Lydia Nawrocki ‘23
Caroline Sewell ‘23
This year, there has been a new change in the funding policy for non-travel May Term programs: each course will get a maximum of two thousand dollars, rather than no cap at all as has been the case in the past.
According to Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, “[The reasoning behind the policy] is pretty simple. We just don’t have an unlimited amount of funds. We have to be mindful of our budget. We can only afford so much, really.”
Letts clarifies further, saying, “In the past, we have been able [to set no cap], but we had some budget overruns. We just have to be fiscally responsible. We want to give May Term courses as much flexibility as we can, but still make sure we do not blow through our budget.”
This policy will have varying impacts on May Term sessions. Amy Brotschul, a World Languages teacher, comments on how the policy will impact her May Term program: “For my May Term this year, I think I’ll have an ample budget, but we don’t go off campus a lot. I think that for trips that go to places like New York City to see plays, for example, that would be tough with the budget…They would have to really limit the number of students in the travel courses, which is a shame.” She wishes that money left over from less expensive courses would go to those with budget-induced restrictions. Otherwise, she says, it seems like a waste for the simpler May Terms.
Douglas Parsons, Upper School English teacher, expressed optimism about the policy. He states, “We were able to ask for money before, but we were never told a specific amount. I like the fact that we are being told very clearly the money we have, so that we can plan accordingly.” Parsons teaches students food awareness during his May Term class. His course, Escape from the Wesern Diet, examines what’s in food as well as the various costs of getting food to its consumers.
Some Upper School students had a few thoughts and concerns regarding how this change will affect their May Term experience, and the variety of different courses to choose from.
Yvvy Chen ‘21, for example, says, “Now I obviously don’t know the extent of the policy, but I think that it may restrict the depth and breadth of courses available. Especially since the change to May Term from JTerm is still somewhat recent, teachers and students are adapting to new and lost opportunities. Depending on how much funding is reduced, it may be more difficult to run a course to the extent teachers want, possibly limiting the selection to simpler or cheaper courses.” Chen refers to the fact that this program was moved from January to May just last year, due to a significant gap in the “academic” calendar from Christmas break in December through JTerm in January.
Sarah Letts ‘20 believes that the new policy can have different impacts on the efficiency of the May Terms. “I think it can be beneficial because there are May Terms that are mainly stationary at EA that use materials that the school already provides to them; whereas, there are other May Terms, like the one I did last year, Taking it to the Streets, where we travelled to New York and different schools, so we needed to use buses and pay for transportation. There are hotels, all those types of expenses, and now I think that would be a bit difficult to do on a two thousand dollar budget. But, I think it could go both ways.”
The policy will be implemented this spring and will affect over 30 May Term courses.