.  It is particularly important this year that we receive payments on time or that you notify the school by this day if you need to withdraw your children. To plan in this new financial climate, we need to be able to operate the school with the most timely information possible. Finally, let me say that we want to continue to work with financially challenged families and encourage them to immediately contact the business office.

The board's finance committee has thoughtfully formulated possible budget scenarios and we believe the school will fare well next year and into the future.   Consequently, we have been able to maintain all of our faculty positions for next fall and will offer the same extraordinary program with the same caring faculty.  In fact, if possible, I believe the faculty and staff are more committed than ever before to make this school community a haven in an uncertain world.

It has been a very successful year in many ways. Our debate team qualified four members for the national championships, an almost unheard-of feat for any school, let alone one of our size. Four of our athletic teams repeated as state champions.  We continue to lead the state in the percentage of National Merit Scholars in our senior class.  We have had tremendous success in chess and music competitions, and the combined middle/upper school performance of Les Miserables was exceptional.

Thank you for entrusting your children to our care.  It is a privilege to work with such a wonderful group of children and young adults.  I love coming to Rowland Hall every day and being among such eager, enthusiastic learners.

I hope you have a wonderful summer.

 

Sincerely, 

Alan Sparrow
Head of School

P.S.  I would like to thank all of you who gave tickets to the school for our faculty and staff this past year.  The tickets you gave for sports, theater, music, and dance - for everything from the Jazz to the symphony to Pioneer Theater - are very popular and appreciated.  So, if again this year you have tickets that you aren't able to use, even last minute, please think about dropping them off at school.  THANKS.

 

 

 

School Life