By Alex T.

A demographic change in the population resulted in a significant decrease in the number of female students at The Family School following graduation in June.

In June 2011 Betton House was converted to an all boys family. That experiment, according to Family School president, Mike Argiros, has been “tremendously successful.”

After June graduation there was a shift in the ratio of female students at the school. With the smaller group dispersed among three houses the girls were missing the benefits of a large peer support group.

Focusing on the specific needs of current students is always a priority for The Family School administration. Sometimes that means thinking “outside the box” for  innovative solutions to the ever-changing needs of the student population.

Without a large support group the girls found it difficult to work on their self-improvement. “Our success in Betton House helped us make the decision to turn Lake House into a single gender group,” said Argiros.

“Our intent was not so much to make Lake House all boys as it was to provide the girls with the envirionment and support that they needed,” he said.

“We are finding a lot of benefits with the same gender family design. It creates the best of both worlds in terms of co-ed school experience with the focused attention and discussion that can occur within the same sex families,” said Jeff Brain, Director of Admissions.

The current ratio of boys to girls at The Family School is approximately 7:3.