• Mission

• Quick Facts

• Faculty/Administration

• Montrose Moves to Medfield

• Admissions

 

 

 About UsEducating the Whole Person ParentsAlumnaeSupport Montrose  

Frequently Asked Questions

    

Demographics, Financial Aid and Tuition
Fundraising
Curriculum and Teaching
Montrose and Opus Dei
Entering Medfield
Parents

Demographics, Financial Aid and Tuition
How many communities does Montrose serve?
Montrose serves over 35 communities in the MetroWest area, Greater Boston and the South Shore.

Are there international students who attend Montrose?
Montrose has welcomed international students since its inception. Montrose families host students in their homes and develop lasting relationships. We have had students from Korea, Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Guatemala, and Chile.

What are the religious affiliations of Montrose students?
The majority of our students are Roman Catholic. About 25% of our students are of other faiths. All of our students are required to study Catholic theology and philosophy.

What percentage of Montrose alumnae pursue university education?
100% of Montrose graduates go on to college after graduation. In the last five years, 65% of them have been accepted to their first choice university. For more information on the colleges and universities where our students have been accepted, click here.

What percentage of families receives financial aid?
Forty percent of our families currently receive some form of tuition assistance: merit based scholarship, multi-child discount, and/or need-based financial aid.

Why is tuition at Montrose lower than other independent schools in the area? How is tuition used?
Tuition at Montrose is lower than other independent schools because Montrose strives to make its distinctive education affordable to as wide a range of families as possible. For more information on tuition and financial aid, click here.

Having operated in three temporary sites, Montrose School is well-practiced and committed to maintaining a tight operating budget, prioritizing quality teaching and minimizing overhead expenses. Tuition covers 85% of the operating expenses at Montrose School. The remaining 15% is raised through the Annual Fund and Auction. The Montrose Annual Fund raises approximately $150,000 per year. Our parent participation rate was 70% in 2004-2005 with strong support from alumnae families. The auction brings in over $50,000 per year helping us to cover our annual operating expenses. Montrose School's expenses and revenue is broken down as shown below.


Fundraising
What is the difference between the Annual Fund and the Capital Campaign?
The Annual Fund is part of the fabric of any independent school, as well as some public schools. An Annual Fund is designed to fortify the expanding program and the operational needs of the school. In the past the Annual Fund has supported instructional technology, professional development for faculty and our growing athletics and arts programs. Board members, parents, staff, alumnae, grandparents and friends all make gifts to the Annual Fund. This broad base of support offers tangible evidence (especially to potential benefactors) of the commitment all constituents have to Montrose School.

A Capital Campaign raises funds for capital improvement(s) that will have significant impact on the future of the school. Montrose is currently seeking leadership gifts needed to support the renovation of our Academic Building and campus in Medfield. A public announcement of our Montrose Moves to Medfield Campaign will occur once certain financial goals are reached.

 

Curriculum and Teaching
What's the main difference between a private and a public school?
Public schools are supported by state, local and federal funds. By and large, public schools must admit all students that fall within a particular geographic region. They are subject to state and federal review. Their curriculum is dictated by state standards, and standardized testing is often required to assess teacher and student performance.

Private independent schools, like Montrose, are governed by a Board of Trustees and are nonprofit organizations. They are born of a philosophical vision of education. This vision animates the curriculum and culture of the school. Funding in a private school comes from tuition payments and fundraising campaigns. Private independent schools are not subject to the same curricular mandates as public schools, however, most, like Montrose, elect a more rigorous academic curriculum that often includes additional coursework. Private schools can admit selectively. For more information on admissions requirements at Montrose, click here.


What is special about the curriculum at Montrose?
Montrose offers a rigorous college preparatory liberal arts curriculum. The academic program follows a traditional sequence and teaches students to reason logically and intelligently and to express themselves clearly. Students develop precision in reading, writing and speaking as well as analytical and problem solving skills.

Montrose strives to educate the whole person. It provides students the opportunity to engage in fine and performing arts and participate in a variety of clubs and varsity sports. The combined curricular and co-curricular program challenges students to develop intellect and character, leadership and service, faith and reason. For more information on course offerings by department please click here.


Are teachers at Montrose required to have certification, like in public schools?
Teachers at Montrose are not required to have teaching certification, although many do. Montrose actively recruits and hires exceptional teachers who are focused on student learning and committed to ongoing professional development. For a listing of our faculty and their department affiliations, please see our faculty page.

 

Montrose and Opus Dei
Is Montrose a Catholic School?
Montrose is an independent, college preparatory day school with a distinctively Catholic ethos. Education in the Catholic faith is an integral part of a Montrose education. In 1979, the parents and educators who founded Montrose asked the Prelature of Opus Dei if it would be willing to provide the school with chaplains who would oversee the religious education curriculum, celebrate Mass, administer the sacraments, and occasionally teach. We have two chaplains who are priests of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. They are available to serve Catholic and non-Catholic students alike.

The founders of Montrose were inspired by the life and teachings of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. His writings highlighted the dignity and responsibility of parents and the importance of educating the whole person. His message encourages the lay faithful to strive to “do ordinary things extraordinarily well for the love of God.” The spirit Opus Dei animates the vision of a Montrose education: helping young women to integrate faith and study, faith and friendship, faith and work.

What is Opus Dei?
Founded in 1928, Opus Dei, Latin for the “work of God,” was elevated as a personal prelature of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1982. Opus Dei helps individuals of all walks of life to integrate faith and work and to find God in their family, social, and civic life. Opus Dei offers a lay spirituality for all who desire to come closer to God through their ordinary lives.

The following is a list of books about Opus Dei:

What is the relationship between Montrose School and Opus Dei?
The spirit of Opus Dei is evident at Montrose in its culture - a culture that strives to promote family and friendship, a culture that strives to integrate love for God into daily life, and a culture that puts academic excellence and virtue at the service of others and society at large. Our students are encouraged to live solidarity with people all over the world by uniting their prayer and work to specific intentions such as the end to terrorism, relief for the victims of natural disasters, and for family members in need.

What about Opus Dei and its portrayal in The Da Vinci Code?
The best reference on Opus Dei and The Da Vinci Code can be found here: The Da Vinci Code, the Catholic Church and Opus Dei. Other articles include:


Is Montrose supported by Opus Dei or the Archdiocese of Boston?
As an independent school, Montrose does not receive financial support from the Archdiocese of Boston or from the Prelature of Opus Dei. It is governed like any other independent school by a Board of Trustees. Montrose is owned and operated by the Montrose Foundation. It is financed like all other independent schools: by tuition, an annual fund, an auction, and other school-wide fundraising events. Montrose does enjoy the blessing and the endorsement of the Archbishop of Boston.

Entering Medfield
How will Montrose change now that it has moved to Medfield? How will it stay the same?
Montrose has never wavered from its mission and remains committed to its founding ideals. The Montrose mission has not changed with the move to Medfield. Montrose will expand its academic course offerings to accommodate more Advanced Placement courses at the upper level. It will expand its Fine and Performing Arts Program and its Athletic Program. Montrose aspires to develop a top flight facility for its students and families.

What are the plans for future growth?
Montrose will eventually grow to 280 students with two sections of twenty students at each grade level. To ensure academic excellence, we are committed to keeping instructional class sizes between 12 and 20 students per section.

 

 

Parents
Whom should I contact with questions or concerns?
Questions or concerns about a student's performance in a particular class should be addressed directly to the student's individual teacher or her advisor. For other questions, please visit our contact page. You can also call or email us, and we will  be able to direct you.

What does it mean to be a Montrose parent?
Montrose believes that parents are the first and therefore the most important educators of their children. Montrose collaborates with parents to help their daughters become mature, intelligent and responsible women of noble human and Christian ideals.

Parental support and involvement is enlisted on all fronts. Volunteering to make building repairs, support new parents, raise money, and coach sports teams are just some of the ways that Montrose parents participate in and support their daughter's education.

Parents at Montrose meet with their daughter's advisor at least twice a year and with each of her teachers at least once a year but usually more frequently.

We communicate with parents by mail, email, telephone and through our website. We have an online calendar that lists all upcoming events and we have high parent participation at school sponsored activities and sporting events.

Together with parents, we help our students to live out our collective mission and attain ambitious individual goals.