This year, the ninth-grade hallway is busier than ever before with 57 students, a 15% increase in attendance from last year’s freshman class of 48.
The admissions team attributes Friends Select’s growth to a number of different things including their new approach to the admissions cycle. “We had a completely full 8th grade last year, and … we had a higher percentage of our own students matriculate to 9th grade.” Caroline Slingluff, Associate Director of Admission, said. “Additionally, we had a lot of strong interest in our program this year from prospective students, and we introduced new events in the admission cycle to make sure they and their families had every opportunity to understand who we are as a school community.”
The larger grade poses both new opportunities and challenges for Ninth Grade History Teacher, Spring Greeney. Spring says that one of her goals is to build a collaborative and relationship-oriented classroom. She feels that a bigger class will help cultivate an environment that allows students to learn from each other. However, “From the perspective of building one-on-one relationships with students, I feel really challenged,” Spring says. Additionally, she also highlighted the benefits of a larger student body and the resources it allows us: “As a tuition-driven institution, it’s a great thing.”
With a larger grade, individual meetings are a challenge. “I have a limited amount of time to meet with students to support them.” Jillian Waldman, Ninth Grade Physics Teacher said. “I had one-on-one meetings with five students last week, which was great, and I’m so glad they reached out to ask for support, but if another student had needed to meet, I’m not sure where they would have fit in my schedule.”
Spring emphasized how important it is for students to receive feedback and spoke to how she may adapt to a greater workload. “Could I experiment with leaning more heavily on peer feedback at the draft stage of an essay rather than me leaving individualized feedback?” Spring said. “There definitely are some strategies that I’m exploring.”
Even with the larger class, it is important that every student feels welcome, according to Maria Fernanda Marquez, the Ninth Grade Lead Advisor. “Since my advisory enrollment is higher, I have to carefully craft the time to meet the needs of all my advisees.” Maria said, “Welcoming and extending grace to the 9th grade team and students is also crucial for the well-being of the entire class.”
The approach Maria has to her grade is reflected in the school’s strategy moving forward: “Any continued growth will be approached with care to make sure we can still provide the academic and community experience that makes our school the Friends Select you know and love,” Caroline Slingluff says.
