We are excited and proud to report that Belmont Day had another banner year of interest and engagement from prospective families. This season, we continued to see high applications relative to pre-pandemic numbers, with a remarkable 30% increase in total applications received over those that came in during the 2019-2020 admissions cycle. Our volunteer tour program continues to thrive; our dedicated parent tour guides gave the most tours of any previous season (156 tours between October and May!), and we are still fielding inquiries from interested families. Our yield results (the percentage of admitted families who ultimately enroll) were also at record highs yet again for our pre-kindergarten and sixth grade entry points (88% and 75%, respectively), and we are excited to welcome fifty-six stellar new students to campus in September!
So, how does Belmont Day continue to generate this consistently high level of interest in our school?
We believe it comes down to the welcoming, passionate, and committed community we are so fortunate to be a part of at BDS. So many parents, faculty, students, and staff enthusiastically share their stories and generously engage with prospective families. Whether it is a member of the kitchen team explaining the myriad food offerings available in our lunch program, a teacher taking a moment with a tour group to discuss what their class is learning, or a parent volunteering to connect with a prospective family in their town to talk commuting strategies, what shines through is a shared commitment to the BDS mission and values. Prospective families see this commitment clearly throughout the admissions process, and it continues to draw them to BDS over other school options. What gets reported to our team over and over again is that our community instantly makes people feel welcomed, comfortable, and included.
Another high point for families is their interactions with and observations of our phenomenal faculty—and wow, did they steal the show this season! They put tremendous effort into supporting an even more rigorous and competitive admissions process that included presenting at our open house to over 400 attendees, recording dynamic videos for the virtual open house, creating, facilitating, and scoring prospective student visiting day assessments for over 200 applicants, reading and evaluating application files, designing and executing engaging and creative sessions for our yield events, hosting visitors in their classrooms for shadow days and greeting every single tour group with a smile and often a short conversation as well! Above and beyond their day-to-day responsibilities as teachers, our faculty understand the importance of the admissions process and dedicate themselves to putting our collective best foot forward as we showcase Belmont Day to new families.
To no surprise, we also receive rave reviews about our phenomenal student ambassadors and the exceptional execution of the many roles they play throughout the admissions process. For those unfamiliar with the student ambassador program, our seventh and eighth grade ambassadors serve as tour guides during events, speak from the heart on student panels, crouch down to eye level to engage three and four-year-old applicants during visit days, engage families in multiple languages to help them feel welcomed and seen, serve as shadow day hosts for visiting students and so much more! The most rewarding part of each admissions season is to watch these ambassadors shine in their various roles and further develop their outstanding public speaking, communication, and leadership skills. Frequently, when asked what compelled families to apply to and enroll at Belmont Day, our student ambassadors are at the top of the list.
So, what does this mean for September?
Fifty-six fabulous new families have committed to joining BDS, and they are an impressive and wonderful group. Our new students and families come from fourteen towns and cities, and they speak multiple languages in their homes, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Greek, Portuguese, Japanese, Hebrew, Amharic, Tigrigna, French, and Spanish. Please warmly welcome them when you see them on campus in the fall.
