Lincoln Academy’s growing international program will improve education for local students by adding diversity and strengthening the school financially, Director of Admissions Sheryl Stearns said.
“I understand the need for Lincoln Academy to honor its commitment as a community school even as it recruits international students,” Stearns said.
The international student population at Lincoln Academy doubled this year, from six to 12, and the school expects to welcome at least 24 for the 2013-2014 academic year.
The dozen international students currently enrolled live with host families. Next year, after a contractor finishes converting the second story of the Hall House into a dormitory, 24 students will live on campus. The school expects the host family program to continue, too.
Lincoln Academy is focusing on the program as area demographics contribute to rapidly declining enrollment at the school.
Head of School Jay Pinkerton, at a meeting in January, said the school expects to have 360 non-residential students in the fall of 2014, down from 610 in 2006.
The plunge in enrollment has forced the school to trim its budget and delay repairs and capital projects.
Revenue from the international program will allow the school to retain and expand programs for all students.
“We’re doing this because it benefits local students and we’re always keeping in mind that our function is, first and foremost, a community school,” Stearns said.
Stearns joined the Lincoln Academy staff in July. She brings several years of experience in international education, including six years at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill. She founded George Stevens’ international program.
“I love what these town academies stand for and how they are able to serve all students,” Stearns said.
Last year, she was the director of international recruitment at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Penn.
As Lincoln Academy’s director of admissions, she will spearhead recruitment and marketing for all students, international and local. She’ll fly to Asia in November to recruit students in China and Vietnam. The following month, she’ll attend a fair in Miami, Fla., where she’ll network with consultants from Latin America and around the world.
“It’s a competitive market,” Stearns said. “It takes time to develop relationships overseas and get Lincoln Academy’s reputation out there.”
Stearns provided a glimpse of Lincoln Academy’s marketing strategy.
“We certainly sell the region,” she said. “We sell the safety.”
America has a reputation overseas for high crime rates, she explained. Descriptions of quiet Newcastle help allay parents’ fears.
Lincoln Academy and Newcastle offer other advantages, too. Parents focused on academics like the idea of a small town with little to distract students from their studies. Newcastle fits the bill, yet with enough activities nearby to appeal to students.
Because it’s not a typical boarding school or prep school, Lincoln also offers what Stearns calls “the benefit of an authentic American high school experience” alongside the opportunity for a first-class education.
International students have the option to learn a trade, such as small engine repair, at the same time that they prepare for college with advanced placement classes.
The school encourages them to get to know the area, volunteer with local organizations and “become vital members of the community,” Stearns said.
“It’s very important to us that they integrate into the student population, integrate into the community, and we have a number of ideas for how to achieve that,” she said. “We want them to succeed here. We want them to be happy here.”
The international students attending the school this year hail from China, Germany and Pakistan and include three returning students, all from China.
The school hopes for as much diversity as possible in the international student population, Stearns said, but most will come from China, at least for now.
“There’s a real need there,” she said, as Chinese parents look for an alternative to the exam-heavy “pressure cooker” of their country’s education system.
As the international program continues to grow, the Lincoln Academy board of trustees is continuing to evaluate the possibility of building a separate residence hall on campus, Stearns said, but has yet to make a decision.
“I know the community really loves the school and cares about it,” she said. “That’s why we’re trying to keep it alive and vibrant.”
