Ralph Wales has served as head of school at the Gordon School in East Providence since 1994. Over that time, the school has received national attention for its achievements in creating and sustaining a decidedly diverse faculty, staff and student body. Under his leadership, the Gordon School has worked to implement and refine its focus on multicultural teaching practices and anti-bias education. During his tenure, the school has established an endowment that now exceeds $11 million, the largest portion of which supports the school’s efforts to host an economically diverse student body. Additionally, Wales has helped lead the work to significantly enhance campus facilities.
Prior to the Gordon School, Wales taught in four independent schools, including eight years on the faculty at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Mass., where he now serves on the board. Wales is also the president of the board of directors of the Association of Independent Schools in New England. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
PBN: You’ve served as head of school at the Gordon School in East Providence since 1994. What are the biggest successes the school has celebrated under your tenure?
WALES: Without question, our biggest success during my time at Gordon is the progress we have made toward becoming a racially and economically diverse independent school. The number of students of color at the school has increased from 16 in 1994 to 153 today – comprising 43 percent of our student body. Six percent of our students received financial aid in 1994. Today, over half of our students do. It is important to note that a sizeable percentage of these students are white since it is often inaccurately assumed that most students on financial aid at independent schools are students of color
Our faculty and staff were almost entirely white when I began and today there are 23 professionals of color, three of whom are members of the senior staff. This intentional work occurred simultaneously with innovations in our academic program that have advanced each child’s capacity to understanding whatever is under study from multiple perspectives.
PBN: What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced in that time?
WALES: The biggest and continuing challenge for us and all independent schools is to address the significant barrier to entry that is posed by high tuition. A concurrent challenge has been the need to change policies and practices so that all our students and families have equal footing in the day-to-day life of the school. In independent schools, too often the influence of those who have significant financial resources produces an imbalance in the community.
With a history of serving a predominantly white and highly-affluent set of families, independent schools, which consciously diversify the communities they serve, must be mindful to the experience and needs of the nondominant groups (students of color, families receiving financial aid, the LGBTQ community, etc.). Our school has taken innovative steps, including teaching issues of equity at all grade levels, providing our parents with regular forums to discuss racial and economic diversity and instituting affinity structures for students and adults who would not otherwise have a majority experience.
PBN: As someone who has been active in the Rhode Island private-school sector for more than two decades, what is the future of private schools in Rhode Island given the, sometimes high, price tag associated with the education?
WALES: I am concerned about the future of independent school education in general, not just in Rhode Island. Traditionally, our schools have been fueled by wealth that has been passed on within families from generation to generation. This is a dwindling community in this state and in our country. The revenue streams to our schools are thin and only becoming thinner. New business models must be developed since our current one is both ineffective and the school culture it creates and serves is rapidly becoming obsolete.
In addition, if children are to be well-educated, their schooling must not occur in settings that are disconnected from the world we live in. Independent schools must break out of the homogeneity that defines them if they are going to be relevant platforms for preparing students for a dynamic and competitive world.
PBN: Looking forward, the school is offering a program called Family Individualized Tuition, which will see a unique tuition bill created for each family with children at the school. What was the catalyst for this change?
WALES: On a national level, the National Association of Independent Schools has been challenging schools to think innovatively regarding their tuition models. The underlying force for this call to action is the reality that independent school tuitions have increased at a much faster rate than household incomes. Over time, tuition costs became too great for household budgets to manage, making independent school education out of reach for many families. We witnessed this reality here at Gordon and, given our long tradition of innovation and partnering with our parents, the trustees took proactive steps toward change.
Some of the improvements under our new pricing system – Family Individualized Tuition – include our ability to provide clarity about tuition for our families over a three-year period, greatly improving their ability to plan. In addition, in current systems used by all independent schools, families who need financial aid do not know whether they will receive a grant until well after their application is submitted. Their expectations and hopes for admission then are often dashed when their child is accepted but the financial aid grant is insufficient for them to attend. At Gordon, we provide a family’s price with 10 days of their application, allowing them to determine at that time if they can afford to go forward with the process. We feel this transparent approach is consistent with our ongoing intention to enact equitable practices.
PBN: How many families are we talking about and will it be extremely inconvenient to calculate a different amount for each?
WALES: The number of different tuitions will depend on the diversity of our families. Ideally, a wide-ranging economic demographic will be represented in the school. If this occurs, we expect the majority of our families will have a different price.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
