Field School

Philosophy     Staff      Charlottesville School Market      Plans

Opening Day:  Tuesday, September 4, 200

The Field School for Boys, a middle school in Charlottesville, announces its plans to open in the Fall of 2002. This document provides an outline of our plans, including the school’s philosophy and anticipated enrollment, building and financial resources, and a thorough overview of the Charlottesville school market. We invite you to read our proposal and provide your input. We are interested in gaining the support of all those interested in developing a great school in Charlottesville as we pursue our goals.  

Todd Barnett  

P.O. Box 5022

Charlottesville, VA 22905

Fldcamp@aol.com

Develop well-rounded boys of character and accomplishment.

Our goals are ….

To develop our school and its traditions around a strong, well educated, hard working, involved faculty, one which participates in the school’s activities and coaching, and one which models and mirrors the school’s philosophy;

To engage middle school boys by exposing them to a variety of interests in academic, athletic, extracurricular, and service opportunities;

To attract and support a student body which reflects the diversity of our local community, both ethnically and socioeconomically;

Dr. Todd Barnett — The holder of the Paul Landon Banfield Ethics Chair at at the Landon School for Boys in Bethesda, Maryland, Todd has 17 years of teaching experience at Landon, Woodberry Forest School, Grand River Academy, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, and the University of Pennsylvania. Todd holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Pennsylvania, has published educational and historical articles in a variety of journals, and has been involved in a wide range of school programs including baseball, basketball, newspaper, Landon’s Brown and White Yearbook, music clubs, the Landon-in-the-British Isles travel program, and Landon’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity. In 2000, he co-founded and co-directed the Field Camp of Charlottesville, a successful local day and overnight camp, held annually each summer. He has won awards for both his teaching and writing.

Charlottesville represents an excellent market for a boys’ middle school. It is an area of rapid population growth, and with the presence of the University of Virginia, its population is perhaps more interested in excellent education than any other in the commonwealth. Furthermore, there are a high number of quality boys-only high schools in Central Virginia (Woodberry Forest, Blue Ridge School, Fork Union Military Academy, St. Christopher’s School). The strongest argument for the existence of a market for a boys’ school in Charlottesville, however, is provided by the example of the Village School.

The Village School for Girls

In 1995, Proal Heartwell and Jamie Knorr, two teachers in the Albemarle County school system, started the Village School, a girls’ middle school. The two felt that there was a need for an all-girls institution in Charlottesville, and they leased a building in town and opened their school in September of 1995 with 20 students in grades 5 and 6. Their goal was to have 4 classes (5^th to 8^th grade) of 16 students each, and they reached it in their fourth year. After the first year, their numbers grew to 33, 45, 53, and then 64 in Year 4. This year, they are again full with girls on the waiting list for each class.

The philosophy of the Village School originally grew out of the founders’ belief that girls were being shortchanged during their middle school years by the presence of boys in classrooms. They subsequently created a small school around a strong, dedicated faculty and have quickly developed a strong reputation in town both for their community and for their academics. The Field School will follow their successful formula in its early years and make every effort to develop the same strong community and academic reputation. The Village School’s directors have encouraged us in our plans, and we are hopeful that we can develop sibling programs in drama and music that are typical of sibling single-sex institutions.

Why A Boys’ School?

In the middle of the 20^th Century, boys’ schools were common in secondary and higher education, with even some public single-sex institutions of higher education. But during the 1970’s, they generally became coed due to federal law, Title 9 of the Civil Rights Act, and due to the fear among private institutions that they would lose students unless they too became coed. Some independent schools remained single-sex, however, and in recent years, there have been several movements to renew such institutions. Most of the initiative has been on behalf of girls, due in large part to a well-publicized study by the American Association of University Women that coed schools adversely affect girls, particularly in math and the sciences. In recent years, scholars have analyzed American students and found that, in fact, boys are faring much worse than girls in schools by almost all standards – testing scores, school leadership, class accomplishments, matriculation in colleges, behavior, disciplinary actions, and alcohol and drug use. Though the mythology suggests a need for girls’ schools, boys arguably need boys’ schools even more.*

The primary benefit of boys’ schools is that they specialize in boys. The Field School will be characterized by a faculty experienced in teaching, coaching and counseling boys, one which understands boys’ issues, and by a school program tailored to the style and tempos of boys’ learning. A boys’ school also provides an open, positive school environment, where boys are encouraged to be well rounded in all school activities from arts to athletics to service. It is a positive climate for exploration, discovery and intellectual reaching and an atmosphere for exploring gender and sex-related issues. A boys’ school offers focused learning, with a heightened emphasis on academic tasks and challenges and problem-solving strategies. There is an atmosphere of frank and direct communication in a boys’ school, with freedom from cross-gender posturing and less gender stereotyping. Lastly, boys’ schools foster special camaraderie and friendship, with positive male role models and friendships for life.

This area is one that has traditionally supported all-male education. Central Virginia is home to a number of independent boys’ schools including Woodberry Forest, Blue Ridge School, Fork Union Military Academy, and St. Christopher’s School in Richmond. Other schools that have an all-male history include the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee, and the Miller School. Furthermore, our surveys suggest that Charlottesville parents are receptive to the idea of a boys’ school in Charlottesville and would consider sending their boys to such an institution.

*On boys’ development and the benefits of boys’ schools, see William Pollack, Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood, Daniel Kindlon and Michael Thompson, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, Michael Gurian, A Fine Young Man: What Parents, Mentors, and Educators Can Do to Shape Adolescent Boys in Exceptional Men, The Good Son: Shaping the Moral Development of our Boys and Young Men, and The Wonder of Boys: What Parents, Mentors and Educators Can Do to Shape Boys into Exceptional Men, and Steve Biddulph, Raising Boys; Why Boys are Different--And How to Help Them Become Happy and Well-Balanced Men. On the effort to promote girls’ education, see Christina Hoff Sommers, The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men.,

The Charlottesville Area

The Charlottesville area is growing. In 1990, the Charlottesville metropolitan area population totaled 131,400 By 1999, this total had grown by 17 percent to 153,500, making the Charlottesville metropolitan area the fastest growing area in the commonwealth, with the Census Bureau predicting an equal growth in population during the next ten years. People relocate to Charlottesville for a variety of reasons. They come to the University of Virginia and decide they want to remain in town, they are attracted to the area’s diverse cultural, recreational, and outdoors opportunities, or they retire to Charlottesville with confidence in its excellent local hospitals.

While the school age population is growing very slowly in the commonwealth of Virginia due to the “baby boom,” the school age population in Charlottesville is expected to grow during the next 5 years by 6 percent. Furthermore, the percentage of parents choosing private education for their children is growing. In 1990, about 40,000 students in Virginia attended private schools, but by 1999, the number had grown to about 48,000, a 20 percent increase over the 10-year period.

The Charlottesville area is also relatively prosperous, suggesting that the local population would support another private school. The Charlottesville area’s median couple income for 1997 was 48,302, making it the third highest income area in the state behind Northern Virginia and Richmond. Though it is not as wealthy as some other areas of the state, there is more than enough of a flourishing population that is interested in a high quality private school education for their children.

Note: See tables and list of sources in for this section in Appendices.

Current Charlottesville Area Schools

Most middle school students in the Charlottesville area attend 1 of 5 public schools in the City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County: Buford, Burley, Henley, Jouett, and Walton Each has about 500-600 students with 150-200 pupils in Grades 5-8 or 6-8. According to our surveys, most of which come from public school parents themselves, their reputations are similar. Though parents generally like their diversity and cost, and though some are noted as having fine individual teachers and programs, the public schools are generally thought to be too big. Class sizes are considered too large and parents worry that their children may not receive proper individual attention. In addition to the concern for individual attention, discipline and structure are thought to be lacking. Our boys’ school will likely draw most of its students from these public schools.

The Charlottesville area supports a broad range of independent schools as it is, although the one market that has not been explored thus far is a boys’ school. Other than the Village School, the major private day schools in the area include St. Anne’s-Belfield School, Covenant School, Tandem Friends School and Charlottesville Catholic School.

The oldest and largest private school in Charlottesville is St. Anne’s-Belfield School (STAB). Founded under the auspices of the Virginia Episcopal Diocese as a girls’ secondary school in 1915, STAB enrolls 800 students in Pre-K-12 (100 Pre K and K, 185 LS, 250 MS, 280 US). The school became coed in 1975, merging with the K-6 Belfield School. The school operates two campuses near the University encompassing 49 acres.

The second oldest major private school in town is Tandem Friends School. Founded in 1970, the school became affiliated with the Quaker Church in 1995. The school enrolls 210 students in Grades 5-12 (93 MS, 118 US). Tandem’s philosophy has evolved recently with the affiliation with the Friends, although there has been much consistency about their mission over the past few decades. Originally it was conceived as a school “based on the conviction that the processes of maturation and academic development need an environment in which there is a close and trusting relationship between the faculty and the students, a free examination of values and ideas, and an approach to decision-making which involves the whole school community.” They have 23 acres just south of town featuring a gym and a sprawl of classroom buildings oriented around an old manor home. Their sports, drama, community service and activities programs have been upgraded since 1985.

The second largest private school in town is the Covenant School, a Christian school founded in 1985. In its initial year, Covenant had 46 students and it has since grown to 600 students in grades K-12. Its philosophy is “academic excellence under the sovereignty of God.” Its growth has been phenomenal, due in part to parent’s concern for their children’s moral development. Covenant has also developed an excellent sports program, despite lack of playing fields.

Another local school notable for its growth is Charlottesville Catholic School. It opened in 1996 with grades K-2 and continues to add a new grade each year. They currently operate Grades K-6 with 50 students in Grades 5 and 6 together. A traditional Catholic school, they have just bought 20 acres in the city and are building an impressive facility.

With all these options, is there room for another school in Charlottesville? The success of these schools, all of which have been opened or expanded significantly recently, indicates the strong market for independent schools in general in Charlottesville. Furthermore, the example provided by the Village School demonstrates that there is a demand for single-sex education in particular in the area. The history, education, wealth, growth, and current private school market in Charlottesville all point to the success of a boys’ school.

The First Day of Field School will be Tuesday, September 4, 2007.

School Enrollment

The general model for enrollment is as follows. We will have three 4-year plans, the first phase starting in 2001-2 with a planning year for finding a site, holding informational meetings, hiring staff, and admitting students. We will start with 32 kids in Grades 5 and 6 in the Fall of 2002, and grow by one class each year, adding Grades 7 and 8 in the following two years so that by 2005-6 we would have 64 students. This model was successful for the Village School and they managed to reach their target of 64 students in their fourth year.

In our second phase, we will add an Upper School.  We will then add Grades 9-12 from 2006-2010, one grade each year. We will then add another 15 students in 9-12 in the third phase from 2011-2015. This will get us to 180 students after twelve years of planning and enrollment. The ultimate goal is to have 300 students, by adding 15 kids to each class in the next 8 years.

These four-year plans allow for relatively regular growth in facilities. Depending on the land lease or purchase options and decisions made in the first few years, we can adopt a regular approach to adding buildings and playing fields over the years.

Physical Structure

Like other schools in the area, we will lease a facility during our first few years. Village School originally leased their building on East High Street and the Renaissance School, a small new arts-oriented Charlottesville high school, leases space above stores on the downtown mall. The Catholic School began in the Synagogue on Market Street and Tandem began in a local home. The general standard in the independent school world is to have 600-800 square feet of teaching space per 15 students. We would thus like to begin by having a facility of about 3,000 square feet or larger for our first 3 years. We will begin to search for a starter facility in the Fall of 2006.

As for field space, we are optimistic that we will be able to get access to local public and private fields in our first years even if we cannot secure a facility with adequate outdoor space. Our experience with Field Camp has been that there are many resources in this town and many people who are eager to help. We will have flexibility in our schedule, and with our buses, we will be able to make short commutes to pursue our athletic program.

Finance

Our tuition in the first year will be $6,000, the same as the current tuition at Village School. This will put us somewhere in the middle of the tuition range for private schools in the area. On the high end, STAB charges $10,900 for middle school, while Tandem’s tuition is $8,200 and Covenant charges $8,200. On the low end, Charlottesville Catholic charges $4,350.

Our revenue will depend on the number of students we attract. We hope that we will have between 20 and 30 students the first year, giving us revenue of $120,000 to $180,000.

Our general expenses will include salaries, building costs, and other teaching costs. We hope to keep our building costs (including taxes, maintenance, insurance, and cleaning) to below $30,000 per year during the first three years, a total that is consistent with what the Village School paid during their first few years. If we can keep other instruction costs (teaching materials and supplies, insurance, vehicle maintenance, field trips, telephones, brochures, copies, and similar costs) to about $30,000 for the first year, we will have from $60,000 to $120,000 for salaries. We will develop a more comprehensive business plan during the following year.

We will establish two development projects from the beginning. The first will be for scholarships so that we can pursue our goal of creating a diverse student body. The second will be a building fund that we will use to purchase property and construct a facility. Ultimately, our goals are to have a significant percentage of our students on scholarship aid, and to have a suburban or rural campus of 50-100 acres, with room for playing fields, outdoor exercises, and exploration.

Sources

Sources for information presented on the Charlottesville market include private school websites: the Saint Ann’s-Belfield School website (Monticello.avenue.org/Ed/stab), the Tandem Friends School site (www.tandemfs.org), the Charlottesville Catholic School website (www.cvillecatholic.com), and the Covenant School website (http://monticello.avenue.org/tcs). On private school enrollment statistics, see Michael A. Spar, Spotlight on Virginia: School Enrollment Increases Appear to be Slowing Down, Charlottesville: Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, June, 2000. On demographics, see Michel A. Spar, Spotlight on Virginia: Virginia’s Public Schools: The Next Five Years, Charlottesville: Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, July 1999, Julia Martin and Donna J. Tolson, Spotlight on Virginia: 1999 Virginia Population Estimates, Charlottesville: Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, January, 2000, John L. Knapp and Stephen C. Kulp, Research Notes: Virginia Adjusted Gross Income, 1997, Charlottesville: Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, December 21, 1999. On commuting patterns, see Department of Economic Development Homepage, City of Charlottesville, Virginia Homepage, http://econdev.ci.charlottesville.va.us/commute.html, 11-12-00.

since 7-16-01