Page 11 - May 2014 Dell & Cannon

WHAT’S
Happening
at RE
Ransom Everglades School I Dell + Cannon I May 2014 9
Campus News
Ransom Everglades Commitment to Financial Aid
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At this time of year, there are countless reasons to be proud of Ransom Everglades School.
We are preparing to welcome another remarkable 6th grade class into our school, the Class
of 2021, and watch our very own Class of 2014 graduate and matriculate at some of the
finest colleges and universities in the country. We are extremely fortunate to have incredible offerings
in academics, the arts, and athletics. Our school is truly an amazing community in every capacity
involving students, teachers, administrators, coaches and parents. However, as an alumna and the
Director of Admission, the one aspect of our school which brings me the greatest source of pride is
our commitment to Financial Aid. My primary goal each year is to meet the projected enrollment of
the school. In doing so, we want to continue to maintain a student body which meets or exceeds our
admission standards and also reflects the socio-economic diversity of the Miami-Dade community.
This commitment to Financial Aid is crucial to ensuring that qualified students will always have an
opportunity to study at Ransom Everglades School, regardless of their ability to pay tuition. Because
of the munificence of many RE families, our dedicated Board of Trustees, and our devoted Head of
School, we are able to increase our financial aid budget each year to meet the need of all families who
qualify for aid. Ellen Moceri’s legacy encompasses so much, but a trademark is certainly her drive to
keep our Financial Aid program growing. To be able to meet the need of all families who qualify for aid
is an extraordinary statement about Ransom Everglades School’s allegiance to its founding principles
and mission. Having a need-blind admission policy allows for us to accept students based solely on
their academic potential and not whether or not they can afford our tuition. This is extremely rare in
independent school admissions.
Once again, we granted over four million dollars in aid this year and our average need-based grant
is $24,000; the average need-based grant nationally amongst independent schools is $13,000. Our
Financial Aid program also allows us to draw students from wonderful organizations like Breakthrough
Miami and I am thrilled to say that we enrolled eight new students from the Breakthrough program for
the 2014-2015 school year. As a graduate and an administrator, I feel confident in the bright future
of our fine institution knowing how deeply committed our community is to continuing to live out the
mission that Paul C. Ransom created more than 100 years ago. We truly do give back more to our
community than we take from it and there is no better evidence of this than our generous Financial
Aid program.
We are incredibly fortunate
to have a school like Ransom
Everglades for our children to
attend. Having said that, we
share a duty to provide the
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Ransom Everglades to grow and
always be a great educational
institution. My wife Janice and I
feel, beyond our family’s health,
there is nothing more important
than our children’s education
and we accept our responsibility
to contribute to that end to the
best of our ability. A strong annual
fund and a healthy endowment
will allow Ransom Everglades
to attract and retain the best
faculty, introduce new curriculum,
and provide the necessary
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attend Ransom Everglades to be
admitted regardless of the family’s
ability to pay tuition. As a RE parent
and as a RE board member I am
most proud to know that thanks
to the generosity of many caring
families, Ransom Everglades can
state that our admissions policy
is totally need-blind. This is a very
powerful statement that speaks to
the diversity of the school and the
commitment of our community.
– Bob Segel
I can’t tell you how important it was to me, when my daughter applied to Ransom Everglades,
that this school values the importance of giving children from families of modest means a
chance to attend this prestigious institution. It’s simple – endowments and scholarships are
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because these great students from different backgrounds enrich the quality and diversity of
RE’s community.
– Sharron Lannan