A recent article in The Boston Globe sheds light on a significant shift in parental preferences in Newton, Brookline, and Cambridge, where more families are opting for private education over public schools.

In her Sept. 9 piece, Globe correspondent Kara Miller reported a marked increase in private and parochial school enrollment across these cities.

“In 2014, 16 percent of Cambridge students attended private or parochial school,” Miller writes. “By 2023, it was more than 23 percent. In 2013, 13 percent of children in Brookline attended private school. Now it’s 19 percent. And in Newton, the percentage rose from 18 percent to more than 22 percent — while at the high school level, nearly 25 percent of Newton students were not enrolled in public school during the 2023-2024 school year.”

To better understand this growing trend and what motivates parents to choose private education, The Gator’s Chloe Rose Scolnick ’25 spoke with Nicole Hurst P’25, to gather her thoughts on the article and why the parent community remains deeply committed to independent schooling in the area.