The Admissions Decision
Sparhawk Academy exists to help parents raise boys to fulfill their the highest academic, human, and spiritual potential. We aim not just to impart knowledge, but to shape each boy according to the outlines of his talents and character. This means helping each boy discover in himself what it means to use his intellect and will in good ways, and to guide him as he learns how to use his freedom and opportunities wisely.
There are no timeouts in this work of formation. It goes on continuously, day and night, weekends and vacations included. That is why saying parents are the primary educators is not just empty rhetoric. While it is true that a boy spends many hours a week at school and away from his parents, he spends many hours more with them, in the environment of a family, immersed in family traditions and ways of doing things that carry over into everything he does. Even his sleep patterns mold his behavior. Too little sleep, for instance, because he is ensnared by social media even at night will have major consequences in his moods and attentiveness, not to mention his academic and athletic achievement.
We want to partner with families who recognize every human person deserves:
- appropriate friendship, affection, and attention
- dignity
- encouragement
- equal opportunity
- freedom of conscience
- honesty
- an interior life
- a just wage
- a physically, psychologically, and morally healthy environment
- understanding
We will use these guiding principles in every aspect of how Sparhawk is governed, whether it be grading, discipline, hiring, teaching, playing, praying, or, as the heading of this article highlights, admissions.
It is no overstatement to say that at Sparhawk we are not simply admitting a boy, but rather a family. A question we will always have in mind as we make admissions decisions is: What will this boy and this family add to the human and supernatural quality of the school? A good person is more important to the makeup of our school community than a good scholar or good athlete.
Another question we will always ask is: Does Sparhawk have the resources to offer this boy and his family what they need? There will be gut-wrenching cases where we will have to admit we cannot meet a need, even if the boy already has a brother at the school. This is not a reference to genuine financial need – we will always find a way to meet that – but rather a simple recognition that we cannot over-promise how much we can help one boy and his family to the detriment of the other boys and families at Sparhawk.
We will always strive to admit boys who present evidence of their academic ability (grades, recommendations, extra-curricular interests, etc.) and character (demeanor, concern for others, self-discipline, etc.), and whose parents will take an active part in the whole educational enterprise.