FOCUS: INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Private schools looking abroad for students
Published: May 19, 2009, 12:30 am
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Eager to prepare himself for success at a highly regarded American university, Jonghyuk Park left his home in South Korea to attend Park School in Snyder.
The Buffalo Seminary, determined to increase its enrollment of international students, recently spent $237,500 for a five-bedroom duplex it will use as a dormitory for students from around the world.
In small but growing numbers, international students — long attracted to U. S. colleges and universities— now are enrolling in the Buffalo area’s high-end private high schools, as well.
Even without active recruiting, Park School has attracted 11 overseas students, and Nichols School enrolls five. Buffalo Seminary currently has seven international students and plans to add 16 out-of-town students next year, either from other countries or other parts of the United States.
“This has just happened,” said Christopher J. Lauricella, Park School’s head of school. “We’re not yet marketing to international students. They found us in some way or another.”
But now, both Park School and Buffalo Seminary are actively seeking ways to attract more students from other countries and to better integrate them into community life.
Jody Douglass, Buffalo Seminary’s head of school, believes Buffalo could become a magnet for international high school students because of its variety of private schools, its proximity to Canada, the high concentration of international students at the University at Buffalo and the area’s relatively safe, urban character.
“I think Buffalo is nicely positioned for this,” she said.
In most cases, students who come here from other countries plan to study at competitive U. S. colleges and universities, and they figure that attending high school here will help them prepare by helping to develop their language skills, cultural familiarity and academics.
At the same time, enrolling international students broadens diversity at local private schools and provides a valuable source of revenue at a time when local families find it increasingly difficult to afford tuition that runs as high as $18,000 a year.
Coming here to study has worked well for Park School seniors Faizan Sheikh, who is from India, and Jonghyuk “Brandon” Park of South Korea. Jonghyuk will attend Northeastern University in the fall, and Faizan will study engineering at Purdue University.
Park’s international students — all from China, South Korea or India — have found a high school setting far more informal and personal than those in their homelands.
“I like how teachers here at Park respect you as an individual,” said Xiaokai “Buddy” Huang, a junior from China. “Here you discuss a lot of things with the teachers. It’s more on a personal level rather than just academics.”
And by studying at private schools, international students are able to obtain extended student visas that aren’t available if they attend public schools.
Buffalo Seminary, an all-girls high school, currently enrolls three students from China, two from South Korea and one each from Wales and Mongolia, said Amy Popadick, associate director of admissions.
The school now hopes to broaden its reach to South America and Western Europe.
To accommodate that expansion, Buffalo Seminary recently purchased a Bidwell Parkway residence to house as many as 12 students and plans to hire a dorm director.
At Park School, a more organized effort is also planned.
A key component of that strategy is to encourage more Park School families to house international students.
“We are going to grow and promote it,” Lauricella said. “I think the market is going to present itself to be China, Korea and Brazil.”
International students who end up in Buffalo often have friends or relatives in the area, or hear about a private high school from students in their home countries who came here earlier. Others work with consultants to find a match.
They live with host families, relatives or friends, or in some cases even in their own apartments.
Although it does not actively recruit internationally, Nichols School has enrolled three students from Korea and one each from Sweden and China, said Richard C. Bryan, the headmaster.
“In all cases, it’s been working out beautifully,” he said. “It enriches the school. It expands diversity.”
While the enrollment of international students is a newer trend at independent day schools, it has a longer history at private boarding schools, Bryan said.
The Gow School, a South Wales boarding school for boys who have dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities, enrolls 37 students from 19 countries, including Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Malaysia, Mali, Costa Rica, Austria and Sri Lanka.
“We’re the premier school in the world, the Olympics of dyslexia education,” said M. Bradley Rogers, headmaster. “They come knocking on our door.”
Actually, it’s not that simple. Gow School is now the only local private high school that sends administrators overseas to recruit.
By requiring that international students be conversant in English, private schools here are able to immediately include them in classes with local students and to integrate them in extracurricular activities.
“It’s almost like family,” said Seo Yoon “Sienna” Song, a Park School sophomore from South Korea.
International students at Park School spend one period a day with teacher Charles Wise to refine their English skills and discuss cultural issues but mix with other students the rest of the day.
While international students might need a little extra support, they more than compensate through hard work and initiative, Wise said.
“Generally, I would say the international students are much more focused and motivated,” he said. “They’re here for a purpose.”
psimon@buffnews.com
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