At the end of the final all-school assembly in May, Mike Henriques observed that the human community we knew so intimately for nine months would never be together again. Many will return for reunions, of course, but the whole will never again be whole. In two short weeks, 127 new students will arrive for Orientation. They will be greeted by returning student volunteers eager to make them welcome.

 

We'll break them into small Orientation groups right away to encourage immediate relationships and introduce key Proctor values. We'll do some silly activities to break the ice and ease jitters.

 



We are fortunate to be opening fully enrolled with 357 students. We are fortunate, too, to have such a stable faculty. With the exception of two retirees, we have experienced no faculty turnover! For nine months, this will be the human community we know as Proctor.

 

While they will share an intense, highly supportive community environment for nine months, the 357 students otherwise are notable for the diversity they bring. They come from 30 states and 16 nations. 

 

One hundred and twenty students (34% of the total) come from New Hampshire, a stat that includes 97 day students. Ninety-five hail from Massachusetts; 19 are from Connecticut; 11 are New Yorkers; 10 come from Vermont; 9 are from Rhode Island and 7 are from Maine. 

 

Now the demographic diversity becomes more remarkable! Seven students are Californians; 7 are from Maryland; 6 from Texas; 4 from New Jersey; 3 from Louisiana; 2 from Arizona; 2 from Colorado; 2 from Georgia; 2 from North Carolina; 2 from Ohio; 2 from Pennsylvania; 2 from Florida; 2 from Virginia; 2 from Washington D.C., and 2  are from Washington state.

 

States represented by a single student include Delaware, Idaho, Missouri, South Carolina, Illinois, Michigan and South Dakota, and we have one student from Puerto Rico.

 

The population is further enriched by students from the following countries: South Korea (8), Canada (5), People's Republic of China (3), Germany (2), Cameroon, Pakistan, Sweden, Bermuda, Morocco, Mexico, Hungary, Switzerland, Argentina, Brasil and the United Kingdom.

 

Given the economic climate, opening with full enrollment may seem remarkable in itself, but the demographic diversity cited above indicates the strength of Proctor's brand. Notice that the population from nations (like South Korea) is limited so that students from other language backgrounds are required to exercise English in everyday life. This makes Proctor particularly appealing to many families (including those families from foreign nations.)

 

This is important: Proctor attracts students for highly disparate reasons. Despite the clarity of its mission, the school offers unique programs, services and qualities with broad appeal. Sooner or later, approximately half of the population takes advantage of the Learning Skills program, but we're not the only school offering structured support services....

 

The opportunity to sail a schooner to the Caribbean, or to study language abroad, or to master recording techniques, or manage a 2,700-acre woodlot, or build a boat, or ski jump might be factors in one student's decision to attend Proctor, while another favors the informal, non-adversarial ethos, the small dorms, specific competitive sports and Polar Swim. The diversity of the student population, then, is a reflection of the diversity of programs and services.

 

Another strength: We're a remarkably young school this year, with 55 ninth graders, a whopping 108 sophomores, 106 juniors and only 88 seniors. One outcome of this is that the Admission Office enters the year with confidence in its ability to fill the school for 2011-12 with healthy selectivity. Exercising restraint by enrolling very few one year students enables the class of 2012 (this year's junior class) to potentially decrease in size to the extent we experience attrition.