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Transparency in Action

We open our classrooms, our decision-making processes, and our hearts to the community we serve. Through regular town halls, open board meetings, and transparent communication, we ensure that every parent, community member, and stakeholder has a voice in shaping the educational experience we provide. Our doors are always open, our books are always accessible, and our commitment to honest dialogue remains unwavering.

HAVE FEEDBACK OR A SUGGESTION?

Get in touch.

  • The public is invited to every GSA board meeting. Meetings are held in the GSA library at 6:30 pm.

  • Every month, GSA financials are shared with the Budget Review Committee to increase community trust, encourage dialogue, and maintain heightened accountability.

  • Regularly-scheduled coffee sessions with Shelly Schildroth, Head of School, provide casual opportunities for community conversation and relationship building. (Follow our socials for up-to-date info!)

  • Almost all events, except class time, are open to the entire community. From plays to sporting events to Arts Fest, GSA offers its open arms as the community has done for GSA for so many decades.

FAQs

Why does GSA require supplemental tuition? What does it pay for?

GSA strives to provide a robust curriculum with many opportunities for extended learning options and high-quality co-curricular activities. This means that we need to have appropriate staffing levels to offer all these and the corresponding materials, people, and equipment to provide a comprehensive educational experience. As a small school, offering a lot, we find there is a sizeable gap between what the State calculates for our tuition rates and the actual cost per pupil. In general, this gap is close to $6000 per student. Supplemental tuition allows us to continue to offer a wide variety of options for students so that they are as prepared as possible for their post secondary endeavors. 

Why does the town have to vote on GSA’s tuition?

The GSA Board of Trustees provides an important connection between our communities and our school. They are responsible for the school's governance, meaning they approve annual budgets, set overarching goals for the school, and create and approve policy. The day-to-day operations of the school are carried out by the Head of School.

What is the Annual Fund? Why does GSA require supplemental tuition AND the Annual Fund?

As it states in Question #1, the gap between state coverage and our cost is approximately $6000 per student. Basically, the tuition costs don't cover our costs to operate and offer many of the things that we offer. The Annual Fund helps to bridge the gap each year; hence, the name The Annual Fund.

How is GSA reimbursed and how is the rate determined?

We do not get reimbursed by the State. The State sets the tuition rates per pupil and then the municipalities pay the tuition. Different towns/school districts get different amounts of State Subsidy (the State's portion of funding public education), and this may offset a district's total costs for education (including tuitioning for secondary schools); however, this varies widely from district to district and is based largely around a region's property values. For instance, usually a place like Milliknocket will get less subsidy than Blue Hill because of the difference in property valuations. 

What will happen with the $1.88 million GSA just received from the land transfer?

The funds from both recent property sales need to go back into our endowment. Years ago, the school accessed endowed funds to have dormitories for its boarding program. These funds need to be replenished.

Our Community Partners

  • Wide green field with shrubs, a distant water body, and a partly cloudy blue sky.

    Blue Hill Heritage Trust

  • Shaw Institute

  • Large group of young adults and teens posing outdoors on a wooden deck and railing, with trees in the background.

    Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

  • A two-story wooden house with a front porch and a detached garage, set in a wooded area during sunset, with a gravel driveway in front.

    Hewes & Company

  • Painting of Blue Hill Consolidated School with trees and a cloudy sky.

    Blue Hill Consolidated School

  • The image shows the exterior of a brick public library building with trees in bloom and a lawn in front. There is a signboard advertising a plant sale on Saturday, May 26, from 8 to 11 AM.

    Blue Hill Public Library

  • The interior of a luxurious wooden boat's deck with seating area, illuminated lights, and a view of several boats in the water during nighttime.

    Brooklin Boat Yard

  • A digital rendering of a modern, two-story office building with a steep roof, surrounded by trees and parking lot, under a partly cloudy sky.

    Northern Light Hospital

  • Blue two-story building labeled 'Lawrence Family Fitness Center' with a stone base, parking lot in the foreground, and trees with fall foliage in the background.

    Downeast Family YMCA (DEFY)

RURAL SCHOOLS IN NUMBERS

Students attending local rural schools show 12-18% higher graduation rates compared to those bused long distances to exterior schools.

Communities lose an average of 15-25% of young families within 5 years of school closure, reducing the local tax base and consumer spending.

Long bus rides (over 45 minutes each way) correlate with 8-15% lower standardized test scores and increased absenteeism rates of 20-30%.

Students in small rural schools are 3-4 times more likely to hold leadership positions and participate in multiple activities.

Local schools enable 60-80% higher participation rates in sports, arts, and leadership activities due to proximity and schedule flexibility.

Rural schools generate approximately $1.50-$2.00 in local economic activity for every dollar invested, serving as anchor institutions that support local businesses and employment.

“I am grateful to the teachers at George Steven’s Academy for providing an education to my two sons who attended GSA 2014 - 2019.

Having a high school in our tight knit community that allowed them to grow, learn, and figure out their path in life was a support to me as a single mother. I am beyond proud of the young successful men they have become.”

ALMA MOTE, Parent ‘20 ‘24

A woman with shoulder-length dark hair smiling in front of a beach and ocean

“GSA is the right choice for our two kids. We love that the school offers a full slate of academic AP courses and also offers tactile classes like woodworking, art, welding, and the Skippers program. This hands-on process fosters critical thinking.”

JENNY BRILLHART, Parent ‘24 ‘27

Woman in a beige knit hat, glasses, and a black winter vest playing in the snow in a snowy forest.

“My children had different experiences at GSA, which is what I love so much about the school- GSA catered to each of their unique needs and desires. My husband and I felt it was important for them to attend school in our community, for them to be grounded in their community as young citizens. ”

AMY HOUGHTON, Parent ‘13 ‘15

A woman with long dark hair, wearing a gray sweater and a red scarf, taking a selfie outdoors in a garden with plants and a white fence in the background.

“We chose GSA because of its academic rigor and connectedness to our community. Our children left GSA with the most important tool for any high school graduate: an excitement to learn more.”

MICHELLE. KEYO, Parent ‘22 ‘24

Close-up photo of a woman with long brown hair smiling at the camera.
  • Young drummers playing outside near a lake with trees and a partly cloudy sky in the background, accompanied by an adult in the distance.
  • Two women outdoors smiling, one wearing a blue jacket and the other a burgundy hoodie with white text, both with glasses on their heads, on a sunny day with cars and trees in the background.
  • A group of people, including a man with sunglasses and a woman with a backpack, sharing a joyful moment outdoors near a black vehicle in the woods.